Rotary Bowl trophy stays in Hillsboro for 4th straight year
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The Hillsboro Indians kept the McClain Tigers at bay just enough to keep possession of the Rotary Bowl trophy in Week 10, as the Indians defeated the host Tigers, 22-12 Friday night at McClain Field to win the rivalry showdown for the fourth straight year.
The 35th edition of the rivalry contest had a little bit of everything in Week 10, as the two teams ended their regular season. Both the Indians and Tigers battled various injuries, and neither team was at 100-percent in the Frontier Athletic Conference game.
With the win, the Indians now lead the series 23-12 since the trophy was awarded in 1985 for the first time. For the season, the Indians finish 1-4 in the FAC and 4-6 overall. The Tigers end the season at 0-5 in the FAC and 2-8 overall for the second straight season.
“I’m proud of our kids. We had three guys that started the first half that were done at halftime,” HHS head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “We had kids out there that hadn’t been out there all year long. We were playing two or three freshmen there in the second half. They stepped up and got the job done.
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“We had lot of young kids played well, and our seniors stepped up their game when they had to.”
The Indians were first to score on their first drive of the game, as they took advantage of a fumble recovery with the Tigers losing the ball on their opening possession with 10:05 on the clock.
The Indians began what was a touchdown-scoring drive on their own 43-yard line and saw Mark Gallimore rush for a 7-yard gain. Next came a fumble by the Indians, but it was recovered by Cameron Roberts, as the Indians kept possession.
Next were rushes by Gallimore, Logan Hester and Justin Spears to put the Indians on the 19-yard line for a first down. On first-and-10 from the 19-yard line, a QB keeper on an option play saw Spears race around the defense of the Tigers for a touchdown with 6:03 left in the first frame. The PAT by Brock Haines left the Indians in front at 7-0.
The Tigers had much more success on their second drive of the game, as this time McClain scored a touchdown of their own.
In his return to the field after missing a handful of games due to injury, Dalton Mischal rushed the ball three straight times, including a run of 19 yards, taking the ball to the HHS 29-yard line. After a sack by the Indians, Mischal came back with gains of nine and seven yards to set up a first-and-10 situation on the HHS 13-yard line.
The very next play, the Tigers were in the end zone with a 13-yard run by Matt Bliss for a touchdown with 2:03 left in the opening quarter, completing the eight-play, 47-yard drive that took exactly 4:00 of game time. The PAT was blocked by HHS, leaving the Indians ahead, 7-6.
McClain head coach Jake Orr-Zody spoke about the game.
“They were really able to lean on their offensive line and their big, strong, physical kids. It’s hard for us to counter and answer that when they were giving that kind of push up front,” Orr-Zody said. “They really made it a mano a mano game, and our job with that is to execute better. In the first half, our ability to move the ball — that fumble hurt because we were in a position to punt and flip the field, and we were really in a field position battle a lot in the first half.
“We were kind of backed up, we might go three-and-out and have to punt it, they’d be at midfield, but our defense stepped up and again played well enough for us to win. We just had to do better on the offensive end, from us getting our kids in better positions to our execution.”
HHS didn’t have much success on the next drive as Gallimore injured his knee and didn’t return to the game. Two plays later, the Indians threw an interception, as Braden Wright intercepted the pass with 11:50 left in the second quarter.
From there, the game went into a standstill offensively with three consecutive three-and-outs. Next, the Indians put together an eight-play drive, but the Tigers forced a turnover on downs, as Michael broke up a fourth down pass.
The Tigers were again forced to punt, and the two teams then exchanged turnovers on downs, as late in the second quarter MHS had a 24-yard completion to Mischal from Wright. Later, there was a 4-yard completion to Seth Wise, but eventually the drive ended with the Tigers throwing an incomplete pass on fourth down.
The half ended with the Indians ahead by the aforementioned 7-6 score, and as they’ve done a lot this season, HHS came out of the locker room and controlled the tempo of the third quarter.
HHS put together an eight-play drive that went for 59 yards and six points, which changed the entire complexion of the game. The third quarter began with four consecutive runs by Hester, with the senior chipping away with gains of six, three, two and three yards, then those were followed by a three-yard run by Spears.
An encroachment penalty on a third-and-4 situation by the Tigers gave HHS a first down. Next came a three-yard rush by Cameron Roberts and a one-yard gain by Spears. Following another 5-yard penalty on third down by the Tigers, the Indians scored their second touchdown of the game with a run of 10 yards by Hester for six points with 6:22 on the clock. The Indians followed with a two-point conversion with Travis Ross catching the pass for a 15-6 lead.
Hester finished the game with 26 carries for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
Hillsboro scored their final touchdown of the game and the season in the fourth quarter with 3:35 left on the clock. The drive opened with four straight rushes by Hester for a total of 22 yards. Next was a run to the outside by Spears for seven yards. Hester followed with a 4-yard rush, and Spears took the ball to the MHS 7-yard line on a rush of eight yards for first-and-goal.
The touchdown was scored with Hester following his offensive line straight through the middle of the MHS defense for a touchdown. The PAT by Haines pushed the Indians ahead, 22-6.
McClain answered with their final touchdown of the game on a drive that went eight plays. MHS opened the drive with a 7-yard run by Mischal, and two plays later, a run by Sam Faulconer went for a first down on a third-and-3 play.
A pass from Faulconer — as he was the quarterback after Wright was injured earlier in the game — went to Wise for a gain of 10 yards, plus a personal foul on the Indians added 15 more yards at the end of the play.
Following a penalty on the Tigers, they were able to score on a fourth-down play as Faulconer lobbed a pass to the end zone and Mischal — using his 6-3 frame and jumping ability — leapt over the Hillsboro defenders, catching the pass for a touchdown. The two-point chance was no good, leaving the Tigers trailing 22-12, which was the final score.
The Tigers did recover the onside kick, but had a turnover on downs. Eventually, the Rotary Bowl game ended with runs by Hester, and following personal fouls on each side, the Indians kneeled the ball to run the clock out for the win.
O’Rourke spoke about getting ready for next season.
“Well, we’re going to have to replace a couple guys on the offensive line with Silas Simmons as well as Draven Stodgel [graduating]. Those two kids were very instrumental in our running game tonight and did a great, great job,” he said. “We’ve got Zacha Burns back, and that’s a plus. We’re going to have to fill in our offensive line, and our running backs are going to have to step up and get stronger and bigger.
“We’ll lose Gallimore and lose Hester, and we’ll lose our quarterback (Spears), so we’ve got our work cut out for us, but we’ve got some good young kids. We just need more of them. For any of those Hillsboro boys that want to play, we need them. I’ll tell you that right now. We have places for them to play. We just need to get them out there and help make this team a little bit better next year.”
Orr-Zody spoke about McClain’s seniors and the overall season.
“I can’t thank the kids and the seniors enough for how they competed and played their hearts out. They really wanted this one, and it was a game that was close. A big play here, a big play there, a turnover here, a turnover there, and the complexion of the game is that much different, I think,” he said. “Two teams that were really pretty even were going back and forth tonight, and credit to both schools.
“We’re going to miss the senior class we’ve had. We have 18 seniors this year, and all those guys were big contributors to our program. Even if they may not have seen the field as much, those guys helped us a lot of ways that people may not understand or know. I’m proud to coach them, and I appreciate their efforts to help our program and this school.”
The 35th edition of the rivalry contest had a little bit of everything in Week 10, as the two teams ended their regular season. Both the Indians and Tigers battled various injuries, and neither team was at 100-percent in the Frontier Athletic Conference game.
With the win, the Indians now lead the series 23-12 since the trophy was awarded in 1985 for the first time. For the season, the Indians finish 1-4 in the FAC and 4-6 overall. The Tigers end the season at 0-5 in the FAC and 2-8 overall for the second straight season.
“I’m proud of our kids. We had three guys that started the first half that were done at halftime,” HHS head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “We had kids out there that hadn’t been out there all year long. We were playing two or three freshmen there in the second half. They stepped up and got the job done.
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“We had lot of young kids played well, and our seniors stepped up their game when they had to.”
The Indians were first to score on their first drive of the game, as they took advantage of a fumble recovery with the Tigers losing the ball on their opening possession with 10:05 on the clock.
The Indians began what was a touchdown-scoring drive on their own 43-yard line and saw Mark Gallimore rush for a 7-yard gain. Next came a fumble by the Indians, but it was recovered by Cameron Roberts, as the Indians kept possession.
Next were rushes by Gallimore, Logan Hester and Justin Spears to put the Indians on the 19-yard line for a first down. On first-and-10 from the 19-yard line, a QB keeper on an option play saw Spears race around the defense of the Tigers for a touchdown with 6:03 left in the first frame. The PAT by Brock Haines left the Indians in front at 7-0.
The Tigers had much more success on their second drive of the game, as this time McClain scored a touchdown of their own.
In his return to the field after missing a handful of games due to injury, Dalton Mischal rushed the ball three straight times, including a run of 19 yards, taking the ball to the HHS 29-yard line. After a sack by the Indians, Mischal came back with gains of nine and seven yards to set up a first-and-10 situation on the HHS 13-yard line.
The very next play, the Tigers were in the end zone with a 13-yard run by Matt Bliss for a touchdown with 2:03 left in the opening quarter, completing the eight-play, 47-yard drive that took exactly 4:00 of game time. The PAT was blocked by HHS, leaving the Indians ahead, 7-6.
McClain head coach Jake Orr-Zody spoke about the game.
“They were really able to lean on their offensive line and their big, strong, physical kids. It’s hard for us to counter and answer that when they were giving that kind of push up front,” Orr-Zody said. “They really made it a mano a mano game, and our job with that is to execute better. In the first half, our ability to move the ball — that fumble hurt because we were in a position to punt and flip the field, and we were really in a field position battle a lot in the first half.
“We were kind of backed up, we might go three-and-out and have to punt it, they’d be at midfield, but our defense stepped up and again played well enough for us to win. We just had to do better on the offensive end, from us getting our kids in better positions to our execution.”
HHS didn’t have much success on the next drive as Gallimore injured his knee and didn’t return to the game. Two plays later, the Indians threw an interception, as Braden Wright intercepted the pass with 11:50 left in the second quarter.
From there, the game went into a standstill offensively with three consecutive three-and-outs. Next, the Indians put together an eight-play drive, but the Tigers forced a turnover on downs, as Michael broke up a fourth down pass.
The Tigers were again forced to punt, and the two teams then exchanged turnovers on downs, as late in the second quarter MHS had a 24-yard completion to Mischal from Wright. Later, there was a 4-yard completion to Seth Wise, but eventually the drive ended with the Tigers throwing an incomplete pass on fourth down.
The half ended with the Indians ahead by the aforementioned 7-6 score, and as they’ve done a lot this season, HHS came out of the locker room and controlled the tempo of the third quarter.
HHS put together an eight-play drive that went for 59 yards and six points, which changed the entire complexion of the game. The third quarter began with four consecutive runs by Hester, with the senior chipping away with gains of six, three, two and three yards, then those were followed by a three-yard run by Spears.
An encroachment penalty on a third-and-4 situation by the Tigers gave HHS a first down. Next came a three-yard rush by Cameron Roberts and a one-yard gain by Spears. Following another 5-yard penalty on third down by the Tigers, the Indians scored their second touchdown of the game with a run of 10 yards by Hester for six points with 6:22 on the clock. The Indians followed with a two-point conversion with Travis Ross catching the pass for a 15-6 lead.
Hester finished the game with 26 carries for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
Hillsboro scored their final touchdown of the game and the season in the fourth quarter with 3:35 left on the clock. The drive opened with four straight rushes by Hester for a total of 22 yards. Next was a run to the outside by Spears for seven yards. Hester followed with a 4-yard rush, and Spears took the ball to the MHS 7-yard line on a rush of eight yards for first-and-goal.
The touchdown was scored with Hester following his offensive line straight through the middle of the MHS defense for a touchdown. The PAT by Haines pushed the Indians ahead, 22-6.
McClain answered with their final touchdown of the game on a drive that went eight plays. MHS opened the drive with a 7-yard run by Mischal, and two plays later, a run by Sam Faulconer went for a first down on a third-and-3 play.
A pass from Faulconer — as he was the quarterback after Wright was injured earlier in the game — went to Wise for a gain of 10 yards, plus a personal foul on the Indians added 15 more yards at the end of the play.
Following a penalty on the Tigers, they were able to score on a fourth-down play as Faulconer lobbed a pass to the end zone and Mischal — using his 6-3 frame and jumping ability — leapt over the Hillsboro defenders, catching the pass for a touchdown. The two-point chance was no good, leaving the Tigers trailing 22-12, which was the final score.
The Tigers did recover the onside kick, but had a turnover on downs. Eventually, the Rotary Bowl game ended with runs by Hester, and following personal fouls on each side, the Indians kneeled the ball to run the clock out for the win.
O’Rourke spoke about getting ready for next season.
“Well, we’re going to have to replace a couple guys on the offensive line with Silas Simmons as well as Draven Stodgel [graduating]. Those two kids were very instrumental in our running game tonight and did a great, great job,” he said. “We’ve got Zacha Burns back, and that’s a plus. We’re going to have to fill in our offensive line, and our running backs are going to have to step up and get stronger and bigger.
“We’ll lose Gallimore and lose Hester, and we’ll lose our quarterback (Spears), so we’ve got our work cut out for us, but we’ve got some good young kids. We just need more of them. For any of those Hillsboro boys that want to play, we need them. I’ll tell you that right now. We have places for them to play. We just need to get them out there and help make this team a little bit better next year.”
Orr-Zody spoke about McClain’s seniors and the overall season.
“I can’t thank the kids and the seniors enough for how they competed and played their hearts out. They really wanted this one, and it was a game that was close. A big play here, a big play there, a turnover here, a turnover there, and the complexion of the game is that much different, I think,” he said. “Two teams that were really pretty even were going back and forth tonight, and credit to both schools.
“We’re going to miss the senior class we’ve had. We have 18 seniors this year, and all those guys were big contributors to our program. Even if they may not have seen the field as much, those guys helped us a lot of ways that people may not understand or know. I’m proud to coach them, and I appreciate their efforts to help our program and this school.”