The Hillsboro Indians hosted the Goshen Warriors on Friday night in their second game of the season. The Indians fell to the Warriors by a final score of 39 – 15 and moved to 1 – 1 on the season.
One week after notching a convincing win the Indians looked out of sorts from the opening kickoff.
It was clear on the first drive of the night that the bigger and more physical Warriors were controlling the line of scrimmage. The first play of the game resulted in a sack of starting QB Mason Swayne for a two yard loss.
On the defensive side of the ball the Indians were not much better as the Warriors again overpowered them at the line. The dominance by the Warriors resulted in their starting RB Jimmy Strunk totaling 153 yards rushing on the night.
The Indians, trailing by a score of 14 – 7 with under a minute to go in the first half, tried to pass the ball for the third straight play. The result was a costly interception and return for a touchdown, the Warriors fumbled the ensuing snap on the extra point try, leaving the Indians an even deeper hole, 20 – 7, before the half.
The Indians were quiet in the third quarter as they were unable to muster any type of offense. The Warriors put up 13 points in the third to take a commanding 33 – 7 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth the Indians were able to score after a fumble by the Warriors resulted in the Indians getting the ball back on the Goshen 31-yard line. Mason Lewis scored on a one yard run to cap the drive and a two point conversion brought Hillsboro to within three scores. But, that would be all the Indians could muster.
On the next offensive possession the Indians turned the ball over and the Warriors took advantage to score another touchdown but, missed the extra point to provide the final score of 39 – 15.
Hillsboro head coach Jack O’Rourke said after the game, “We need to come out in the second half and shut them down and we weren’t able to do that. Turnovers are expected in this kind of weather but, we need to take better care of the football.”
The Indians were led offensively by Swayne who totaled 98 yards rushing and scored one touchdown, he was also 1 – 5 passing on the night for 25 yards and an interception.
The Indians will travel to East Clinton next week to take on former league rivals the Astros.
Reach Ryan Applegate at 937-402-2572, or on Twitter @RCApplegate89.