Tigers win slugfest with Indians; take back Rotary Bowl WATCH THE VIDEO

In what was a brutal slugfest between the McClain Tigers and the Hillsboro Indians for 48 minutes, the Tigers were the ones who were left standing over their opponent Friday night at Richards Memorial Field, defeating cross-county rival Hillsboro, 28-15. 

The win also gave the Tigers their first winning season (6-4) in almost a decade, one year after finishing with four wins. 

"It's huge, just looking around, you see the look on the kids' faces, and you see the look on our fans' faces and the community – it was huge for us to go out (Friday) and win," McClain head coach Randy Closson said following the 26th annual Rotary Bowl win. "Hats off to Hillsboro, they really fought tooth-and-nail, and turned in a great ball game. 

"But, you know, this is big for us. Not only bringing the bowl home, but capping the best season we've had in several years. I'm awful proud of these guys." 

Hillsboro head coach Brian Spicer said he was proud of his squad for the effort they played with in their final game. 

"It's the last week, a Week 10 rivalry, everyone is playing for pride, you had two teams out there in a slugfest," Spicer said. "One team has to come up short, and that is the way it is. I don't like it to be us, but at the same time, the kids played their hearts out." 

The cool air on the fall evening wasn't enough to drop the intensity of the matchup, with the Tigers going up two possessions, giving them control of the game in the fourth quarter. 

The drive was put in place with a tipped ball by Zach Uhl, allowing Camron Cooper to gain the interception, giving the Tigers field position on the Hillsboro 45-yard line with 32.8 seconds left in the third quarter. 

MHS (3-3, 6-4) started the drive with runs by Jarred Loftis, followed with three runs by Zach Matracia and two more from Loftis, taking the ball to the HHS 8-yard line. In Loftis' runs, two were for 10 and 17 yards apiece. Loftis rushed for 81 yards on 17 carries. Matracia had 116 yards on 17 carries. 

After a 2-yard scamper by Loftis, Cooper, with a lead block by Loftis, scored a 6-yard touchdown with 8:50 remaining in the game. The 2-point conversion was no good. Cooper finished with 130 yards rushing on 19 carries. 

Hillsboro (1-5, 2-8) threatened when they regained possession, starting with a 15-yard run by Kordell Ford, followed with a 12-yard run by Matt Gallimore. Ford and quarterback Aric Carroll (who had 78 yards passing and 30 yards rushing) followed with runs that led to a fourth-and-1 on the McClain 24-yard line with 6:16 remaining. Ford rushed for 110 yards on 10 carries. 

Bodhi Hawkins powered his way for 3 yards, with Christian Wildey (who returned after missing last week) pounding the ball for 1 yard. Two plays later, Chase Gilliand caught an 14-yard pass from Carroll, near the sideline, on a fourth-and-11, for a first down, taking the ball to the MHS 8-yard line. 

But that's when the Tiger defense made their mark, bending, but not breaking, by not allowing a third fourth-down conversion. 

"I sound like a broken record, but the defense is our heart and soul. They kept us in the game tonight and ended up winning it. Hillsboro was moving the ball and threatening to score," Closson said. "Zach Uhl had a huge tackle down there, and I think he tipped the ball Camron Cooper intercepted. That's a first-year senior making a huge contribution in his first season. It was a big game for him." 

MHS forced the Indians to a fourth-and-goal on the 3-yard line, with the hopes of the Indians deflating as Uhl tackled Ford in the backfield for a turnover on downs with 2:44 remaining.

The start of the game went in favor of the Indians.

Hillsboro caused chaos in the second play of the game by forcing and recovering a fumble on their own 20-yard line. The fumble was recovered by Dow Kiefer. 

HHS was forced to punt the ball, and the second time around the Tigers went to the end zone, compiling a 91-yard, 9-play drive, which culminated with a 7-yard touchdown run by Cooper on a quarterback keeper, with Loftis leading the way. The PAT was blocked by Kiefer and Jerrad Luschek. 

The Tigers wasted little time, increasing their lead to 14 points. 

MHS finished a 13-play drive with a 16-yard touchdown run by Matracia, running toward the left side of the end zone with 9:28 left in the second quarter. After having one 2-point conversion called back, the Tigers still ended up with the two points, with Cooper finding Loftis for an 8-yard reception. In the TD drive Matracia had a run of 19 yards, which went open on a fake handoff by Cooper to Loftis, with the pitch to Matracia. 

After the Tigers scored two touchdowns, the Indians decided it was time to answer the challenge. 

The Indians looked to Gallimore to lead them to six points, and that is exactly what happened.

The senior running back began the drive on the HHS 39-yard line and proceeded to do his best Mike Alstott impersonation, barreling over the Tiger defense with runs straight up the middle. 

The heavy dose of Gallimore started with a 9-yard run, followed with runs of 3, 7, 7 and 12. The most impressive play during the drive was the final one, with Gallimore running and being tackled by three players, when he pitched the ball to a wide-open Carroll, who raced 20 yards into the end zone. Kiefer kicked the PAT to make it a 14-7 game with 7:32 left in the second quarter.

Gallimore finished with 97 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Each team then exchanged fumbles with the Tigers coming out on top, scoring on a 18-yard pass from Cooper to Matracia on a third-and-11 play. Matracia caught the pass in the middle of the field, running straight into the end zone with 15.8 left in the first half, increasing the MHS lead to 22-7. 

The closest play of the 26th annual Rotary Bowl occurred on the final play of the first half when Carroll lofted the ball toward the end zone with Kiefer coming down with the ball for a gain of 33-yards. The officials ruled the ball down at the 1-yard line as time expired in the first half. Before the Hail Mary by Carroll, he found Ford for a 20-yard completion.  

HHS scored their final TD with 11:10 left in the third when Gallimore, behind his offensive line, barreled his way for an 8-yard score. Ford helped set up the score with a run from his own 21-yard line to the MHS 9-yard line. 

Late in the third quarter, the game began to get a little too intense, with a punch being thrown and many physical hits forcing the officials to call captains for a short meeting, which was the second of the game. 

After the game, Closson said he was happy for a lot of people. 

"I'm happy for our coaches and our players. We work awful hard and for thing to come together, to see all that hard work moving in the right direction, I think that means a lot. A winning record kind of validates all those conversations we had last March, which we were down in Spartanburg, South Carolina talking to the Wofford staff, picking up some option things," he said. "This kind of makes it worth all that effort. It validates it for the kids, and all the hard work they put in, it pays off." 

Closson spoke about his seniors in his final comments. 

"Can't say enough about our seniors. They've contributed all year. They are a great group of kids. This is my sixth year, I've been with these guys a long time and seen them in junior high," he said. "To watch them grow and develop, it's rewarding, to see the young men they've turned into, and to see the effort they put together tonight and all season." 

Spicer also spoke about his senior class as the 2010 season came to a close. 

"It's the last game, but you still see them every day and there's a long time between now and graduation, so it's not like you say goodbye to them," Spicer said. "It's tough to really build relationships in one year with the group last year, they were definitely some special kids and they are going to hold a special place in my heart, but these guys have been with me for two years and you get to know them a little bit better. 

"This is a great group of kids, and I wish things would have been better in the win column for them, but I hoped they learned some things and look back at this as a positive experience, and I know I am. " 

HHS finishes with a 2-8 overall record and 1-5 mark in the SCOL. MHS goes 6-4 overall, 3-3 in the SCOL.

GAME NOTES: At halftime Ernie B. Blankenship was honored for his 52 years of broadcasting high school athletics. Friday was his final game as a full-time radio broadcaster … Christian Wildey rushed for 38 yards … Four HHS Indians caught passes … Cooper began the game with a 44 yard run … A delay of game was called on HHS due to a rare unbuckled chinstrap call … In the first quarter Matracia had a 39-yard run … HHS had four separate 15-yard penalties … Chris Stapleton recovered a fumble for HHS … John Caskey recovered a fumble for MHS … Luschek tipped a pass by the Tigers in a third-and-21 play, forcing a punt … Caskey made a big third down tackle for a loss in the fourth quarter.

SCORE BY QUARTERS
MHS    6 16 0 6 — 28
HHS    0   7  8 0 — 15