Indians post early season wins in 1989
By
Bob Patton-
The 1989 South Central Ohio League football season opened Aug. 25 with several non-league games.
The Hillsboro Indians, under veteran coach Jim Horne, opened at Paint Valley, where they were outplayed on both sides of the ball and thumped by the Bearcats, 28-7. The Indians were tentative and did not play particularly well, although a few of them did have good games. Rhett Snyder, Brett Horton, tackle Pat Spray and sophomore Derrick Smith showed some promise.
Elsewhere, Miami Trace was beaten by Hamilton Township, 12-7; Wilmington downed Kenton Ridge, 35-8; McClain was defeated by Adena, 14-6; and Logan Elm edged Circleville, 9-7. Circleville, who had formally withdrawn from the SCOL during the 1988 season, had to participate in the league in 1989 in order to fulfill contractual obligations. So, 1989-90 would be the final year for the Roundtowners as a member of the South Central Ohio League.
On Friday, Sept. 1, the Hillsboro Indians traveled to New Richmond, where they would tangle with the Lions for the 18th time over the past several years. The Indians had defeated New Richmond nine times and lost to them eight times, as the two programs had been a good match.
The 1989 Indians would be a much bigger team than the Lions, who would have to rely on speed if they were to have a chance to upend the Tribe.
The Indians had posted a respectable 18-6 non-league record over the preceding five years. Was it excellent play against non-league opposition? Or could it have been the result of playing a weak non-conference schedule?
On the other side of the coin, from 1966-76, the Tribe had gone 7-52 in South Central Ohio League football competition. New Richmond outgained the Indians in passing yards, 89-41. Each team rolled up 13 first downs. But the Indians rushed for almost 300 yards to 103 yards for the Lions, and Derrick Smith carried the pigskin 14 times for 110 yards, as the visitors from Hillsboro trounced NR, 25-7.
In other games, Paint Valley walloped the McClain Tigers 46-12. Wilmington fell to Miamisburg, 41-32. Portsmouth edged Washington, 22-16. Circleville sneaked out a narrow 9-7 win over Teays Valley, and Chillicothe beat Trace, 19-14.
On Sept. 8, McClain would entertain Jamestown Greeneview; Circleville would travel to Jackson; Chillicothe would meet the Blue Lions at Washington C.H.; Miami Trace would challenge Dayton Colonel White; and Hillsboro would meet a very weak Unioto team.
Unioto had lost a tax levy and had canceled football for this season. But a group of concerned citizens managed to raise more than $30,000 to salvage the football program (no, I don’t know how much they could have raised to save the mathematics program!), and the school board had elected to go ahead with the schedule. However, three or four promising athletes had already transferred out of the district.
Also, in the first game of the season, star quarterback Tim Nichols went down with a season-ending injury. Hillsboro and Unioto had met on the football field 16 times previously. The Indians had won 11 of the 16 games, including the last seven. The Indians rolled over Unioto, 39-0. In Wilmington, the ’Cane shut out Little Miami, 24-0. McClain hosted Jamestown and thumped the Rams, 35-0.
After only three non-league contests, Hillsboro and Wilmington led the field with 2-1 records, while McClain, Miami Trace and Circleville were all tied at 1-2 and Washington, who had played three very rugged opponents, stood on the bottom rung with an 0-3 mark. Coach Roy Lucas called the Blue Lions “the best 0-3 team in the state.”
In the fourth week of play, Washington hosted Logan. The Chieftains came in with a 3-0 record and were ranked 11th in the state. Miami Trace traveled to
Portsmouth, and Bishop Hartley invaded Greenfield to take on the Tigers.
In other games, Wilmington met Goshen, and the Hillsboro Indians took the long ride to Wheelersburg to battle the Pirates, who were ranked fourth in the state in Div. IV.
Hartley shut out McClain, 38-0, and Goshen slipped by Wilmington, 7-3. Washington won their first game of the season by downing the Logan Chieftains, 21-7, and Miami Trace took care of Portsmouth, 14-7.
In Wheelersburg, Hillsboro put up a great battle, but the Indians were eventually worn down by the Pirates. Wheelersburg captured the win, 27-21.
September 22 found Circleville visiting Miami Trace, where the always tough Panthers ran over, around and through the Tigers for a 44-3 SCOL victory. The same night, Washington traveled to Greenfield and plastered the purple-and-gold, 28-15. In Wilmington, the Hillsboro Indians thumped the Hurricane 20-6, when senior cornerback Klay Maynard, who was carried off the field at Wheelersburg the previous Friday night with what was believed to be cracked ribs, intercepted four Wilmington passes and scored a two-point conversion. This marked the second time in his high school career that Maynard had intercepted four passes in one game.
The following Friday evening saw the Miami Trace Panthers bringing their show to Hillsboro, where they would try to down the Tribe for the ninth consecutive time. The Panthers had defeated the Indians 22 of the last 23 meetings between the two schools. Hillsboro was not the only SCOL school who had trouble beating Trace. The Panthers had either won the league football title or tied for it 13 of the past 15 years.
In order to have a realistic chance, the Indians would have to avoid turning the ball over and avoid penalties.
Hillsboro trailed Miami Trace, 13-0, late in the third quarter. But the determined Indians refused to quit. They battled back and forced three overtimes. In the end, the Panthers came out on top, 25-19. The Indians outgained Trace, 363- 233, and sacked quarterback Jason Leeds nine times. Tribe quarterback Brian Williamson connected on 23 of 37 passes for 236 yards, threw two TD passes and was intercepted twice. At one point in the game, he completed 10 straight passes. He also rushed for 16 yards. The
Indians had a great chance to win the game in the second overtime. The Panthers scored on a one-yard run, but Klay Maynard intercepted the pass for a two-point conversion. Three plays later, Williamson’s pass to Maynard was good for a Hillsboro touchdown, tying the score at 19-all. All the Tribe had to do was hit the extra point, and the game was theirs. But Snyder’s kick passed just under the crossbar, and a third overtime resulted.
In the third O.T., the Indians had a third down, two inches from the goal line. The ball was handed to fullback Brett Horton, but a Miami Trace helmet jarred the ball from his grasp for a fumble. A few plays later, the Panthers scored from four yards out, ending one of the best high school games ever played at John Wayne Richards Memorial Field.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
The Hillsboro Indians, under veteran coach Jim Horne, opened at Paint Valley, where they were outplayed on both sides of the ball and thumped by the Bearcats, 28-7. The Indians were tentative and did not play particularly well, although a few of them did have good games. Rhett Snyder, Brett Horton, tackle Pat Spray and sophomore Derrick Smith showed some promise.
Elsewhere, Miami Trace was beaten by Hamilton Township, 12-7; Wilmington downed Kenton Ridge, 35-8; McClain was defeated by Adena, 14-6; and Logan Elm edged Circleville, 9-7. Circleville, who had formally withdrawn from the SCOL during the 1988 season, had to participate in the league in 1989 in order to fulfill contractual obligations. So, 1989-90 would be the final year for the Roundtowners as a member of the South Central Ohio League.
On Friday, Sept. 1, the Hillsboro Indians traveled to New Richmond, where they would tangle with the Lions for the 18th time over the past several years. The Indians had defeated New Richmond nine times and lost to them eight times, as the two programs had been a good match.
The 1989 Indians would be a much bigger team than the Lions, who would have to rely on speed if they were to have a chance to upend the Tribe.
The Indians had posted a respectable 18-6 non-league record over the preceding five years. Was it excellent play against non-league opposition? Or could it have been the result of playing a weak non-conference schedule?
On the other side of the coin, from 1966-76, the Tribe had gone 7-52 in South Central Ohio League football competition. New Richmond outgained the Indians in passing yards, 89-41. Each team rolled up 13 first downs. But the Indians rushed for almost 300 yards to 103 yards for the Lions, and Derrick Smith carried the pigskin 14 times for 110 yards, as the visitors from Hillsboro trounced NR, 25-7.
In other games, Paint Valley walloped the McClain Tigers 46-12. Wilmington fell to Miamisburg, 41-32. Portsmouth edged Washington, 22-16. Circleville sneaked out a narrow 9-7 win over Teays Valley, and Chillicothe beat Trace, 19-14.
On Sept. 8, McClain would entertain Jamestown Greeneview; Circleville would travel to Jackson; Chillicothe would meet the Blue Lions at Washington C.H.; Miami Trace would challenge Dayton Colonel White; and Hillsboro would meet a very weak Unioto team.
Unioto had lost a tax levy and had canceled football for this season. But a group of concerned citizens managed to raise more than $30,000 to salvage the football program (no, I don’t know how much they could have raised to save the mathematics program!), and the school board had elected to go ahead with the schedule. However, three or four promising athletes had already transferred out of the district.
Also, in the first game of the season, star quarterback Tim Nichols went down with a season-ending injury. Hillsboro and Unioto had met on the football field 16 times previously. The Indians had won 11 of the 16 games, including the last seven. The Indians rolled over Unioto, 39-0. In Wilmington, the ’Cane shut out Little Miami, 24-0. McClain hosted Jamestown and thumped the Rams, 35-0.
After only three non-league contests, Hillsboro and Wilmington led the field with 2-1 records, while McClain, Miami Trace and Circleville were all tied at 1-2 and Washington, who had played three very rugged opponents, stood on the bottom rung with an 0-3 mark. Coach Roy Lucas called the Blue Lions “the best 0-3 team in the state.”
In the fourth week of play, Washington hosted Logan. The Chieftains came in with a 3-0 record and were ranked 11th in the state. Miami Trace traveled to
Portsmouth, and Bishop Hartley invaded Greenfield to take on the Tigers.
In other games, Wilmington met Goshen, and the Hillsboro Indians took the long ride to Wheelersburg to battle the Pirates, who were ranked fourth in the state in Div. IV.
Hartley shut out McClain, 38-0, and Goshen slipped by Wilmington, 7-3. Washington won their first game of the season by downing the Logan Chieftains, 21-7, and Miami Trace took care of Portsmouth, 14-7.
In Wheelersburg, Hillsboro put up a great battle, but the Indians were eventually worn down by the Pirates. Wheelersburg captured the win, 27-21.
September 22 found Circleville visiting Miami Trace, where the always tough Panthers ran over, around and through the Tigers for a 44-3 SCOL victory. The same night, Washington traveled to Greenfield and plastered the purple-and-gold, 28-15. In Wilmington, the Hillsboro Indians thumped the Hurricane 20-6, when senior cornerback Klay Maynard, who was carried off the field at Wheelersburg the previous Friday night with what was believed to be cracked ribs, intercepted four Wilmington passes and scored a two-point conversion. This marked the second time in his high school career that Maynard had intercepted four passes in one game.
The following Friday evening saw the Miami Trace Panthers bringing their show to Hillsboro, where they would try to down the Tribe for the ninth consecutive time. The Panthers had defeated the Indians 22 of the last 23 meetings between the two schools. Hillsboro was not the only SCOL school who had trouble beating Trace. The Panthers had either won the league football title or tied for it 13 of the past 15 years.
In order to have a realistic chance, the Indians would have to avoid turning the ball over and avoid penalties.
Hillsboro trailed Miami Trace, 13-0, late in the third quarter. But the determined Indians refused to quit. They battled back and forced three overtimes. In the end, the Panthers came out on top, 25-19. The Indians outgained Trace, 363- 233, and sacked quarterback Jason Leeds nine times. Tribe quarterback Brian Williamson connected on 23 of 37 passes for 236 yards, threw two TD passes and was intercepted twice. At one point in the game, he completed 10 straight passes. He also rushed for 16 yards. The
Indians had a great chance to win the game in the second overtime. The Panthers scored on a one-yard run, but Klay Maynard intercepted the pass for a two-point conversion. Three plays later, Williamson’s pass to Maynard was good for a Hillsboro touchdown, tying the score at 19-all. All the Tribe had to do was hit the extra point, and the game was theirs. But Snyder’s kick passed just under the crossbar, and a third overtime resulted.
In the third O.T., the Indians had a third down, two inches from the goal line. The ball was handed to fullback Brett Horton, but a Miami Trace helmet jarred the ball from his grasp for a fumble. A few plays later, the Panthers scored from four yards out, ending one of the best high school games ever played at John Wayne Richards Memorial Field.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]