Indians looking for first SCOL victory
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Hillsboro Indians are set to take the road again this week, in one of their longest trips this season, as they will battle the Madison-Plains Golden Eagles in South Central Ohio League action this Friday night at Madison-Plains High School.
The Indians have a low league record at 0-2 this season, but stand at 4-2 overall by going undefeated in all four non-league games this year.
Last week, the Indians stumbled at times, but behind senior Airic Steagall the Tribe never relinquished the lead in the final quarter, winning 26-6 against the Blanchester Wildcats.
"Airic (Steagall) stepped it up, and the rest of our guys built off that," Hillsboro head coach Brian Spicer said. "He got caught up in a pile, fighting for the football, and he ended up getting poked in the eye. After that, he got mad and he, along with the rest of the team, played with more fire and intensity for the rest of the game."
As for the Golden Eagles, they already have a SCOL victory this season defeating the McClain Tigers 7-6.
M-P (1-2, 2-4) is said to be more of a run oriented team according to
Spicer.
"Like most teams in the SCOL they have a run oriented offense. They use a balanced pro-set, which allows us to play more of a base defense."
The quarterback for the Golden Eagles is freshman Seth Castro. Last week, in their loss to the Miami Trace Panthers, Castro passed for 174 yards; going 9 of 25, while throwing for one touchdown.
The leading receiver for M-P is Matt McCollister. In week six McCollister had a productive week by gaining 133 yards on six receptions. He also had one touchdown.
The running game for the Golden Eagles consists of three backs, with Jake Allen leading. Allen led the Golden Eagles' rushing attack with 32 yards on eight carries vs. MTHS.
"They (MPHS) usually have a tailback, and fullback in the backfield," Spicer said. "They will use some reverses, but their tailback will get the bulk of the carries. They also will use some of the option game. Our defense will have to dig in and play tough."
Allen is described as more of a tough runner by Spicer.
"He is more of a power runner with the type of schemes they use," he said. "They use more off-tackle than plays to the outside. Their fullback does run the ball a little bit, but the game plan might change from week to week. They run the ball extremely well and I don't anticipate shutting them out."
As for the receiving core of the Golden Eagles, stopping them will be a key for the Indian defense if they want to gain their first win of the season in the SCOL.
"They have two wide receivers, and use their flanker backs on reverses," Spicer said. "In the limited number of times they do throw the ball, it usually goes to the split-end. They mostly use their tight end for extra protection on drop backs."
Madison-Plains have held some teams to low offensive scoring this season. They held the 4-2 McClain Tigers to just six points in week five, and in week one allowed just 11 points to Cedarville.
One problem for the Indians is for them to get onto the field, as last week showed they can lose momentum if the Golden Eagles use up the clock with their aggressive running style.
"Their style of offense keeps us off the field and that takes us out of our rhythm," Spicer said. "It can cause the offense to stall and that happened some last week. Long drives affect the overall production of the offense."
The defense of M-P is a 3-4, but can look like a 5-2.
"Basically they have a seven man front, with a four deep look," the Hillsboro coach said. "They rotate safeties and use some man coverage. They stay in a seven-man front, but what they switch to will determine what we will do with our offense."
One thing Spicer wants from his team is four complete quarters of football. He said he and his coaching staff have yet to see a complete game from the team this season.
"We won all four of our non-league game this season and we are really pleased with that," he said. "But, we still haven¹t played our best game. I feel when we do play our best game, we can beat anybody. I've seen glimpses of it each game, but I am still waiting for four, good quarters of football."
The Indians (0-2, 4-2), who are undefeated on the road, will kickoff against the Golden Eagles at 7:30 p.m. [[In-content Ad]]
The Indians have a low league record at 0-2 this season, but stand at 4-2 overall by going undefeated in all four non-league games this year.
Last week, the Indians stumbled at times, but behind senior Airic Steagall the Tribe never relinquished the lead in the final quarter, winning 26-6 against the Blanchester Wildcats.
"Airic (Steagall) stepped it up, and the rest of our guys built off that," Hillsboro head coach Brian Spicer said. "He got caught up in a pile, fighting for the football, and he ended up getting poked in the eye. After that, he got mad and he, along with the rest of the team, played with more fire and intensity for the rest of the game."
As for the Golden Eagles, they already have a SCOL victory this season defeating the McClain Tigers 7-6.
M-P (1-2, 2-4) is said to be more of a run oriented team according to
Spicer.
"Like most teams in the SCOL they have a run oriented offense. They use a balanced pro-set, which allows us to play more of a base defense."
The quarterback for the Golden Eagles is freshman Seth Castro. Last week, in their loss to the Miami Trace Panthers, Castro passed for 174 yards; going 9 of 25, while throwing for one touchdown.
The leading receiver for M-P is Matt McCollister. In week six McCollister had a productive week by gaining 133 yards on six receptions. He also had one touchdown.
The running game for the Golden Eagles consists of three backs, with Jake Allen leading. Allen led the Golden Eagles' rushing attack with 32 yards on eight carries vs. MTHS.
"They (MPHS) usually have a tailback, and fullback in the backfield," Spicer said. "They will use some reverses, but their tailback will get the bulk of the carries. They also will use some of the option game. Our defense will have to dig in and play tough."
Allen is described as more of a tough runner by Spicer.
"He is more of a power runner with the type of schemes they use," he said. "They use more off-tackle than plays to the outside. Their fullback does run the ball a little bit, but the game plan might change from week to week. They run the ball extremely well and I don't anticipate shutting them out."
As for the receiving core of the Golden Eagles, stopping them will be a key for the Indian defense if they want to gain their first win of the season in the SCOL.
"They have two wide receivers, and use their flanker backs on reverses," Spicer said. "In the limited number of times they do throw the ball, it usually goes to the split-end. They mostly use their tight end for extra protection on drop backs."
Madison-Plains have held some teams to low offensive scoring this season. They held the 4-2 McClain Tigers to just six points in week five, and in week one allowed just 11 points to Cedarville.
One problem for the Indians is for them to get onto the field, as last week showed they can lose momentum if the Golden Eagles use up the clock with their aggressive running style.
"Their style of offense keeps us off the field and that takes us out of our rhythm," Spicer said. "It can cause the offense to stall and that happened some last week. Long drives affect the overall production of the offense."
The defense of M-P is a 3-4, but can look like a 5-2.
"Basically they have a seven man front, with a four deep look," the Hillsboro coach said. "They rotate safeties and use some man coverage. They stay in a seven-man front, but what they switch to will determine what we will do with our offense."
One thing Spicer wants from his team is four complete quarters of football. He said he and his coaching staff have yet to see a complete game from the team this season.
"We won all four of our non-league game this season and we are really pleased with that," he said. "But, we still haven¹t played our best game. I feel when we do play our best game, we can beat anybody. I've seen glimpses of it each game, but I am still waiting for four, good quarters of football."
The Indians (0-2, 4-2), who are undefeated on the road, will kickoff against the Golden Eagles at 7:30 p.m. [[In-content Ad]]