Week 2 High School Football Preview: McClain, Hillsboro looking for first wins of ’24 season

Week one is in the books, and as week two takes place Friday night in the final week of August, both the Hillsboro Indians and McClain Tigers will be looking to gain their first win of the 2024 season. 

Last Friday (Aug. 23) the McClain Tigers lost at Adena by a 24-8 score, while the Hillsboro Indians suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Western Broncos 42-39, giving up the go-ahead and game-winning score with .02 left in the fourth quarter. 

Now it is time to look at their Week 2 games where the Indians will be on the road at the Goshen Warriors, while the Tigers will be at McClain Field, hosting the Northwest Mohawks. 

As of Thursday evening, the Indians are scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Goshen, while the Tigers and Mohawks are now scheduled for a kickoff of 8 p.m. 

Here is a look at the two games for the Highland County schools. 

McClain Tigers (0-1) vs. Northwest Mohawks (0-1) (8 p.m.)

The Mohawks are traveling from McDermott to Greenfield for a non-conference game after suffering a 26-0 loss to Piketon in Week 1. 

NWHS trailed by a 6-0 score at halftime last Friday night against Piketon but allowed 20 points in the second half. The Mohawks allowed 168 yards in the air off six completions. 

Also last week, the Mohawks saw their quarterback sacked twice, they lost three fumbles and allowed two passing touchdowns. NWHS also gave up 96 yards rushing to Piketon and two rushing touchdowns. 

Last season, McClain won on the road at Northwest by a 14-13 score. 

As for MHS last Friday, Owen Sykes led MHS with 14 carries for 47 yards, and Zane Adams was the receiving leader with eight receptions for 65 yards. 

MHS played two quarterbacks in Week 1 with Cohen Six going 10-for-12 for 83 yards with two interceptions, while Hudson Lovett was 3-for-7 for 29 yards. 

Six had McClain’s lone touchdown, coming off a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter. He also had a 2-point conversion run. 

This should be a closely played game just like last season, as the two teams are building new rosters as compared to last season. 

Each team is looking for their first win of the season entering the game, which most of the time makes for a competitive contest. 

Hillsboro Indians (0-1) at Goshen Warriors (0-1) (7 p.m.)

Here is another game where the two teams are looking for their first win of the ’24 season, though each team had a bit of a different experience in Week 1. 

Goshen is coming off a tough 35-0 loss in Week 1 against Monroe, as GHS was held to just seven first downs for the entire game and 108 total yards of offense. 

Goshen’s leading passer in Week 1 was Caden Slusher, who was 6-for-12 for 44 yards passing. 

The leading rusher for GHS was Camden Telinda, finishing with 12 carries for 39 yards. Zachary Keitz lead the Warriors in receiving with two receptions for 21 yards. 

GHS trailed 21-0 at halftime last Friday (Aug. 23) , then allowed a touchdown in both the third and fourth quarters.

Last season, the Indians defeated Goshen at Richards Memorial Field in Hillsboro by a 56-19 score. 

As for HHS, even with their three-point loss coming in the final seconds in Week 1, they had a very solid effort with two interceptions on defense (Jaiden Captain and Shawn Hottinger), plus HHS on offense had a 94-yard touchdown reception by Jeven Hochstuhl and an 80-yard run for a touchdowns by Dom Smart. 

For the game, Smart finished with 10 carries for 105 yards and one touchdown. Hochstuhl totaled six carries for 87 yards and two rushing touchdowns, plus he had one reception for a 94-yards.

This is a winnable game for the Indians on Friday night in Week 2.

The rest of the FAC schedule consists of: 

— Chillicothe Cavaliers (0-1) vs. London Red Raiders (1-0) (8 p.m.)

— Washington Blue Lions (0-1) vs. Western Brown Broncos (1-0) (7:30 p.m.)

— Jackson Ironmen (1-0) vs. Ironton Tigers (1-0) (8 p.m.)

— Miami Trace Panthers (0-1) at Wilmington Hurricane (1-0) (7 p.m.)