Indians, Blue Lions combine for 116 points as Washington holds on against Hillsboro

WASHINGTON C.H. — One hundred and sixteen points scored after 48 minutes of high-powered high school football saw the host Washington Blue Lions outlast the Hillsboro Indians by a score of 61-55 at the newly revamped Gardner Park, Friday night in Week 6. 

The game was also the opener for Frontier Athletic Conference play, and for those who love offense, this was the ticket to have, as there were drives that went over 15 plays for points, and there were drives that took one play to reach the end zone. 

Both teams battled until the final whistle sounded, as with all of the offense gained in the evening, the game ended with the Blue Lions taking a knee to run out the final seconds of the clock. 

“Our kids fought the whole game. It is one of those back-and-forth games. Each team is throwing punches the whole game, and our kids stayed in there until the very, very last second,” HHS head coach Nathan Horne said. “They could have easily folded at some point being down two scores, but didn’t, and we fought back. 

“That is a credit to our seniors and one junior on the offensive line. They just kept hammering away and our running backs just kept running hard. Tre (Captain) gutted it out the whole second half. He tweaked his ankle in the first half and gutted it out the whole second half, as I had to go away from him a little bit with our run game. Some of the other guys picked it up like Johnny (Malone), Swack (Collin Swackhamer), Braylon (Mayes) and just really the whole running crew and the whole offensive line.”

Horne continued to talk about the differences of the game. 

“We just have some young kids in the secondary, and we move them around and put them there and here, and they are trying and working hard. They are good kids and they will be good players, but we just didn’t hold up on defense,” Horne said. 

Hillsboro junior running back Jonathan Malone was the “workhorse” player on offense for the Indians, as he pounded his way through the Washington defense for 253 rushing yards on 29 carries including two touchdown runs of 53 and 21 yards.  

“Johnny ran hard. We ran that belly play, especially to that right side with Landon (Holland) blocking down, and we are blocking down with our right tackle (Garrett Greiner) and we are kicking out with our right guard (Kaiden Robbins), and that play was really humming today,” Horne said.

Senior quarterback Tre Captain finished with 30 rushes for 123 yards, including four touchdowns. The Indians had three players reach the century mark in rushing, as senior Braylon Mayes finished with 10 carries for 103 yards and one touchdown. 

Unofficially, the Indians rushed for 558 yards, as other rushing totals included senior Malachi Aber finishing with eight carries for 28 yards, and senior Collin Swackhamer totaled eight carries for 51 yards in his return to action following an injury that cost him a few games this season. 

Washington (1-0, 2-4) finished with their offense being successful in the air with junior quarterback Sam Pfeifer going for 16-of-19 for 478 yards with nine touchdown passes which included distances of 51, 29, 3, 80, 50, 40, 29, 53 and 29 yards. 

Washington’s Aden Osborne had eight receptions (three touchdowns) for 158 yards, while sophomore Champ Walters had 177 yards receiving on four receptions, including three touchdowns. The Blue Lions also had sophomore J’vion Gatewood finish with 143 yards receiving on four receptions and three TD's. 

Hillsboro (0-1, 0-6) struck first with the game's opening drive going for 16 plays and 75 yards, as the Indians used their rushing attack to chip away slowly at the Blue Lions, until they were at first-and-goal as Captain broke through with a 1-yard touchdown run. The PAT by senior Grant Shepard put the Indians ahead 7-0 with 4:15 left in the first quarter as the drive took 7:45 off the clock.

Hillsboro’s defense answered the call on Washington’s first drive of the game by forcing a turnover on downs at the 2:28 mark of the first, and it was the Indians’ offense striking again on the ensuing drive. 

Getting the ball near midfield, HHS ran out the time in the first quarter by continuing to chip away at the Blue Lions’ defense with short bursts of positive yardage, including runs from Aber, Malone and Captain, who gave HHS a first down in an 11-yard rush on the next-to-final play of the first quarter.

On fourth-and-1, the Indians drew a Washington penalty, and on the fresh set of downs, it was rushes by Malone, Mayes and Captain that put the Indians on Washington's 15-yard line on first down. Next was a power rush by Malone that put the Indians on the 6-yard line. The very next play, it was Captain blasting through the WCH defense for six points on first-and-goal from the 1-yard line for the touchdown. Shepard converted the PAT, and Hillsboro jumped out to a 14-0 lead with 10:12 left in the second quarter.

Washington, following the kickoff, had possession of the ball on their own 49-yard line, and it took them just one play to score their first points of the game, as the drive consisted of a 51-yard pass from Pfeifer to Osborne for the touchdown. The PAT was no good, making the score 14-6 with 10:03 left in the second quarter. 

HHS was forced to punt, and the Blue Lions capitalized with the ball on the HHS 45-yard line. Four plays later, following gains of 16 yards (a run by Pfeifer) and a 29-yard reception by Osborne, plus a defensive holding call on the Indians at the 10-yard line, it was a 5-yard run from Osborne that put the Blue Lions into the end zone with 5:46 left in the second. The score was tied when a 2-point conversion was completed by Pfeifer for a 14-14 score. 

Hillsboro’s offense was ready to answer, getting the ball back with 5:44 on the clock in the second, and starting with a run by Mayes for a 7-yard gain. Then came runs by Aber and Malone for a first down. Captain added a 23-yard rush on first down, taking the ball to the HHS 30-yard line. 

HHS kept gradually getting closer to the end zone with rushes by Aber, Captain and Swackhamer, but it was a 14-yard run on second down by Mayes that resulted in a touchdown with 1:19 left in the first half that put the Indians back in the lead. Shepard’s PAT was good for a 21-14 lead. 

Washington’s offense was too strong on the ensuing drive with their field position starting on the 43-yard line. Though the Blue LIons were forced into a fourth down situation, they kept the drive alive for a first down following a 15-yard penalty on HHS, putting the ball 29 yards away from the end zone. The next play, the Blue Lions scored another touchdown with a 29-yard pass from Pfeifer to senior Wesley Gibbs with .53 left that added points to the scoreboard. The PAT was good for WCH, tying the score at 21-21 as that score stood when halftime arrived. 

The third quarter started with a roar from the Blue Lions, taking them just one play with an 80-yard pass from Pfeifer to Gatewood 11 seconds into the third for a touchdown. The PAT was good for a 28-21 Washington lead. 

Washington’s defense forced a three-and-out, then their offense took possession on their own 47-yard line with 9:43 left in the third. Four plays later, they added to their lead with a 50-yard to Walters for a touchdown. The lead went to 35-21 following the PAT. 

The Indians continued to battle, and five plays later they built a fast 56-yard drive, which started on their own 35-yard line, that resulted with a 53-yard touchdown run by Malone, who broke through and past the defensive line of Washington for six points. The PAT was blocked by Washington’s Kionate Tyree for a 35-27 score with WCH still in front. 

Three plays later, the scoring continued, with Washington’s Waters catching a 40-yard touchdown pass from Pfeifer, with Walters zigging and zagging through the Indians’ defensive backfield following the catch, avoiding tackles for a touchdown with 6:02 left in the third. The PAT sailed through the uprights for a 42-27 Blue Lion lead. 

The Indians responded by putting together a 10-play rushing clinic that started from their own 33-yard line, and nearly 5:00 later they were back in the endzone. This drive chipped away at Washington’s defense with a 3-yard run by Captain, followed by Aber racing for a 12-yard gain and first down at the 36-yard line of the Indians. Next was a 10-yard burst by Malone and a 4-yard QB keeper run from Captain. 

Next came a 5-yard carry by Malone, and on third-and-1 the drive stayed going with Swackhamer rushing for a 7-yard gain to the Washington 24-yard line. Next were two more carries by Swackhamer for gains of five and six yards for a first down at the Blue Lions 13-yard line. 

Malone then carried the ball 12 yards to the 1-yard line, and on first-and-goal Captain finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run at the goal line with 2:30 left in the third, Again, the PAT was blocked by Washington, leading the Indians down by nine points at 42-33. 

In another quick offensive explosion, the Blue Lions took just four plays to get back to the end zone to extend their lead to 15 points as Osborne caught a 29-yard pass from Pfeifer with .28 left in the third on a second-and-18 play from the 29-yard line as Osborne caught the ball and fended off numerous defenders for the score. The PAT was no good for a 48-33 score. 

The time, on the ensuing drive, it was the Indians with the quick strike to the end zone as Mayes had a 58-yard run to paydirt, reaching the end zone on the first play of the drive with .14 left in the third quarter. The 2-point attempt was no good, leaving the Indians trailing by nine points at 48-39. 

The Blue Lions answered with a 1-play drive of their own as time expired in the third, making it the third touchdown scored in a span of 28 seconds of game time to end the third with Walters catching a 53-yard touchdown throw from Pfeifer, with Walters, again, maneuvering his way through the Indians’ defense in varying directions for the touchdown with 0:00 left in the third. Washington converted their PAT attempt for a 55-39 lead, capping off a 34-point third quarter for the Blue Lions. 

Hillsboro didn’t fold, as instead they had another drive which chipped away at the Blue Lions’ defense, which consisted of 15 plays of hard-nosed rushing football that resulted in six points with a 1-yard run by Captain on second-and-goal with 4:14 left in the fourth. HHS made the 2-point attempt as Captain passed to Swackhamer for the two points. The score left HHS trailing by just eight points at 55-47. 

Then came some confusion, but also positive luck for the Indians on defense. The ensuing drive had some chaos that saw the Indians force QB pressure that resulted in a sack by the duo of junior Connor Yochum and senior Jordan Lowe, both of whom were in the backfield on the important defensive play that sent WCH to their own 4-yard line and an 8-yard loss. 

“The defensive line held up and got some sacks today,” Horne said.

Following an incompletion, and a flag for delay of game, the wilder, more confusing play occurred on third-and-32 as another flag was thrown in the backfield near or in the endzone, followed by the pass being thrown, and both teams jumping for the ball and coming down with it at the same time. 

The officials eventually announced, following a conference, that the Indians had recovered a fumble and it was their ball, as it was HHS eventually gaining possession of the ball on the Washington 39-yard line once everything was settled and discussed by the officiating crew. 

After the confusing sequence of events, the Indians had possession of the ball, and it was Malone running the ball on first down to the 26-yard line. Then the junior rushed the ball another six yards, followed by Aber taking the ball to the 3-yard line after a 1-yard carry. 

The drive ended with Hillsboro tying the score at 55-55 with a 21-yard run by Malone for a touchdown with 1:22 left in the fourth, followed by the junior rushing to paydirt on the 2-point conversion run to tie the score. 

It was another big play by the Blue Lions that lifted them into the lead, taking just two plays following a short kick on the kickoff that gave WCH the ball on their own 48-yard line. Following a gain of 23 yards on a run by Pfeifer, a 29-yard touchdown play by Gatewood put Washington back ahead with .41 left in regulation. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good, putting Washington ahead 61-55. 

Hillsboro had one final opportunity where the final drive of the game for the Indians resulted in a turnover, followed by a personal foul called on both teams and an ejection for the Blue Lions with 5.0 left in the game. WCH eventually kneeled the ball as time expired to end the game. 

HHS now stands at 0-1 in the FAC and 0-6 overall. Washington improves to 1-0 in the FAC and 2-4 overall. 

Next for Hillsboro is an away game against the Jackson Ironmen at JHS with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Washington is scheduled to face the McClain Tigers at WCH, with it being the Blue Lions’ scheduled homecoming game at 7 p.m.

BOX SCORE
HHS    07 14 18 16 — 55
WHS    00 21 34 06 — 61