Hillsboro drops FAC game at Jackson

The Hillsboro Indians lost their Week 9 Frontier Athletic Conference showdown against the Jackson Ironmen, 49-0 at Alumni Stadium in Jackson, Friday night.

The victory is Jackson's 19th consecutive win in the FAC, as they've clinched no less than a share of the conference championship for the fourth consecutive season, and sixth overall since the conference started in 2017.

The Ironmen scored on each possession in the game, leading 21-0 at the end of the first quarter, followed by a halftime lead over the Indians by a score of 35-0.

After briefly fumbling and recovering the ball on their first play, Jackson scored on second down on a 70-yard pass play from quarterback Bodhi Wolford to Ryan Seimetz. The PAT by Thatcher Brown was good for a 7-0 lead with 11:04 on the first-quarter clock.

On their next possession, Wolford found a wide-open Tucker Williams in the end zone with a pass for a 19-yard score, taking a 14-0 lead after Brown’s PAT with 6:49 left in the first.

The third Jackson touchdown of the opening quarter saw a six-play, 51-yard drive with a 10-yard rush into the end zone by Nolan Johnson. Following the kick by Brown, Jackson led 21-0 with 2:03 left in the quarter. 

Second-quarter scoring for the Ironmen consisted of another pass by Wolford into the end zone, this time to Gaven Jones. That was followed later by a rush by Charlie Woodard, who managed to evade multiple tackle attempts by Hillsboro to reach pay dirt.

In the second half, Jackson led 42-0 after three quarters, and in the fourth quarter JHS held a lead of 49 points, as they added seven points to their final total in each quarter.

Third-quarter scoring for Jackson included a 23-yard by Johnson, while points in the fourth quarter consisted of the first varsity career touchdown for freshman Tate Rosler. Also scoring an extra point for JHS in the fourth quarter was Tristan Williams.

Hillsboro was led by Tre Captain with seven carries for 45 yards and Jeven Hochstuhl with eight carries for 20 yards. Logan Elliott also had seven carries for 18 yards.

On defense, Collin Swackhamer led the Indians with nine tackles (one solo). Malachi Aber had eight tackles (three solo). Finishing with five tackles each were Jaiden Captain (four solo) and Zack Brown (two solo). Logan Elliott added four tackles, and Landon Jordan had three.

For the Ironmen, Wolford went 11-for-12 passing, including going a perfect 11-for-11 in the first half, for 240 yards and four touchdowns.

Jackson’s leading rusher was Johnson with 10 carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Rosler had four carries for 25 yards and one touchdown. 

Seimetz had six receptions for 157 yards and one touchdown. Woodard had two receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown; Jones had two receptions for 24 yards and a touchdown; and Williams had one reception for 19 yards and a touchdown.

The loss sends the Indians to a 1-3 record in the FAC, with an overall record of 3-6. 

Jackson improves to 4-0 in the FAC, with an overall record of 7-2.

Jackson will face the Chillicothe Cavaliers (2-2, 2-7) on Friday, Oct. 25 in Week 10, as a win will give the Ironmen the outright FAC football championship.

Next for the Indians is a Week 10 season finale game on Friday, Oct. 25 as they'll host the annual Rotary Bowl game against FAC and Highland County rival, the McClain Tigers, at 7 p.m. at Richards Memorial Field in Hillsboro. 

(Stats courtesy of Larry Scruggs and Tate Erkenbrecher for HHS and Pete Wilson of WKOV Mix 96.7 FM for JHS.)

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