Following a moment of silence in remembrance of the lives lost 19 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001, the Hillsboro Indians hosted the Chillicothe Cavaliers on Friday in their first home game of the season and fell by a score of 41-14, dropping to 0-3 on the season overall and 0-2 in Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC) play.
The Indians won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball on the opening kickoff. Starting quarterback Christopher Stout ensured the Indians found some early success when he rushed on back-to-back plays to give Hillsboro a first down early in the game.
However, the Cavaliers were able to stiffen on the defensive side of the ball and forced a Hillsboro punt from the Indians’ own 30-yard line the went out of bounds at the Hillsboro 29-yard line to give Chillicothe a short field on their first possession of the game.
Chillicothe nearly squandered the opportunity when the Cavaliers went for it on fourth-and-nine from the Hillsboro 29-yard line. But, offsetting penalties on the play allowed the Cavaliers a second chance that they were able to take full advantage of when starting quarterback Kamron Smith connected with Keyon Williams for a 29-yard touchdown strike with 7:54 to play in the first quarter. Chillicothe converted the point after try to take a 7-0 lead.
Hillsboro was able to keep the Cavaliers out of the end zone for the remainder of the first quarter as the defense forced Chillicothe to punt following an Indians’ lost fumble. Hillsboro forced a fumble on the next Chillicothe possession and kept the score at 7-0 after one quarter of play.
The Indians were able to tie the score at 7-7 when Bryce Parsons plowed into the end zone from three yards out with 7:59 to play in the second quarter and kicker Nick Turner nailed the extra point. Parsons’ touchdown capped an impressive seven-play drive in which the Indians’ Stout connected with Nicholas Lewis on a 56-yard pass play that put Hillsboro into scoring position.
Both teams kept the pressure on as the Cavaliers intercepted Stout on the next Hillsboro possession and then scored two plays later. The Indians responded on the following possession when Parsons scored his second touchdown of the night for Hillsboro and Turner converted on the point after and tied the game at 14-14 with 1:02 to play in the first half.
The Cavaliers needed less than two minutes to open the scoring in the second half as Chillicothe’s Smith connected with Logan Snowden for a 21-yard touchdown with 10:18 to play in the third quarter.
Following another defensive stop the Cavaliers again went to the air against the Indians’ defense when Smith found Joel Barnes for his third touchdown pass of the game. Smith’s 56-yard strike was followed by a failed two-point conversion that kept the score at 27-14 with 4:52 to play in the third quarter.
Smith added another touchdown on the ground for the Cavaliers when he opened the final quarter of play with a 27-yard touchdown scramble and Chillicothe added the point after try to make it 34-14 with 11:52 remaining in regulation.
The Cavaliers capped the scoring with 4:39 to go in the game when Tylin Scales rumbled 18 yards for a touchdown and Chillicothe converted the extra point for the final score of 41-14.
The Indians will be on the road next week when they are scheduled to travel to Washington High School to take on the Blue Lions in Hillsboro’s third FAC matchup of the season.
Ryan Applegate is a stringer for The Times-Gazette
