The Hillsboro Indians hosted South Central Ohio League opponent East Clinton on Friday night for their homecoming game and did exactly what you’re supposed to do on homecoming; they defeated their opponent 28-14.
Neither team scored on their first drives as East Clinton was forced to punt on a three and out on their first drive and the Indians fumbled a pitch which was recovered by the Astros. The Astros ran three plays after recovering the fumble and were only able to gain two yards themselves and the Indians handed them five yards on a penalty. But on the fourth play of the drive, East Clinton’s quarterback took to the air and before the ball was able to make it into the hands of the Astro receiver, Hillsboro’s Hunter Chain intercepted the ball and ran the ball all the way back 55 yards for the first score of the game. The point after was good and the score with 6:08 to go in the first quarter, the Indians were up 7-0.
East Clinton got the ball back after the Hillsboro touchdown and led their drive off with an eight yard run. They were able to push the ball forward on the next play to get the first down. On the third play of the drive, the Astros lost 10 yards because of a holding call but got that back and then some after a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct on the Indians on a tackle on the next play. The Astros took to the air on their second down play but it was incomplete. They went right back to the throwing game on third down but the ball was intercepted by Britton Haines at the 30 yard line, one of his three interceptions on the night.
The Indians ran 10 plays on their next drive, only getting to third down one time, getting three first downs as they marched the ball down the field. The drive ended with an 11 yard run by Luke Gallimore which made it 13-0 after a missed PAT with 10:46 to go in the second quarter.
Hillsboro’s Haines set his team up for another touchdown as he gathered his second interception of the night on East Clinton’s next drive and was able to bring it back out to the East Clinton 48 yard line. That set up a 17 yard run by Sajoun Jones to make the score 19-0 after a failed two-point conversion.
The Indians were able to punch the ball into the endzone once more before the end of the quarter. On the Indians first play of the drive they gained five yards on an offsides call against the Astros and on the second play, the ball was handed to senior Luke Gallimore who took it the distance for an 83 yard touchdown run with 1:12 left in the half. The point after was good this time making the score 26-0.
To close the half, Haines got his third interception of the game when East Clinton was trying to get a score before the buzzer. and the game went into the half with Hillsboro up 26-0.
The Indians did not half much offense in the second half in the way of scoring, their only points coming off a safety in the fourth quarter, but East Clinton was able to score twice on a 46 yard run by Anthony Osburn for a touchdown in the third and another TD in the fourth. After that, the Indians were able to put a stop to anymore scoring and the final score of the game was 28-14 giving the Indians their second win of the year.
“It’s good to get back in the win column,” said Hillsboro’s Head Coach Jack O’Rourke after the game. “We played really well in the first half but let down a couple times in the second half, letting Osburn get going a couple times. We missed a couple offensive opportunities in some crucial moments so that just means we have room for improvement.
“Haines with those three interceptions and Chain with the one he ran back for a touchdown were a big help in this game tonight.
“We have to come back next week with our best ball game against Miami Trace. We do that and get a couple breaks here and there, I think we have a chance.”
The Indians will be on the road next week, traveling to Miami Trace for another SCOL matchup and their last road game of the year as they will wrap up the season on their home field against rival McClain.
Hillboro High School had their homecoming festivities right before the game started and Emily King won homecoming queen and the Indians own quarterback Hunter Chain was named King.
Reach Robert Stegbauer at 937-393-3456 ext. 1679 or on Twitter @RStegbauer.
