Six turnovers haunt Indians in loss at Blue Lions

WASHINGTON C.H. — The Hillsboro Indians snapped their five-week scoreless streak but were unable to gain the win as six turnovers doomed their momentum, as they dropped their sixth consecutive game of the season.

The Week 9 loss came against the Washington Blue Lions, with the visiting Indians falling by a score of 39-22. The loss also drops the Indians to 2-7 overall, 0-6 in the South Central Ohio League.

Though they made the turnovers, HHS showed improvement from the previous weeks, and with just one game left in the '14 season next week, HHS head coach Matt Hodge was proud of the effort shown by his team Friday night.

HHS had three lost fumbles and three interceptions, with one of the fumbles being returned for a touchdown by the Blue Lions.

"I'm proud of the kids," Hodge said. "We will never accept losing at Hillsboro, but the effort was there by the kids, and I'm very proud of that.

"It is impossible to overcome (turnovers) when you don't recover onside kicks or have interceptions and fumbles. No team will get many wins that way."

For the Indians, they had some big-time plays in the loss at Gardner Park, but before those plays, it was the host Blue Lions who were able to score the first touchdown of the game, on a 42-yard pass from quarterback C.J. Taylor to Kyle Wilson on first-and-23 with 6:08 left in the first quarter.

Wilson took advantage of the Blue Lions' pass protection, along with missed coverage in the defensive backfield by the Indians, leaving him wide-open near the end zone for the six points.

The PAT by Garrett Schall put the Blue Lions ahead 7-0.

Hillsboro's next offensive play was intercepted by Washington, with Mason McCane grabbing the football out of the air with 5:57 left in the opening quarter.

Though Washington didn't score on the ensuing drive, the game became filled with a lot of defense and punts. It wasn't until there was 7:20 remaining in the second quarter until there were more points put on the scoreboard.

That wasn't good news for the Indians, with Taylor recovering an HHS fumble and taking the ball 30-plus yards to pay dirt and six points for a 13-0 lead, as the PAT was no good.

The turnover problems continued for the visiting Indians, as they were unable to recover an onside kick by Washington, with Skyler Hawk recovering the kick.

Washington then took advantage of the turnover, scoring five plays later when McCane caught a 9-yard pass from Taylor for the score with 5:42 left in the first half. The drive also had a pass by Taylor to Caden Cluxton that went for 40 yards, as he backpedaled to make the reception, with the HHS defense in front of him.

Trailing 19-0, the Indians finally broke their five-game SCOL scoreless streak with 1:59 left in the second quarter, and that was the point their outlook changed in the game.

The TD was from Jordan Mosley in a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Ashley Purtee's PAT made the score 19-7.

Hillsboro's first TD drive also saw Hillsboro's Mosley have a run of 13 yards and Latrell Haithcock (on third-and-6) make a 33-yard reception to the 1-yard line of the Blue Lions.

Haithcock had 161 yards on four receptions, unofficially, including a 51-yard reception late in the fourth quarter.

The Indians were first to score in the third quarter, cutting their deficit to 19-14 with Haithcock going 49 yards to pay dirt with 9:23 left in the third. Haithcock caught the pass around the 25-yard line, then broke away down the Indians' sideline until he reached the end zone. Purtee converted the PAT.

"You could see the relief on the kids' faces following the touchdown," Hodge said. "It's not like they haven't scored points for lack of effort or attitude."

Washington answered on the ensuring drive with an 18-yard score which saw Taylor elude tackles and find Kory Proby in the back of the end zone for the TD. The 18-yard reception was on fourth-and-6, with Taylor rolling right to break free of the potential tackles.

Following the Indians turning over the ball on downs at their own 46-yard line, the Blue Lions scored another TD with 3:46 left in the third, off a 43-yard pass by Taylor to Ian Edwards, who, like his teammate earlier in the game, was left wide open near the end zone. The PAT by Schall put the Blue Lions in front by a 32-14 score.

The Indians came back with a scoring drive of their own, chipping away at the Blue Lions' defense, including two third down conversion catches by Ryan Hagan.

On third-and-10 on the Indians' 35-yard line, Hagan caught a 17-yard pass, and later on third-and-9 on the Blue Lions' 47-yard line, Hagan made a clutch 23-yard reception. Haithcock followed with a 20-plus yard reception.

The TD finally came on fourth-and-goal with Mosley powering his way through the Washington defense for what was the final HHS score of the game with 28 seconds left in the third.

Washington's final TD came with 4:45 left in the fourth when McCane caught a 5-yard TD pass from Taylor on third-and-goal for the 39-22 final score following the PAT.

The win moves the Blue Lions to 3-6 overall, with them sweeping Highland County in '14. Two weeks ago, the Blue Lions defeated the McClain Tigers, 27-20, also at Gardner Park this season.

HHS has not won a regular-season game since Week 3 when they defeated the Clermont Northeastern Rockets, and they have not won a game in the SCOL since the regular-season finale in 2011, when they defeated rival McClain.

Week 10 will be the final chance for the Hillsboro Indians to gain an SCOL win, as they will face Highland County rival McClain at Richards Memorial Field in the Week 10 regular-season finale at 7:30 p.m.

The Tigers have won the past two Rotary Bowl games. MHS enters the finale with an 0-9 overall record, 0-6 in the SCOL this season.

"It should be a good game (The Rotary Bowl)," Hodge said. "The kids are excited, and we'll be ready to go. It is time to get back to work and be prepared for Week 10."