Rotary Bowl Preview 2018: Hillsboro can clinch a share of FAC championship against McClain

There is a lot on the line for the Hillsboro Indians this Friday night at Richards Memorial Field when they take on their Highland County rival McClain Tigers in the 2018 Rotary Bowl, with the Indians in Week 10 one win away from clinching a share of the Frontier Athletic Conference championship.

The Indians, who are coached by veteran head coach Jack O’Rourke, enter the game at 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the FAC, while the Tigers have improved over the season from past years, standing at 2-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play as in Week 4 the Tigers, under first-year head coach, Jake Orr-Zody snapped a 22-game losing streak.

McClain has the opportunity to play spoiler for the Indians in the conference with a win against the Associated Press No. 13 state-ranked Indians on Friday, but the Tribe has all but officially clinched a spot in the Division III state playoffs as the Indians are currently the Division III, Region 11 No. 5 rated team in the state computer poll.

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Hillsboro have really proved many wrong with how their season has progressed through the past nine weeks. The Indians’ lone loss came in Week 6 against the Chillicothe Cavaliers, with the Tribe falling by a 36-30 score, as the Indians were just a few yards short of winning that game. Other than that one moment, the Indians have left the field with the victory, outscoring their opponents 364-197 and winning their past three games.

As for the possible FAC championship, the last time the Indians won a conference title was in 1998 as a member of the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference (SBAAC), and for the program history, the Indians have won nine conference titles with two in the former South Central Ohio League and seven in the SBAAC.

The Tigers enter Week 10 with a season improvement, exceeding the total number of wins from the past two seasons combined. This year, McClain has defeated East Clinton (28-3) and Miami Trace (47-40) as they broke the aforementioned losing streak, but earned their first-ever FAC win in defeating Miami Trace.

Back to the Indians and what they can achieve on Friday night. A win will not only give them the FAC title, as they’ll share with the winner of Chillicothe vs. Jackson, but the Indians will officially wrap up their regular season and allow them to look at Week 11 with excitement for the first time in 13 years.

Hillsboro went undefeated on the road this season, winning six games away from Richards Memorial Field. Even being 2-1 at home this season, they end their home slate with a rivalry game where they can gain a championship, plus keep possession of the Rotary Bowl trophy, which has been presented since 1985.

The Indians are led by senior Josh Keets this season, and through the first nine games of the year, he’s rushed for 1,236 yards on 102 carries. Keets has scored 18 touchdowns and is averaging nearly 12.11 yards per carry and 137 yards per game on the ground. Last Friday, Keets had three touchdown runs of over 60 yards each against the Miami Trace Panthers.

Also for the Indians, running backs Deon Burns and Mark Gallimore have provided big-time play during the eight-win season. Burns has rushed for 861 yards this season on 144 carries with 14 touchdowns, and Gallimore has 787 yards rushing with six touchdowns. Quarterback Mason Swayne has made clutch throws this season, while also having 411 yards rushing for the Indians. Swayne has 10 rushing touchdowns on the season and three touchdown passes.

As a team, the Indians have rushed for over 3,000 yards behind a very solid offensive line (Zach Burns, Lane Cluff, Draven Stodgel, Max Conover, Silas Simmons), and when the Indians have needed to complete a pass, they’ve looked to Luke Middleton, who has two touchdown receptions headed into Week 10.

After the first nine games of the season, Justin Spears leads the Indians with 50 total tackles and three interceptions. Next in tackles is Reece Bloomfield with two sacks and 45 tackles and Logan Hester with four sacks and 45 tackles. Max Conover has 42 tackles and six sacks. Also with four interceptions after the first nine games is Swayne.

McClain this season has been led by senior Dalton Mischal with 658 yards rushing on 69 rushes and five touchdowns. Mischal is averaging 9.5 yards per carry. Mischal also has a total of 895 all-purpose yards.

Eric Anderson is the Tigers’ tackles leader with 71 total tackles, while Dryden Brown leads the Tigers with three sacks.

The Indians have won the past two Rotary Bowl games, including last season by a 61-13 score at McClain Field. Since the inception of the Rotary Bowl game, the Indians have won 20 times and the Tigers have won 13 times.

The game kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday at Richards Memorial Field.