Dominating 65-point effort sends Hillsboro past East Clinton
Hillsboro senior Ryan Burns (0) rushed for over 100 yards in the Indians' 65-0 win over the East Clinton Astros in Week 5 on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (HCP Photos/Stephen Forsha)
Forty-eight minutes and 65 points later, the Hillsboro Indians won for the second time this season, and for the first time in ’24 at Richards Memorial Field, as a dominating effort led to the Indians defeating the East Clinton Astros, 65-0 in Week 5 on Friday night.
Hillsboro totaled 468 yards of offense, including 395 yards rushing and 73 passing yards. The Indians totaled nine touchdowns with eight on offense and one off a kickoff return, plus the special teams was credited with a safety after a snap sailed out of the end zone on a punt attempt by the Astros.
“It was a well-rounded win with a lot of people scoring, distributing the ball pretty well,” Hillsboro head coach Nathan Horne said. “I was proud of how the kids performed today, offensively and defensively. We threw the ball a little bit and ran the ball like we usually do. It was a good game.”
For the game, the Indians were led by Ryan Burns on the ground, totaling seven carries for 124 yards with two touchdowns, averaging 17.7 yards per carry. Dom Smart finished with six carries for 49 yards and one touchdown, and teammate Jeven Hochstuhl finished with four carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 22.2 yards per carry.
The Indians also had Tre Captain finish with three rushes for 11 yards and a touchdown, plus he recorded one catch for 14 yards. Quarterback Mason Dumpert had four carries for 61 yards for 15.5 yards per carry, and he was 3-for-3 passing for 73 yards and one touchdown pass.
Zack Brown for Hillsboro totaled one reception for 51 yards and a touchdown, Landon Jordan one catch for eight yards, Malachi Aber totaled one carry for 37 yards, Carl Carter had two strong carries for 24 yards and a touchdown, and Nic Burns finished with a 54-yard touchdown return on a kickoff.
In all, six Hillsboro players scored a touchdown in the final non-conference game of the season.
“Ryan ran hard for us today, and a bunch of them did,” Horne said. “Mason did a good job, Tre scored. We had a lot of guys scoring, the line worked hard for us and blocked well, so it was a well-rounded game.
“Carl is a great kid and plays special teams. He’s just kind of one of those guys in the locker room that is a morale guy. He’s always a positive guy, so I was glad to see him have a few carries tonight and have some success.”
Unofficially for the Astros, the Hillsboro defense held the visitors to three yards of total offense, including one penalty of -5 yards; without the penalty, the Astros had eight total yards.
Hillsboro had possession of the ball eight times on Friday and scored a touchdown on all eight possessions when on offense, starting with the first drive of the game. HHS scored their first touchdown on a 9-yard rush from Dom Smart with 10:58 left in the first quarter. The PAT was made by Wesley Bailey, who finished the game 9-for-9 in his PAT attempts.
The Indians went from a seven-point lead to a two-touchdown lead with 5:24 left in the opening quarter when Dumpert found Brown for a 51-yard touchdown pass with 5:24 left in the opening quarter. After the made PAT by Bailey, the Indians led 14-0.
HHS moved to a 21-0 advantage when Hochstuhl raced to the outside for a 32-yard score with 1:23 remaining in the first. The made PAT pushed the Indians’ lead to 21 points.
Hillsboro’s fourth touchdown drive ended with Ryan Burns powering his way to the end zone with a 3-yard run on first-and-goal with 8:21 left in the second quarter. Bailey kicked the ball through the uprights for a 28-0 lead.
The Indians increased their lead to 35 points with a six-yard run by Captain on first-and-goal from the 6-yard line off a pitch from Dumpert and run to the outside by Captain with 5:00 left in the second. Bailey made his fifth PAT for the Indians’ 35-0 advantage over the Astros.
Hillsboro took a 42-point lead later in the second quarter when Hochstuhl raced past the Astros for a 57-yard touchdown run with 39.1 left in the second quarter. Another PAT made by Bailey put the Indians ahead 42-0, a lead they took into halftime.
It took only one play for the HHS offense to score their first touchdown of the second half as Burns raced to the end zone untouched for a 72-yard touchdown run with 7:36 on the third quarter clock. Bailey’s made extra-point kick put Hillsboro ahead by a 49-0 score.
The Indians’ lead jumped to 56 points as a three-play drive ended with a 24-yard run by Aber with 10:45 left in the fourth quarter. The converted PAT gave HHS a 56-0 lead.
Next, on a punt attempt near their own end zone, the Astros snapped the ball out of the end zone for a safety, giving the Indians a 58-0 lead with 6:07 left in the game.
The ensuing kickoff saw Nic Burns race 54 yards for a touchdown with 4:17 left in regulation. The PAT was good, ending the Indians’ scoring a 65 points.
The game ended with a fourth-quarter interception by Hillsboro freshman Jayce Newton with 26 seconds on the clock.
The win moves Hillsboro to 2-3 overall, as they’ve completed their non-conference schedule at the midway point of the season. The next five games all will be FAC games, with the Indians next facing the Miami Trace Panthers (4-1) at MTHS on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.
“Trace is a good football team,” Horne said. “We were in a nail biter with them last year, so I’m sure they’ll be gunning for us. We open up the league with a tough one.
“We'll be ready for them. It'll be a challenge. We're ready for the challenge. They always put a good team together and have a good program.”
ECHS falls to 0-5 this season, as they will next face Bethel-Tate in SBAAC play in Week 6 at ECHS with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
GAME NOTES: Captain caught a 14-yard pass from Dumpert in the second quarter … On the same drive, Dumpert had a 21-yard rush on a QB keeper … Captain had a 33-yard run called back due to an offensive penalty … Smart had a rush of 28 yards for a first down that led to a TD … Burns also had a 17-yard rush late in the second quarter … The next play, Dumpert had a 52-yard rush to the end zone called back due to an illegal shift penalty … Aber had a carry of 37 yards in the third quarter … Nic Burns had a pass deflection … Collin Swackhammer finished with six assisted tackles … HHS totaled 16 solo tackles … Logan Elliott in his first game of the season returned from injury and recorded three total tackles (two solo) … Landon Holland had one tackle … JaHari Pitts recorded a solo tackle and an assisted tackle … John Deans had three assisted tackles … Jordan Lowe recorded a tackle … Carter had four assisted tackles … Michael Burns finished with three tackles (two solo).
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