Hillsboro opened their Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC) schedule on Friday night when they traveled to Chillicothe to take on the Cavaliers. The Indians were unsuccessful on the night, losing by a final score of 42 – 20.
The Indians began the game with possession but were unable to mount any offense against the stout Cavaliers’ defense.
Chillicothe got possession and marched down the field in 13 plays. The Cavaliers were led by senior quarterback Branden Maughmer who shredded the Indians defense with his arm and his legs. Running back Connor Mathis capped off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run and the Cavaliers converted the extra point to go up 7 – 0 half way through the first quarter.
A promising nine play drive by the Indians ended early in the second quarter when Mason Swayne fumbled and it was recovered by Chillicothe.
The Indians finally found some traction against the Cavaliers offense during Chillicothe’s second possession. The Indians forced a turnover on downs on a fourth and twelve play to give the Highland County boys some life.
However, the Indians squandered the opportunity when Swayne threw a an interception four plays later to give the Cavaliers the ball.
Chillicothe capitalized on the Indians second turnover with an 11 play drive that ended with Maughmer scampering 13 yards for the second Cavaliers touchdown of the night. The ensuing extra point was good to put Chillicothe up 14 – 0 with 4:10 remaining in the first half.
Hillsboro’s Britton Haines saved the Indians from an even greater deficit at the half when he picked off a Maughmer pass late in the half to give the Indians the ball and allow them to maintain the 14 – 0 score.
A pooch kick that was recovered by Chillicothe to start the second half was the beginning of the end for the Indians. Chillicothe’s Maughmer took the ball 54 yards on the very next play for a touchdown and the point after gave the Cavaliers a 21 – 0 lead that they would not relinquish.
Chillicothe added three more touchdowns in the second half to get to their final total of 42 points.
Hillsboro scored three touchdowns of their own, two in the fourth quarter, with one successful two point conversion to give them 20 for the game.
Hillsboro head coach Jack O’Rourke said after the game, “There was a lot of inconsistent and not smart play by us tonight.”
Hillsboro will host the Washington Blue Lions next week for their Homecoming game. O’Rourke believes his team will be ready to play and said, “All I have to say is Washington Court House and I think they will be ready to go.”
Reach Ryan Applegate at 937-402-2572, or on Twitter @RCApplegate89.
