Indians lose 20-point lead in season-opening game against Western Brown

HILLSBORO — The Hillsboro Indians’ 2023 season started off strong with three first-half touchdowns and a halftime lead Friday night at Richards Memorial Field against the visiting Western Brown Broncos.

Even with a 20-14 advantage after two quarters, the Indians were unable to hold off the hard-charging Broncos, as Western Brown spoiled the season opener for the Indians with Hillsboro falling by a 38-27 score in Week 1.

Hillsboro’s first touchdown of the game came with 1:23 left in the first quarter, as sophomore quarterback Mason Dumpert found fellow sophomore Jeven Hochstuhl for a 26-yard touchdown pass and catch through the middle of the field. The PAT by junior Wes Bailey left the Indians in front, 7-0.

The aforementioned touchdown drive by Hillsboro consisted of 12 plays and 99 yards, as they chipped away with rushes by senior Austin Barrett, Hochstuhl, Dumpert, senior Jack Wagoner and a big third down catch from junior Nic Burns for a 43-yard gain to keep the drive going.

Hillsboro’s second touchdown came off a 17-yard pass from Dumpert to Hochstuhl with 5:19 left in the second quarter, as the quarterback passed to Hochstuhl in the corner of the end zone. Bailey’s PAT left the Indians ahead, 14-0.

The 14-point lead for the Indians turned into a 20-point advantage as the Indians’ defense forced a punt, and HHS began the ensuing drive on their own 23-yard line with 4:36 left in the second quarter.

The third scoring drive for the host Indians in the non-conference game saw Barrett rush for a 17-yard gain on first down from the Indians’ 21-yard line. Later in the drive, Hochstuhl reached the end zone with 2:06 left in the first half with a 43-yard rush on second-and-5 for six points and the touchdown. The PAT was no good, giving the Indians a 20-point lead. Hochstuhl finished the game with 105 yards rushing on 14 carries with one rushing touchdown, plus three receptions for 40 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

“We came out pretty hot and were moving the ball well. We had a good first half, or at least a quarter and a half, quarter and three-quarters,” HHS head coach Nathan Horne said. “We saw some good things on offense that first half.

“(Dumpert) threw the ball well in the first half. He’s come a long way. He was a halfback last year and got moved to quarterback about halfway through the year when we had some injuries and things. He’s really worked his butt off.”

Horne also spoke about others who stood out on offense in the season opener.

“Jeven and Barrett, we rely on them in our run game, with our offensive line and three seniors we’ve got,” Horne said. “That’s our core of our offense, and everything kind of plays around that. Jeven, being a sophomore, has a good future for sure.”

Western Brown answered with their first score of the game with 1:05 left in the second quarter as Brady Sutton passed to Justin Morgan for a 25-yard score. The PAT was no good as well for the Broncos, leaving HHS ahead, 20-6.

Two plays later, the Indians’ offense had an interception as a Dumpert pass was picked off by Tye Spaulding of the Broncos with 7.5 left in the second quarter. It took only one play for WBHS to score a second touchdown, as this time it was a 39-yard pass from Jayden Parker — off a pitch from Sutton on a flea-flicker — who found Brayden Harmon in the corner of the end zone for six points with 1.8 left in the first half.

A two-point conversion attempt was good, as Sutton found Isaiah Smith for the score. Even with the quick burst of points from the Broncos, the Indians held a 20-14 lead at halftime.

Burns began the third quarter for the HHS defense with an interception, giving the Indians the ball on their own 31-yard line with 11:40 left in the quarter. Hillsboro was forced to punt on a three-and-out, and the Browns came back with a 3-yard run for a third touchdown of the game with 7:16 left in the third. The TD was scored by Sutton.

Western Brown converted a 2-point conversion, as Matthew Osborne raced into the end zone, giving the Broncos a 22-20 lead.

Hillsboro didn’t back down as the Broncos overcame a 20-point deficit in the game; rather, they regained the lead two plays later with Barrett rushing for a 75-yard touchdown through the middle of the WBHS defense, racing to the end zone untouched with 6:33 left in the third. Bailey kicked the PAT for a 27-22 HHS lead. Barrett rushed for 192 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries.

Following a turnover by the Indians with 2:16 left in the third, the Broncos took advantage of the turnover, putting together a nine-play, 86-yard drive that resulted in a 14-yard score as Sutton passed to Osborne for a touchdown and the lead with 11:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. Smith caught a 2-point conversion throw from Sutton for a 30-27 lead.

Later in the fourth, the Browns reached the end zone again, with a 12-yard run by Sutton with 2:55 left in regulation, sealing the win for WBHS. Another 2-point conversion pass from Sutton to Osborne left WBHS with the final 38-27 score.

“I knew it would be a marathon for us. Hats off to (Western Brown), they have 79 on their roster, and we have 38 on our roster. That’s part of it,” Horne said. “They’re two-platooning and have whole different guys on offense and defense, and we’re playing the same guys. We just ran out of gas a little bit today. I was trying to be aggressive in the first half and trying to get as big a lead as I could, made some mistakes and lost us the game.

“This hurts tonight, for sure. Being up 20-0, that’s going to hurt, but I told them after the game, that’s part of life. You get knocked down, and it’s how you respond and get back up. I have faith in our kids to do that. We lost to Goshen last year and thought we should have played better, so I think they’ll be ready for that challenge. Goshen’s going to be close to the same team we saw last year — they had a lot of juniors that will be seniors — so it should be a good rematch.”

The Indians (0-1) are scheduled to play their Week 2 game at home on Friday, Aug. 25 against the Goshen Warriors (0-1) with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

GAME NOTES: Ian Lawson had a first-quarter sack for a loss of eight yards … Barrett had a sack with 1:16 left in the first quarter for a five-yard loss on fourth down … Barrett added another sack with 1:30 left in the second quarter for a two-yard loss.

BOX SCORE

WBHS     00 14 08 16 — 38
HHS        07 13 07 00 — 27