Indians post 10-0 mark in new league

(Continued from last week.)

In last week’s article, I mentioned the 1992 Hillsboro football team which compiled the Indians’ first ever perfect season, and was rewarded with a trip to the state playoffs.

This, of course, was a great accomplishment, and was only achieved with a great deal of hard work and sacrifice.

The real turning point of the 1992 season was the Hillsboro vs. McClain game, at Greenfield, Oct. 9.

The Indians had snaked out a win in their opening game of the season over tough Paint Valley, when Sean Longstreth nailed a last second game-winning field goal.

In their second game, the Red and White beat Wilmington by two touchdowns.

This was followed by three rather easy wins (Unioto and two SBAL teams). So, Hillsboro traveled to Greenfield Oct. 9, with a 5-0 record.

The Tigers were only 2-3, with wins over Frankfort Adena and Huntington. Hillsboro appeared to have a slight advantage offensively, but McClain had a very tough defensive unit.

On their first possession, the Indians put on an impressive 93-yard touchdown drive. McClain did not allow another touchdown in the game, but Sean Longstreth hit a 33-yard field goal in the second quarter.

McClain scored just before the halftime intermission on a deflected pass, followed by an Andy Bolender to Paul Bond pass play as time ran out.

The rest of the game was fought in the trenches.

The Tigers’ fate was sealed when Brett Barton and Eric Eastridge batted down McClain pass attempts near the goal line with only seconds remaining in the game.

The final score was Hillsboro 9, McClain 7. This was their closest game of the season. The Red and White won all the rest of their regular season games by an average 23-8, earning their first Div. II state playoff berth in history.

The final game of the Hillsboro regular season, which was also the final game of the Southern Buckeye Conference season, was played at Hillsboro Friday, Nov. 6, against Western Brown. The visiting Broncos took command after about 14 minutes of football, and led 13-0.

With nine minutes remaining in the first half, the Indians fumbled the ball deep in their own territory and the home crowd shook their heads in disbelief.

Western Brown moved the ball to the 10-yard line, where the Indians’ defense stiffened. On third and eight, WB quarterback Buddy Moore dropped back to pass. But Indian linebacker Matt Kruse intercepted the pass, killing the drive.

Chad Price scored a touchdown in the second quarter for Hillsboro. Chad Downing and Rodney Captain racked up second half touchdowns for the Red and White. The Indians recorded an exciting come-from-behind 21-13 win over the Broncos, taking the league championship with a 6-0 SBC record.

The full SBC standings were:

Hillsboro 6-0, 10-0
Western Brown 5-1, 8-2
New Richmond 3-3, 5-5
Williamsburg 3-3, 4-6
Bethel Tate 3-3, 4-6
Clermont NE 1-5, 11-9
Blanchester 0-6, 1-9

The Indians finished the regular season ranked third in the Harbin Computer Ratings in Division II, Region 8. They would meet the Dayton Chaminade-Julienne Eagles (9-1) at Welcome Stadium in Dayton. Chaminade was the region’s top-rated rated team.

(Continued next week.)

Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.