Week 4 High School Football Preview: Indians, Tigers look to rebound from last Friday

Week 3 was tough for both the Hillsboro Indians and McClain Tigers as each left their home field with losses, but the good thing about high school football is this is a new week and the score on the scoreboard entering this fourth week of the season is 0-0. 

Hillsboro’s two losses this season have been hard pills to swallow, with different situations in the fourth quarter leading to the losses in both games. For the young McClain team, they are still battling hard as well, but the final results haven’t gone their way this season. 

So for Week 4, the Indians (1-2) are back at Richards Memorial Field for the second consecutive week as they host the Williamsburg Wildcats (2-1), and the Tigers (0-3) are on the road, traveling to Clinton County to face their former league foe (when they were members of the South Central Ohio League), the East Clinton Astros (0-3), as one team will leave the field with their first win of the ‘24 season. 

The rest of the FAC schedule for Week 4 consists of: 

- Jackson Ironmen (2-1) vs. Western Brown Broncos (3-0)
- Washington Blue Lions (0-3) at Granville Blue Aces (3-0)
- Chillicothe Cavaliers (0-3) at Portsmouth West (1-2)
- Miami Trace Panthers (2-1) vs. Bethel-Tate Tigers (1-2).

Results from Week 3 included: 
- Jackson 28, Wheelersburg 24
- Miami Trace 41, Logan Elm 20
- Portsmouth West 27, Hillsboro 21
- Paint Valley 30, McClain 7
- Chillicothe 20, Western Brown 38.

Here is an in-depth look at the two games featuring the two Highland County schools: 

Hillsboro Indians (1-2) vs. Williamsburg Wildcats (2-1) 

The Williamsburg Wildcats this season have wins against Purcell Marian (35-28) and Mariemont (20-0) in Week 1 and 3, both home games for the Wildcats. Their lone loss was in Week 2 at New Richmond by a 34-19 score. 

In the past six meetings between the two schools, the Indians have won five times, with those wins coming in 2017-19 and 2021-22. Last season (2023), Williamsburg defeated Hillsboro, 57-27. 

The Indians are known to run the football in their games, and this season through three games they’ve had Dom Smart lead the way in rushing yardage with 34 carries for 279 yards and four touchdowns. Smart has had two games of 100 yards rushing, and last week against Portsmouth West the senior fullback rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. 
Jeven Hochstuhl in three games in ’24 has 20 carries for 176 yards and two rushing scores, plus the junior has four receptions for 179 yards with two touchdowns, averaging 44.75 yards per reception. 

Tre Captain thus far in ‘24 has rushed for 72 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown, and he’s caught three passes this season. Ryan Burns had 84 yards rushing for the Indians on eight carries, plus he rushed for a touchdown. 

The Indians’ junior quarterback Mason Dumpert has 22 carries this season for 153 yards with two touchdowns, plus his passing stats are 8-of-16 for 214 yards and one touchdown throw. 

On defense for the Indians, Ryan Burns has 20 solo tackles this season, along with 15 assisted tackles. Collin Swackhammer has 25 solo tackles and 13 assisted tackles in the first three games of the season. 

JaHari Pitts for the Indians has 13 solo tackles this season, while Zack Brown has collected 10 solo tackles in ‘24. Hochstuhl currently has collected 14 solo tackles, and Jaiden Captain thus far in ‘24 has 16 solo tackles. 

As for the Wildcats this season, quarterback Michael Corcoran is 51-of-89 for 669 yards with four touchdown passes. Corcoran also has 23 rushes for 15 yards and one touchdown. 

Williamsburg has three rushers with over 100 yards rushing in ‘24 through the first three games, those being Gary Robinson (33-118-1), Landon Hittle (24-122-2) and Troy Harris (23-126-1). 

The WHS receivers in ‘24 who top the team stats are Kian Stamper (13-238-2), Hittle (15-179-1) and Harris (13-148-1). 

Kickoff for the Indians and Wildcats is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Richards Memorial Field in Hillsboro. 

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McClain Tigers (0-3) at East Clinton Astros (0-3)

One of these former league rivals will leave Astro Field with their first win of the 2024 season on Friday night, as this Week 4 game has both the McClain Tigers and East Clinton Astros looking for their first victory. 

These two teams have faced each other every year since 2011, with the Astros having seven wins and the Tigers winning six times. MHS has won the past three meetings (2021-23), including last season by a 22-6 score. In ’22, the Tigers defeated ECHS, 42-7, and in ‘21 it was McClain winning 34-13. 

ECHS is coming off a 22-18 loss to Summit Country Day, while the Tigers lost to the Paint Valley Bearcats by a 30-7 score. 

McClain this season has quarterback Cohen Six passing for 210 yards (20-of-34) in three games combined. In two games played this season, Owen Sykes leads MHS in rushing with 23 carries for 61 yards, and he also has two receptions for 44 yards. Zane Adams leads the Tigers this season with 12 receptions for 114 yards. 

The tackles leader in ‘24 thus far is Andrew Roeder with 18 tackles for MHS, while Noah Sponcil has 12. 

As for the Astros in ‘24 (three games), their quarterback Aiden Conger is 9-of-24 for 177 yards passing with two touchdowns. Conger also has 49 rushes for 226 yards and one touchdown run. 

Also when the Astros rush the football, standouts include Dameon Williams (50-264-1) and Clayton Kimmey (25-128-1). Kimmey is also the receiving leader for East Clinton this season, entering Week 4 with six receptions for 112 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Brett Beam has two receptions for ECHS for 57 yards. 

As a team, the Astros have four sacks this season, with three of them by Owen Roberts, as he’s also collected eight solo tackles and has 6.5 tackles for loss. Another standout for ECHS is Williams with eight solo tackles. Beam has six solo tackles (2.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks), and Kimmy has collected nine solo tackles.

Kickoff for the Tigers at Astros is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Astro Field in Lees Creek.