Williamsburg outscores Hillsboro in high-offense battle

HILLSBORO — The Hillsboro Indians and Williamsburg Wildcats mostly scored at will on Friday night in Week 4, as the non-conference foes combined for 89 points in 48 minutes of on-field play at Richards Memorial Field.

Once the fourth-quarter clock struck 0:00, it was Williamsburg left standing with the most points scored, as they defeated the Indians, 48-41, after the two teams combined for 13 touchdowns.

The Indians totaled 274 yards of offense (166 rushing, 108 passing). Williamsburg finished with 536 yards of offense (267 receiving, 269 passing). Both teams combined for 810 yards on offense.

The loss sends HHS to a 1-3 record after four games, and the win improves the Wildcats to 3-1 overall.

For the Indians, Jeven Hochstuhl played a balanced game on offense, finishing with six carries for 70 yards and three rushing touchdowns, and he also had four receptions for 71 yards in the loss.

HHS quarterback Mason Dumpert finished 8-of-10 passing for 108 yards, plus he had 10 carries for 34 yards and two touchdowns.

“Jeven played his tail off, and I’m proud of what he did tonight,” HHS head coach Nathan Horne said. “Mason threw the ball pretty well tonight. Offensively, we had a really good game, but we just couldn't hold up.

“We had a couple highlights on defense in the first half. Tre Captain had a nice interception, as he brought it back out midfield. Shawn Hottinger had a nice interception that gave us a short field. It was his first time playing safety, and I was proud of him. We had a couple turnovers on defense, and it gave us some opportunities to either hold them off or score offensively.

“Hats off to (Williamsburg),” Horne continued. “They ran the counter play really well. Seeing it on film, we knew it was coming.”

Though offense was the name of the game on Friday, it was Williamsburg’s special teams and Hillsboro’s defense that had the spotlight early on in the first quarter. Williamsburg started the game with an onside kick which they recovered. The Indians responded on the ensuing drive with an interception by Tre Captain in the end zone, taking the ball to the HHS 46-yard line with 10:35 left in the first quarter.

HHS wasn’t able to take advantage of the solid field position, as they eventually had a turnover on downs at the WHS 28-yard line with 6:01 on the clock.

The Wildcats struck first by building an 11-play drive that had gains of 28 yards and and 19 yards by Landon Hittle, but it was a 14-yard catch that led to points as quarterback Michael Corcoran found Brody Fisher for a touchdown reception, with Fisher racing past two Hillsboro defenders for the score with 1:39 left in the first quarter. The PAT by Ethan Shouse put the Wildcats ahead 7-0.

On Williamsburg’s next possession, they reached the end zone again when on a one-play drive, Troy Harris raced to the outside and went 40 yards unscathed to pay dirt with 11:40 on the second-quarter clock. The made PAT put the visitors in front by a 14-0 score.

Following a 45-yard kickoff return by Hochstuhl that put the Indians on the WHS 40-yard line, HHS took only two plays to score their first points in Week 4 as a second-and-5 play saw Hochstuhl race 35 yards for a touchdown, maneuvering past two Williamsburg players on his way to six points with 10:48 on the clock. Wesley Bailey made the extra-point kick, leaving the Indians down 14-7.

One of the better moments for the Indians defense came on the ensuing drive as Shawn Hottinger leapt and extended his body as far as it could stretch to pick off the Williamsburg pass with 7:59 left in the second quarter. 

The interception by Hottinger paid off for the Indians, because three plays later the score was tied as Hochstuhl ran for a 3-yard score on third down with 6:34 left in the second quarter. Bailey’s kick sailed through the uprights for a 14-14 score.

With defense at a premium for both sides, the tied score didn’t last long as each team still had one more first-half touchdown to score, beginning with the Wildcats. Starting at their own 21-yard line, the Wildcats had gains of 11 yards off a reception by Hittle, a 25-yard reception also by Hittle, and Hittle once again came up clutch with an 18-yard catch on second down, maneuvering through the Indians’ defense for a first down at the HHS 13-yard line.

Three plays later, it was Harris of Williamsburg racing five yards to pay dirt on third down with 1:46 left in the second quarter for six points. The PAT was good for a 21-14 Wildcat advantage.

Scoring in the first half wasn’t quite finished, as this time it was Hillsboro’s turn to tie the score for a second time in the game. HHS began their drive on their own 30-yard line, and after a second down play where Hochstuhl caught a 30-yard pass from Dumpert, Hochstuhl had another 30-yard reception off a Dumpert pass later on the same drive.

Having the ball for a first-and-goal situation on the 1-yard line, Dumpert barreled his way to the end zone behind a big push from the offensive line with 26.4 left in the first half. The Bailey PAT was good, leaving the score at 21-21, which stood when halftime arrived.

When the third quarter began, defense was at a standstill, as a combined five plays saw both teams each score a touchdown.

Williamsburg was first as a one-play drive saw Corcoran pass to Kian Stamper for a 70-yard score 15 seconds into the quarter (the 11:45 mark). The PAT was good, putting the Wildcats back in front by seven points, 28-21.

A big kickoff return by Hochstuhl put the Indians on the WHS 20-yard line. Four plays later, on fourth-and-2 from the 12-yard line, Hochstuhl raced 12 yards for a touchdown with 9:29 left in the third. The PAT was no good, leaving the Indians down 28-27.

Williamsburg scored the next two touchdowns, first with 5:04 left in the third as Gray Robinson (a former HHS student) ran for a 5-yard touchdown. After the PAT was good, Williamsburg led 35-27.

With 52.1 left in the third, Corcoran found Harris for a 61-yard touchdown. A blocked PAT by Kaiden Robbins left WHS ahead 41-27.

Hillsboro got back to within a score of the visitors when Ryan Burns had a 10-yard touchdown run with 10:41 left in the fourth quarter. The made PAT by Bailey left the Indians trailing by seven points at 41-34.

Williamsburg answered with their final touchdown of the game with 4:42 left in regulation as Harris raced for a 10-yard touchdown run, and the PAT pushed Williamsburg ahead by a 48-34 score.

The Indians scored the final touchdown of the game as Dumpert rushed for a 7-yard score with 1:42 on the clock. Bailey made the PAT for what became the final score of 48-41.

“I was pleased with how we spread the ball around today, as far as being pretty balanced — pass and run,” Horne said. “We had to throw the ball more than usual because we got behind, but we threw it well. That's one of the first times where we got to throw, and we still threw it well. I was pleased with the balance that we had today.”

For the game, Williamsburg’s Harris had four total touchdowns (two rushing, two receiving), totaling eight carries for 81 yards and four receptions for 90 yards.

Williamsburg quarterback Corcoran passed for four touchdowns, finishing 13-of-19 for 267 yards with two interceptions. 

Also for Williamsburg, Robinson totaled 16 carries for 79 yards and one TD, and Hittle totaled seven carries for 92 yards. Hittle also had four receptions for 66 yards, and Stamper caught three passes for 94 yards and one touchdown.

Next for Hillsboro (1-3) is a third consecutive home game on Friday, Sept. 20 at Richards Memorial Field vs. the East Clinton Astros (0-4) at 7 p.m.

Williamsburg (3-1) will be on the road next Friday, as they return to Highland County to face the McClain Tigers (1-3). MHS is coming off a 42-0 win over East Clinton.

GAME NOTES: Ryan Burns totaled six tackles (four solo) … Zack Brown finished with eight tackles (five solo) … Landon Jordan had four tackles (three solo) … Collin Swackhamer finished with six tackles (five solo) … John Deans had five tackles (four solo) … Dom Smart finished with eight carries for 37 yards … Ryan Burns totaled six carries for 28 yards … Tre Captain finished with one reception for 16 yards … Zack Brown had three receptions for 21 yards.

BOX SCORE
WBHS     07 14 20 07 — 48
HHS        00 21 06 14 — 41

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