Drew Novak, Western Brown too much for Hillsboro in season opener
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MT. ORAB — Though the Hillsboro Indians played with hustle and determination, the host Western Brown Broncos were too much for the visiting Indians to overcome, as the veteran Broncos team — led by quarterback Drew Novak — defeated Hillsboro, 55-0 in the 2022 season opener at LaRosa’s Field at Kibler Stadium.
Broncos senior quarterback Novak and the Broncos led 41-0 at halftime, as Western Brown (1-0) scored points on their first five possessions and a total of six touchdowns in the first half. Novak also hit a milestone of passing for over 10,000 career yards during the first quarter of the non-conference game.
Novak unofficially was 17-of-25 for 309 yards passing with four touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown, as he had five completions of 20-plus yards in the win over Hillsboro.
“Novak’s a good player, and we knew that would be a buzz saw coming in,” Hillsboro head coach Nathan Horne said. “We wish we’d played a little better, but we have some guys who are young in different spots.
“We have some things that we need to clean up, but we’ll get back to work on Monday. We are playing some sophomores and freshmen, but we want to win now, so we have some work to do.”
That said, there was a big moment for the Indians in the second quarter with 1:25 left on the clock when Logan Elliott for Hillsboro (0-1) jumped in front of the receiver and intercepted a pass thrown from the Western Brown 32-yard line and returned to the 50-yard line.
“Logan Elliott got the interception, and he was happy about that, and I was happy to see him get that play,” Horne said.
The turnover by the Broncos was the lone time in the first half they didn’t score a touchdown, as they eventually scored a sixth touchdown in the first half for the aforementioned 41-0 lead.
WBHS scored their first touchdown of the game with 9:04 left in the opening quarter with Novak finding Matt Frye for a 19-yard pass in the back of the end zone. The PAT by Camdyn Cunningham made it a 7-0 score, completing what became a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Frye finished with five catches for 113 yards.
The Indians made it to the Western Brown 42-yard line on the ensuing drive, but any momentum gained was lost with four false start penalties by the Indians, while the Broncos in the same drive had a 15-yard pass interference penalty of their own.
In that same drive that was riddled with penalties — for the game, the Indians totaled seven penalties on offense — Hillsboro had a 9-yard rush by Austin Barrett, a 10-yard rush by Dom Smart and an 11-yard pass by Cam Smart to Travis Ross, plus a couple more positive yardage runs from Dom Smart and Barrett. The drive came to a stop when the Indians failed to convert on a fourth-and-5 play. Dom Smart finished unofficially with 32 yards rushing, while Barrett unofficially had 47 yards rushing for HHS.
That drive was answered with seven points by WBHS when Novak found Isaiah Smith for a 51-yard touchdown catch with 3:13 left in the first quarter. Cunningham made the PAT for the 14-point lead. Smith ended the game with two catches for 74 yards.
Two plays after the Broncos’ touchdown, Hillsboro fumbled the football with Ben Schuler recovering the loose ball on the Indians’ 35-yard line with 2:04 on the first-quarter clock. Three plays later, the Broncos were back in the end zone when Novak ran past the Hillsboro defense and to pay dirt with 1:45 left in the first quarter. Again, the PAT by Cunningham sailed through the uprights for a 21-0 lead by the home team.
Hillsboro put together some more positive yardage as the first quarter came to a close and into the second quarter when they gained 15 yards on a pass interference call on WBHS. Later came a positive run by Barrett, then Ross caught a 4-yard pass from Cam Smart. The quarterback Smart then raced for a 13-yard gain, taking HHS to the 42-yard line of the Broncos.
As the first quarter came to a close, Barrett had a 13-yard gain on the ground, and on second-and-10 from the 29-yard line, Barrett again had a solid run for a 5-yard gain. Hillsboro reached the 24-yard line following a catch by Dom Smart, but on fourth-and-5 the Indians were intercepted in the end zone by Quentin Collins with 8:16 left in the second quarter.
Staring the next drive on their own 20-yard line, Novak passes to Brady Sutton, Smith, and Frye put the Broncos on the Indians’ 45-yard line. Following a WBHS penalty, a screen pass to Zackery Chisman for a 15-yard gain put the Broncos on the Indians’ 23-yard line. The very next play, a run by Chisman for 23 yards saw him standing in the end zone for six points. The PAT by Cunningham was good for a 28-point lead for Western Brown.
The Indians were forced to punt, but not before Barrett had a 16-yard run on third-and-22. Once again, the Broncos took advantage of solid field position because five plays later they increased their lead to 35 points when on second-and-goal Novak found Matthew Osborne with a 9-yard pass in the middle of the end zone. Cunningham’s kick was good for the fifth time.
Following an HHS punt, the aforementioned interception by Elliott, and another punt by the Indians, Western Brown increased their lead to 41 points as Novak had a 3-yard pass to Osborne on second-and-goal as time expired in the second quarter. The PAT was no good, leaving WBHS ahead 41-0 at halftime.
WBHS added two more touchdowns in the third quarter as Chisman raced for a 5-yard touchdown with 8:41 left in the quarter, and he added another touchdown run with 2:16 left on the clock in the third quarter, this rush for 7-yards. Both PATs were good, putting the Broncos ahead 55-0.
“I thought the kids played hard overall and stuck it out,” Horne said. “Now it is just get back to work.”
Next for Hillsboro is a second consecutive road game as they will face non-conference foe Goshen (0-1) on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. Goshen lost in Week 1 to Piketon by a 14-12 score.
Western Brown is scheduled to face the Washington Blue Lions (1-0) at Gardner Park in WCH in Week 2 on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. In Week 1, the Blue Lions defeated Bexley on the road by a 35-6 score.
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Broncos senior quarterback Novak and the Broncos led 41-0 at halftime, as Western Brown (1-0) scored points on their first five possessions and a total of six touchdowns in the first half. Novak also hit a milestone of passing for over 10,000 career yards during the first quarter of the non-conference game.
Novak unofficially was 17-of-25 for 309 yards passing with four touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown, as he had five completions of 20-plus yards in the win over Hillsboro.
“Novak’s a good player, and we knew that would be a buzz saw coming in,” Hillsboro head coach Nathan Horne said. “We wish we’d played a little better, but we have some guys who are young in different spots.
“We have some things that we need to clean up, but we’ll get back to work on Monday. We are playing some sophomores and freshmen, but we want to win now, so we have some work to do.”
That said, there was a big moment for the Indians in the second quarter with 1:25 left on the clock when Logan Elliott for Hillsboro (0-1) jumped in front of the receiver and intercepted a pass thrown from the Western Brown 32-yard line and returned to the 50-yard line.
“Logan Elliott got the interception, and he was happy about that, and I was happy to see him get that play,” Horne said.
The turnover by the Broncos was the lone time in the first half they didn’t score a touchdown, as they eventually scored a sixth touchdown in the first half for the aforementioned 41-0 lead.
WBHS scored their first touchdown of the game with 9:04 left in the opening quarter with Novak finding Matt Frye for a 19-yard pass in the back of the end zone. The PAT by Camdyn Cunningham made it a 7-0 score, completing what became a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Frye finished with five catches for 113 yards.
The Indians made it to the Western Brown 42-yard line on the ensuing drive, but any momentum gained was lost with four false start penalties by the Indians, while the Broncos in the same drive had a 15-yard pass interference penalty of their own.
In that same drive that was riddled with penalties — for the game, the Indians totaled seven penalties on offense — Hillsboro had a 9-yard rush by Austin Barrett, a 10-yard rush by Dom Smart and an 11-yard pass by Cam Smart to Travis Ross, plus a couple more positive yardage runs from Dom Smart and Barrett. The drive came to a stop when the Indians failed to convert on a fourth-and-5 play. Dom Smart finished unofficially with 32 yards rushing, while Barrett unofficially had 47 yards rushing for HHS.
That drive was answered with seven points by WBHS when Novak found Isaiah Smith for a 51-yard touchdown catch with 3:13 left in the first quarter. Cunningham made the PAT for the 14-point lead. Smith ended the game with two catches for 74 yards.
Two plays after the Broncos’ touchdown, Hillsboro fumbled the football with Ben Schuler recovering the loose ball on the Indians’ 35-yard line with 2:04 on the first-quarter clock. Three plays later, the Broncos were back in the end zone when Novak ran past the Hillsboro defense and to pay dirt with 1:45 left in the first quarter. Again, the PAT by Cunningham sailed through the uprights for a 21-0 lead by the home team.
Hillsboro put together some more positive yardage as the first quarter came to a close and into the second quarter when they gained 15 yards on a pass interference call on WBHS. Later came a positive run by Barrett, then Ross caught a 4-yard pass from Cam Smart. The quarterback Smart then raced for a 13-yard gain, taking HHS to the 42-yard line of the Broncos.
As the first quarter came to a close, Barrett had a 13-yard gain on the ground, and on second-and-10 from the 29-yard line, Barrett again had a solid run for a 5-yard gain. Hillsboro reached the 24-yard line following a catch by Dom Smart, but on fourth-and-5 the Indians were intercepted in the end zone by Quentin Collins with 8:16 left in the second quarter.
Staring the next drive on their own 20-yard line, Novak passes to Brady Sutton, Smith, and Frye put the Broncos on the Indians’ 45-yard line. Following a WBHS penalty, a screen pass to Zackery Chisman for a 15-yard gain put the Broncos on the Indians’ 23-yard line. The very next play, a run by Chisman for 23 yards saw him standing in the end zone for six points. The PAT by Cunningham was good for a 28-point lead for Western Brown.
The Indians were forced to punt, but not before Barrett had a 16-yard run on third-and-22. Once again, the Broncos took advantage of solid field position because five plays later they increased their lead to 35 points when on second-and-goal Novak found Matthew Osborne with a 9-yard pass in the middle of the end zone. Cunningham’s kick was good for the fifth time.
Following an HHS punt, the aforementioned interception by Elliott, and another punt by the Indians, Western Brown increased their lead to 41 points as Novak had a 3-yard pass to Osborne on second-and-goal as time expired in the second quarter. The PAT was no good, leaving WBHS ahead 41-0 at halftime.
WBHS added two more touchdowns in the third quarter as Chisman raced for a 5-yard touchdown with 8:41 left in the quarter, and he added another touchdown run with 2:16 left on the clock in the third quarter, this rush for 7-yards. Both PATs were good, putting the Broncos ahead 55-0.
“I thought the kids played hard overall and stuck it out,” Horne said. “Now it is just get back to work.”
Next for Hillsboro is a second consecutive road game as they will face non-conference foe Goshen (0-1) on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. Goshen lost in Week 1 to Piketon by a 14-12 score.
Western Brown is scheduled to face the Washington Blue Lions (1-0) at Gardner Park in WCH in Week 2 on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. In Week 1, the Blue Lions defeated Bexley on the road by a 35-6 score.
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