Second-half shutout by Hillsboro defense leads to Week 1 win over Western Brown
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Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Sometimes a team relies on defensive play to stop a traditional high-powered offense, and during the 2019 season opener for the Hillsboro Indians, the defense's pressure in the early and latter stages of the game proved to be the difference in what became a 16-14 victory for the home team at Richards Memorial Field.
The Indians — who now have defeated the Broncos in the season opener for three straight years — used the middle of their defense to pressure the Broncos, using a strong pass rush to disrupt the pass-friendly offense of Western Brown. The Indians also used their linebacker and secondary in the latter stages of the fourth quarter to keep the Broncos at bay and secure the two-point win to open the season.
It was the Indians’ defense that was first to put either team on the scoreboard, but before those points, the situation was set up with a punt that landed on the Western Brown 5-yard line. The Indians defense took advantage of the Broncos’ field position and sent the defensive line on a mission.
“We got really good pressure on the quarterback all night, and when there is somebody in your face, it is a lot harder to throw the ball,” HHS head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “When we didn’t get pressure on them, it hurt us. I think that was a key for us. We got pressure on them, gave them some different looks from a rush standpoint and were able to shut them down.”
The first plays saw the duo of linebacker Logan Hester and defensive tackle Sanchez Seals combine for a tackle for loss of four yards. Putting the Broncos on their own 1-yard line, Seals broke through the interior offensive line of Western Brown, powering his way to the quarterback for a safety, scoring two points for the 2-0 lead with 7:17 left in the first quarter.
“They (the defensive tackles) did a fantastic job … they (WBHS) couldn’t block them,” O’Rourke said.
On offense, Hillsboro lost possession of the ball on the first play, and it was Western Brown picking up the football and racing 35 yards to the end zone. The PAT was good, and it was the visitors leading, 7-2 with 7:01 left in the opening quarter.
The touchdown by the Broncos (0-1) didn’t affect the home team as the Indians put together their usual drive of chipping away for positive yardage, keeping the clock running and eventually reaching pay dirt. That happened on the ensuing drive, though one play was more of taking a chunk of yardage, rather than chipping away.
Silas Simmons began the drive with a 4-yard run for the Indians’ own 30-yard line. Next came a 9-yard dash for a first down. Then came the biggest play of the drive with senior Mark Gallimore breaking away for a gain of 37 yards, taking the Indians to the 20-yard line of the Broncos.
Next were three runs from Simmons, totaling 12 yards, and putting the Tribe on the 3-yard line for second-and goal. That was followed by a 2-yard scamper by Gallimore, and Simmons capped off the drive with 3:10 left in the first with a 1-yard rush for the touchdown. The Indians scored two more points with a two-point conversion run by Gallimore, pushing Hillsboro ahead by a 10-7 score.
The final points scored by the Indians’ offense came with 8.6 seconds left in the first quarter, with the drive beginning on the Western Brown 9-yard line as a punt attempt sailed over the punter’s head on a 4th-and-12 play from the Broncos’ 19-yard line.
Taking advantage of the situation given to them, the Indians didn’t disappoint their home fans as they scored on a third-and-goal play from the 11-yard line (they lost five yards on a false start) as Justin Spears found Hayden Hawk for an 11-yard touchdown reception. The PAT was no good, leaving the Indians in front at 16-7.
On offense for the Indians, unofficially Gallimore rushed for 118 yards on 20 carries, while Simmons finished with 16 carries for 75 yards. Also for HHS, Hester rushed nine times for 46 yards, and Spears had 37 yards rushing on six carries. Combined, the Indians unofficially had 276 yards rushing and 297 yards of total offense.
The Broncos tried to cut into the lead of the Indians with 9:55 left in the second quarter, but Simmons blocked the 29-yard field goal attempt by Western Brown, and the HHS offense eventually had a turnover on downs.
On the ensuing drive — which saw the Broncos have a 69-yard touchdown called back as the wide receiver initially stepped out of bounds and was the first player to touch the football — the Broncos got to within two points of the Indians as the second-quarter clock read 7.3 seconds.
The Broncos’ drive saw gains of 20 and 29 yards off receptions by Tyler Loudon and Yani Williams, eventually leading to a 2-yard touchdown run on first-and-goal by Keegan Collins as he dove to the pylon for six points. The PAT was good, putting the Broncos within two points of Hillsboro at halftime.
Strangely enough, that was all the scoring the game had, as both teams were shut out by the opposing defenses and special teams, including Western Brown’s Andre Lajoye blocking a punt. Later on the ensuing drive, the Broncos went for the lead but missed a 36-yard field goal attempt with 4:29 left in the third. On that drive, Draven Stodgel and Seals each had a sack for the Indians.
Following an injury to their starting quarterback Collins, the Broncos went to Drew Novak as their passer, and the HHS defense continued to force punts. HHS also had a long offensive drive of their own in the fourth frame that took up a lot of clock, as the scoreboard went from reading 8:30 to 1:26 following 16 straight plays that saw a turnover on downs on a fourth-and-6 play from the 12-yard line.
Western Brown had one last chance to gain the win, but the Indians’ defense also had a chance to seal the win and protect their lead. The result favored the hosts with Western Brown having an incomplete pass, followed by an 11-yard gain, and that was followed with a sack by Justin Conn. After a timeout, the Broncos went into a creative formation where they had most of their players on one side of the field, eventually morphing into a wide receiver pass.
That pass was broken up by Gallimore on the second-and-17 play. There was another incomplete pass by the Broncos, and on the final play of the drive it was Hester sacking the quarterback for an 8-yard loss and a turnover on downs with 6.9 seconds left in regulation, resulting in Hester being lifted into the air in celebration by teammate Seals.
“Coach (Nathan) Horne did a great job of putting together a good defensive game plan for this game, taking away what they do best,” O’Rourke said. “Our kids came out all week and worked really hard on it, and we spent a lot of time on it, so I’m pleased with it.”
Next for the Indians is a home game for Week 2 as they will host the Goshen Warriors, of the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference, at 7 p.m. at Richards Memorial Field. Last season, the Indians defeated Goshen, 26-7. Goshen fell to McNicholas, 6-0 Friday night.
GAME NOTES: This is the third straight season the Indians have defeated the Broncos in the season opener. Scores for those games were: 55-34 (2017), 30-28 (2018) and 16-14 (2019) … Both teams combined for eight punts … There was a weather delay of close to an hour before the game could start.
The Indians — who now have defeated the Broncos in the season opener for three straight years — used the middle of their defense to pressure the Broncos, using a strong pass rush to disrupt the pass-friendly offense of Western Brown. The Indians also used their linebacker and secondary in the latter stages of the fourth quarter to keep the Broncos at bay and secure the two-point win to open the season.
It was the Indians’ defense that was first to put either team on the scoreboard, but before those points, the situation was set up with a punt that landed on the Western Brown 5-yard line. The Indians defense took advantage of the Broncos’ field position and sent the defensive line on a mission.
“We got really good pressure on the quarterback all night, and when there is somebody in your face, it is a lot harder to throw the ball,” HHS head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “When we didn’t get pressure on them, it hurt us. I think that was a key for us. We got pressure on them, gave them some different looks from a rush standpoint and were able to shut them down.”
The first plays saw the duo of linebacker Logan Hester and defensive tackle Sanchez Seals combine for a tackle for loss of four yards. Putting the Broncos on their own 1-yard line, Seals broke through the interior offensive line of Western Brown, powering his way to the quarterback for a safety, scoring two points for the 2-0 lead with 7:17 left in the first quarter.
“They (the defensive tackles) did a fantastic job … they (WBHS) couldn’t block them,” O’Rourke said.
On offense, Hillsboro lost possession of the ball on the first play, and it was Western Brown picking up the football and racing 35 yards to the end zone. The PAT was good, and it was the visitors leading, 7-2 with 7:01 left in the opening quarter.
The touchdown by the Broncos (0-1) didn’t affect the home team as the Indians put together their usual drive of chipping away for positive yardage, keeping the clock running and eventually reaching pay dirt. That happened on the ensuing drive, though one play was more of taking a chunk of yardage, rather than chipping away.
Silas Simmons began the drive with a 4-yard run for the Indians’ own 30-yard line. Next came a 9-yard dash for a first down. Then came the biggest play of the drive with senior Mark Gallimore breaking away for a gain of 37 yards, taking the Indians to the 20-yard line of the Broncos.
Next were three runs from Simmons, totaling 12 yards, and putting the Tribe on the 3-yard line for second-and goal. That was followed by a 2-yard scamper by Gallimore, and Simmons capped off the drive with 3:10 left in the first with a 1-yard rush for the touchdown. The Indians scored two more points with a two-point conversion run by Gallimore, pushing Hillsboro ahead by a 10-7 score.
The final points scored by the Indians’ offense came with 8.6 seconds left in the first quarter, with the drive beginning on the Western Brown 9-yard line as a punt attempt sailed over the punter’s head on a 4th-and-12 play from the Broncos’ 19-yard line.
Taking advantage of the situation given to them, the Indians didn’t disappoint their home fans as they scored on a third-and-goal play from the 11-yard line (they lost five yards on a false start) as Justin Spears found Hayden Hawk for an 11-yard touchdown reception. The PAT was no good, leaving the Indians in front at 16-7.
On offense for the Indians, unofficially Gallimore rushed for 118 yards on 20 carries, while Simmons finished with 16 carries for 75 yards. Also for HHS, Hester rushed nine times for 46 yards, and Spears had 37 yards rushing on six carries. Combined, the Indians unofficially had 276 yards rushing and 297 yards of total offense.
The Broncos tried to cut into the lead of the Indians with 9:55 left in the second quarter, but Simmons blocked the 29-yard field goal attempt by Western Brown, and the HHS offense eventually had a turnover on downs.
On the ensuing drive — which saw the Broncos have a 69-yard touchdown called back as the wide receiver initially stepped out of bounds and was the first player to touch the football — the Broncos got to within two points of the Indians as the second-quarter clock read 7.3 seconds.
The Broncos’ drive saw gains of 20 and 29 yards off receptions by Tyler Loudon and Yani Williams, eventually leading to a 2-yard touchdown run on first-and-goal by Keegan Collins as he dove to the pylon for six points. The PAT was good, putting the Broncos within two points of Hillsboro at halftime.
Strangely enough, that was all the scoring the game had, as both teams were shut out by the opposing defenses and special teams, including Western Brown’s Andre Lajoye blocking a punt. Later on the ensuing drive, the Broncos went for the lead but missed a 36-yard field goal attempt with 4:29 left in the third. On that drive, Draven Stodgel and Seals each had a sack for the Indians.
Following an injury to their starting quarterback Collins, the Broncos went to Drew Novak as their passer, and the HHS defense continued to force punts. HHS also had a long offensive drive of their own in the fourth frame that took up a lot of clock, as the scoreboard went from reading 8:30 to 1:26 following 16 straight plays that saw a turnover on downs on a fourth-and-6 play from the 12-yard line.
Western Brown had one last chance to gain the win, but the Indians’ defense also had a chance to seal the win and protect their lead. The result favored the hosts with Western Brown having an incomplete pass, followed by an 11-yard gain, and that was followed with a sack by Justin Conn. After a timeout, the Broncos went into a creative formation where they had most of their players on one side of the field, eventually morphing into a wide receiver pass.
That pass was broken up by Gallimore on the second-and-17 play. There was another incomplete pass by the Broncos, and on the final play of the drive it was Hester sacking the quarterback for an 8-yard loss and a turnover on downs with 6.9 seconds left in regulation, resulting in Hester being lifted into the air in celebration by teammate Seals.
“Coach (Nathan) Horne did a great job of putting together a good defensive game plan for this game, taking away what they do best,” O’Rourke said. “Our kids came out all week and worked really hard on it, and we spent a lot of time on it, so I’m pleased with it.”
Next for the Indians is a home game for Week 2 as they will host the Goshen Warriors, of the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference, at 7 p.m. at Richards Memorial Field. Last season, the Indians defeated Goshen, 26-7. Goshen fell to McNicholas, 6-0 Friday night.
GAME NOTES: This is the third straight season the Indians have defeated the Broncos in the season opener. Scores for those games were: 55-34 (2017), 30-28 (2018) and 16-14 (2019) … Both teams combined for eight punts … There was a weather delay of close to an hour before the game could start.