Week 1 Football Pregame Previews and Notebook: Hillsboro, McClain both begin ’24 season away from Highland County
The 2024 high school football season is set to kick off this Friday night, and for the purposes of Highland County, both the Hillsboro Indians and McClain Tigers start the season on the road, representing the Frontier Athletic Conference.
Four of the six teams in the FAC will be starting their ’24 seasons on the road, as below the Week 1 schedule is:
• Hillsboro at Western Brown
• McClain at Adena
• Jackson at Logan
• Washington at London
• Chillicothe vs. Bloom-Carroll
• Miami Trace vs. Waverly.
Last year, the FAC football champion was Jackson with a perfect 5-0 record in conference play, followed by Hillsboro and Miami Trace with 3-2 records within the conference. The rest of the FAC records were McClain (2-3), Washington (2-3) and Chillicothe (0-5).
Jackson has won the last three FAC football championships and no less than a share of five conference championships in seven previous seasons, with the FAC beginning play in 2017.
Here are a list of FAC football champions since ’17:
• 2017: Chillicothe (5-0)
• 2018: Jackson/Hillsboro (4-1)
• 2019: Jackson: (5-0)
• 2020: Chillicothe: (5-0)
• 2021: Jackson: (5-0)
• 2022: Jackson: (5-0)
• 2023: Jackson: (5-0).
Now looking at the ’24 season, there is a lot of excitement about the FAC, especially when it comes to this being Week 1 and getting back to football stadiums all across southern Ohio, because it is a special time of the year when high school football returns to the forefront of athletics.
Next let’s take a look at the two Highland County games in detail for Week 1:
Hillsboro Indians (0-0) at Western Brown Broncos (0-0)
This annual start-to-the-season game was closer than the score indicated last season, as the Indians held a 20-point lead in the first half, but eventually lost by a 38-27 score to the Broncos at Richards Memorial Field. HHS finished 5-6 in ’23, making the playoffs.
From there, the Broncos won just two more games last season, going 3-8 overall after losing a playoff game to Tippecanoe, as they ended the ’23 season with four consecutive losses to Clinton-Massie (63-14), Goshen (34-31), Wilmington (35-21) and the aforementioned Tippecanoe (49-20).
Looking back at the game last season, returning WBHS starting quarterback Brady Sutton (a senior) was 16-of-26 for 235 yards passing (9.0 yards per completion) with two touchdown passes and one interception, which was intercepted by current HHS senior Nic Burns. Sutton also rushed for 143 yards on 16 carries with two touchdown runs, averaging 8.9 yards per carry. His longest run of the game was 19 yards.
Also returning to the Broncos from the game a season ago is junior Justin Morgan, who against the Indians last season rushed for 34 yards on eight carries, but also caught three passes for 78 yards and had a TD reception.
When looking at what the Indians did last season, Jeven Hochstuhl (currently a junior) had a 26-yard and 19-yard touchdown reception (both passes from returning starting quarterback junior Mason Dumpert), plus rushed for a 43-yard touchdown all in the first half vs. the Broncos last season at Richards Memorial Field. Hochstuhl finished the game last season with 14 carries for 105 yards and one rushing TD, plus had three receptions for 40 yards and the two receiving scores.
This has a chance to be an exciting game for all four quarters, as last year proved what the Indians are capable of against the Broncos. Also, the Indians played well in their scrimmage vs. Westfall this past Friday night, so that was a good way to end the scrimmage schedule as they head into the regular season.
HHS last defeated the Broncos in 2019 by a 16-14 score, with WBHS currently on a four-game winning streak vs. the Indians.
The Indians and Broncos are scheduled to kick off at LaRosa’s Field in Mt. Orab at 7 p.m.
McClain Tigers (0-0) at Adena Warriors (0-0)
Here is another annual game to start the high school football season, as the McClain Tigers are traveling to Ross County in Frankfort to face the host Adena Warriors at Bostic Field in an FAC vs. SVC (Scioto Valley Conference) showdown.
Last season, the Tigers defeated the Warriors 41-23 at McClain Field in Greenfield, and in that win McClain had a 21-point second quarter, plus a seven-point first quarter and 13 points in the third. Overall, the Tigers were 6-5 in ’23, making the playoffs.
Many of the players who were responsible for the 41 points by MHS have graduated, so this year’s game between the Tigers and Warriors has a bit of unknown as to what might happen. The Tigers are a young team and will have players making their first starts of their varsity careers this Friday night, but there is some veteran leadership at McClain as well.
Senior Cohen Six was on the roster last season and has had varsity time in the past, but this year he takes over as the starting QB with the graduation of Drake Stapleton, last year’s starting QB.
Last season, the Warriors finished 2-8 overall with a 2-5 record in the SVC. MHS has won the past three meetings between the two teams, with Adena’s last win against McClain coming back in 2019 (they did not face each other in 2020).
Quick info from the rest of the Week 1 FAC matchups:
Jackson Ironmen (0-0) at Logan Chieftains (0-0)
Last season JHS defeated Logan 22-0 in the season opener, as the Ironmen went on to have an overall record of 10-2, going 1-1 in the playoffs. JHS also has the longest tenured head coach in the FAC, as Andy Hall is entering his 16th season as HC for the Ironmen.
Washington Blue Lions (0-0) at London Red Raiders (0-0)
This is an old-school SCOL battle, as both teams were former members of the South Central Ohio League. Washington finished 5-6 last season and lost last year’s season opener to London, 62-14, as the Red Raiders finished with an 11-1 overall record.
Chillicothe Cavaliers (0-0) vs. Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs (0-0)
The Cavaliers had a rare “off season” in ’23, finishing with one win and missing the playoffs with a 1-9 overall record. They should be an improved team in ’24, but they have a strong test ahead of them in Week 1 against Bloom-Carroll. The two teams didn’t face each other in ’23.
BCHS has had at least 10 wins in a season for the past three years, including two seasons of 14 wins. Tom Wilson of the Lancaster Eagle Gazette wrote in a preview: “The Bulldogs return another talented roster, led by All-Ohio and third-year starting quarterback Ethan Thanthanavong.”
Miami Trace Panthers (0-0) vs. Waverly Tigers (0-0)
There have been a lot of positive comments when speaking to others about the FAC when it to the Miami Trace Panthers. They could be the team to beat in the conference, or they will at least make things tough on the rest of the conference in ’24. It will be exciting to see what the Panthers can accomplish this season.
As for facing the Waverly Tigers in the ’24 season opener, the Panthers defeated the Tigers 27-26 last season, and the two teams have split the season opener in the past two meetings. MTHS finished the ’23 season with a 7-5 record and have some very talented players returning to the roster in ’24. This should be a fun game for those in attendance.
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