Rotary Bowl Preview 2019: Hillsboro, McClain battle for coveted trophy
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Some years a football season doesn’t go the way a team wants, and for the 2019 football season in Highland County, both the McClain Tigers and Hillsboro Indians wanted more from their 10 weeks on the gridiron. That wasn’t in the books as injuries and tough opponents have left the two teams with five combined wins entering the 35th annual Rotary Bowl.
In a Week 10 game where the “records don’t matter,” and bragging rights for an entire year are on the line, the Tigers (2-7) and Indians (3-6) have a great opportunity in front of them. On Friday, both teams can erase the results of the past nine weeks and move forward with a Week 10 win over their Highland County rival in what has the chance to be a competitive game between two teams who have battled various injuries and setbacks all season long.
Both the Indians and Tigers enter their Week 10 game coming off home losses last Friday night, as the Indians lost to the Jackson Ironmen, while the Tigers fell to the Washington Blue Lions.
The winner of the upcoming game to be played at McClain Field — which has a 7 p.m. scheduled kickoff — will also have their first win in the Frontier Athletic Conference this season, as both teams enter with a conference mark of 0-4.
Some positives for tshe Tigers this season have been they’ve gained two wins for the second straight year as they continue to build their program under second-year head coach Jake Orr-Zody. The Tigers in ’19 have defeated Zane Trace (51-50) and Eastern Beaver (42-20).
One issue for the Tigers this season has been injuries as their starting quarterback Braden Wright has been injured at times this season, playing in five of the nine games so far. The sophomore quarterback hasn’t played since Oct. 11, but when he was in the game he changed the way McClain played offensively. In his most recent game, he passed for 7-of-16 for 50 yards, including a 22-yard pass against Miami Trace.
Wright also rushed for 396 yards on 64 carries with five touchdowns. He rushed for over 100 yards in two games this season, one being in Week 1 against Adena for 103 yards on nine carries. That was followed on Sept. 13 against Zane Trace in Week 3 with 16 carries for 204 yards and two rushing scores. For the season, Wright has averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
Currently, the quarterback for MHS has been Sam Faulconer, as the senior has not only played quarterback this season, but he’s also played running back and defensive line for the Tigers. He’s thrown two touchdown passes for MHS and has a season-long pass of 33 yards, coming on Oct. 18 against Chillicothe. Faulconer has rushed for 92 yards this season, as he battles in the trenches for the tough yards at running back.
This season, the Tigers are averaging 34.1 yards per game, while they are rushing for 154.4 yards per game. Defensively, the Tigers are led in tackles by senior Blake Gall, a senior who has totaled 68 tackles in ’19, including two tackles for loss. Sophomore Alex Snyder leads MHS in sacks with three. Kicking for MHS is Braeden Bergstrom, and the junior is 18-of-18 in PATs this season, plus he’s made a 42-yard field goal this season.
Now for the Hillsboro Indians, who have wins against Western Brown (16-14), East Clinton (21-7) and Williamsburg (14-9). The Indians enter Week 10 losing their past five games — MHS has four straight losses — with their most recent win coming against Williamsburg.
The players who lead the Indians on offense are senior quarterback Justin Spears, senior running back Mark Gallimore, and their offensive line. The Indians have thrown the ball much more this season than they have been in the past under head coach Jack O’Rourke, but their bread-and-butter is still the rushing game.
Gallimore this season has played in all nine games while at times battling injuries. In those games, he unofficially rushed for 825 yards on 179 carries and six touchdowns, averaging 4.6 yards per carry this season. He has four games of over 100 yards rushing, and his highest total was against East Clinton with 27 carries for 153 yards and one rushing score. Against the Miami Trace Panthers, Gallimore totaled 25 carries for 145 yards and one touchdown run. The senior also has 100-plus rushing yard games against Western Brown (118 yards) and Washington (108 yards).
This season Spears— in his first year as the starting quarterback — has over 450 yards passing with four touchdown passes, unofficially, plus he’s rushed 90 times for 421 yards and five touchdowns.
The Rotary Bowl trophy has been on the line since 1985, with the Indians leading the series, 22-12, winning the past three Rotary Bowl games.
In a Week 10 game where the “records don’t matter,” and bragging rights for an entire year are on the line, the Tigers (2-7) and Indians (3-6) have a great opportunity in front of them. On Friday, both teams can erase the results of the past nine weeks and move forward with a Week 10 win over their Highland County rival in what has the chance to be a competitive game between two teams who have battled various injuries and setbacks all season long.
Both the Indians and Tigers enter their Week 10 game coming off home losses last Friday night, as the Indians lost to the Jackson Ironmen, while the Tigers fell to the Washington Blue Lions.
The winner of the upcoming game to be played at McClain Field — which has a 7 p.m. scheduled kickoff — will also have their first win in the Frontier Athletic Conference this season, as both teams enter with a conference mark of 0-4.
Some positives for tshe Tigers this season have been they’ve gained two wins for the second straight year as they continue to build their program under second-year head coach Jake Orr-Zody. The Tigers in ’19 have defeated Zane Trace (51-50) and Eastern Beaver (42-20).
One issue for the Tigers this season has been injuries as their starting quarterback Braden Wright has been injured at times this season, playing in five of the nine games so far. The sophomore quarterback hasn’t played since Oct. 11, but when he was in the game he changed the way McClain played offensively. In his most recent game, he passed for 7-of-16 for 50 yards, including a 22-yard pass against Miami Trace.
Wright also rushed for 396 yards on 64 carries with five touchdowns. He rushed for over 100 yards in two games this season, one being in Week 1 against Adena for 103 yards on nine carries. That was followed on Sept. 13 against Zane Trace in Week 3 with 16 carries for 204 yards and two rushing scores. For the season, Wright has averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
Currently, the quarterback for MHS has been Sam Faulconer, as the senior has not only played quarterback this season, but he’s also played running back and defensive line for the Tigers. He’s thrown two touchdown passes for MHS and has a season-long pass of 33 yards, coming on Oct. 18 against Chillicothe. Faulconer has rushed for 92 yards this season, as he battles in the trenches for the tough yards at running back.
This season, the Tigers are averaging 34.1 yards per game, while they are rushing for 154.4 yards per game. Defensively, the Tigers are led in tackles by senior Blake Gall, a senior who has totaled 68 tackles in ’19, including two tackles for loss. Sophomore Alex Snyder leads MHS in sacks with three. Kicking for MHS is Braeden Bergstrom, and the junior is 18-of-18 in PATs this season, plus he’s made a 42-yard field goal this season.
Now for the Hillsboro Indians, who have wins against Western Brown (16-14), East Clinton (21-7) and Williamsburg (14-9). The Indians enter Week 10 losing their past five games — MHS has four straight losses — with their most recent win coming against Williamsburg.
The players who lead the Indians on offense are senior quarterback Justin Spears, senior running back Mark Gallimore, and their offensive line. The Indians have thrown the ball much more this season than they have been in the past under head coach Jack O’Rourke, but their bread-and-butter is still the rushing game.
Gallimore this season has played in all nine games while at times battling injuries. In those games, he unofficially rushed for 825 yards on 179 carries and six touchdowns, averaging 4.6 yards per carry this season. He has four games of over 100 yards rushing, and his highest total was against East Clinton with 27 carries for 153 yards and one rushing score. Against the Miami Trace Panthers, Gallimore totaled 25 carries for 145 yards and one touchdown run. The senior also has 100-plus rushing yard games against Western Brown (118 yards) and Washington (108 yards).
This season Spears— in his first year as the starting quarterback — has over 450 yards passing with four touchdown passes, unofficially, plus he’s rushed 90 times for 421 yards and five touchdowns.
The Rotary Bowl trophy has been on the line since 1985, with the Indians leading the series, 22-12, winning the past three Rotary Bowl games.