Indians set to play at Panther Stadium

It’s back to the road one final time for the Hillsboro Indians during the ninth week of the 2010 football season. This time, the Indians will travel to Fayette County to take on the one-win Miami Trace Panthers.

This game is for positioning in the South Central Ohio League standings with each team having one league win to their credit. Each team defeated the Madison-Plains Golden Eagles for their lone league win. MT defeated MP, 50-21 during Week 6 at MPHS, and the Indians took their win against MP one week later by a score of 42-34.

For the Panthers (1-3, 1-7), they are coming off a Week 8 loss to the McClain Tigers (28-21), where they were shut out in the second half. MT led MHS 21-14 in the second quarter.

Miami Trace is a more balanced te am than what most Panther fans or SCOL football followers are accustomed to. They use the pass more noticeably this season, but not as much as the running game, which has been a staple of Miami Trace teams in past seasons.

Standing out last week for MT was junior running back Clayton Dyer (6-0, 167) who ran for 143 yards on 23 carries. He also had 27 yards receiving on three receptions. MT QB Tucker Hughes was 6 of 13 for 71 yards.

"They do balance their offense with the run and pass more this year than last year.  I'm sure it is a matter of what they feel they need to do with the players they have this year," Hillsboro head coach Brian Spicer said. "Not too many teams can be one-dimensional and win consistently. Every coach tries to find that balance and I think they do a good job of mixing both in their offense."

The Indians (1-3, 2-6) are coming off a tough 13-7 loss to the London Red Raiders at Richards Memorial Field. Their lone TD was scored by Christian Wildey on a 3-yard run. He set up the play on a 77-yard run to the LHS 3-yard line.

Hillsboro has battled through some tough times this season. They haven't had the same 22 kids out on the field, at the same time, for two straight weeks all season.

"We lost a hard-fought game, but we really played well for four quarters and played with enthusiasm despite having several players out of the line-up," Spicer said. "I think our kids finally realized that despite the changes in our line-up, we can still play competitively. Last week, we ran the ball well but didn't throw as well as I would like. This week, we need to be more balanced."

It is still unknown if HHS senior quarterback Aric Carroll will be back in the lineup after missing a week due to injury.

"We just work one day at a time and hope guys who are out get healthy by Friday," Spicer said. "No one has been hurt to the point they are out for the year. When they are ready … they will be in there. I really can't say more than that for now."

Spicer described last week's performance of players who took over for injured teammates as phenomenal.

"We have had mixed results with players coming in (this season). Last week, their efforts were phenomenal, and that's what's important now," Spicer said. "They get better with game experience and most of these players have been getting plenty of that the past few weeks. 

Earlier in the year, they were ‘earning their stripes,’ so-to-speak, but now I feel like they are out there getting the job done."

Speaking of getting the job done, last week the Indians played with what was described as an "inspired" effort and Spicer quickly agreed with that assessment.

"We played four quarters with intensity and enthusiasm, something we really hadn't done all year," Spicer said. "The defense was absolutely great. I was so proud of what they did, especially without Bodhi (Hawkins) in there. I thought offensively we did a good job, too. We had three of our four players in the backfield playing new positions but still moved the ball well. I was quite pleased with our performance for sure."

It’s back to the road one final time for the Hillsboro Indians during the ninth week of the 2010 football season. This time, the Indians will travel to Fayette County to take on the one-win Miami Trace Panthers.

This game is for positioning in the South Central Ohio League standings with each team having one league win to their credit. Each team defeated the Madison-Plains Golden Eagles for their lone league win. MT defeated MP, 50-21 during Week 6 at MPHS, and the Indians took their win against MP one week later by a score of 42-34.

For the Panthers (1-3, 1-7), they are coming off a Week 8 loss to the McClain Tigers (28-21), where they were shut out in the second half. MT led MHS 21-14 in the second quarter.

Miami Trace is a more balanced team than what most Panther fans or SCOL football followers are accustomed to. They use the pass more noticeably this season, but not as much as the running game, which has been a staple of Miami Trace teams in past seasons.

Standing out last week for MT was junior running back Clayton Dyer (6-0, 167) who ran for 143 yards on 23 carries. He also had 27 yards receiving on three receptions. MT QB Tucker Hughes was 6 of 13 for 71 yards.

"They do balance their offense with the run and pass more this year than last year.  

I'm sure it is a matter of what they feel they need to do with the players they have this year," Hillsboro head coach Brian Spicer said. "Not too many teams can be one-dimensional and win consistently. Every coach tries to find that balance and I think they do a good job of mixing both in their offense."

The Indians (1-3, 2-6) are coming off a tough 13-7 loss to the London Red Raiders at Richards Memorial Field. Their lone TD was scored by Christian Wildey on a 3-yard run. He set up the play on a 77-yard run to the LHS 3-yard line.

Hillsboro has battled through some tough times this season. They haven't had the same 22 kids out on the field, at the same time, for two straight weeks all season.

"We lost a hard-fought game, but we really played well for four quarters and played with enthusiasm despite having several players out of the line-up," Spicer said. "I think our kids finally realized that despite the changes in our line-up, we can still play competitively. Last week, we ran the ball well but didn't throw as well as I would like. This week, we need to be more balanced."

It is still unknown if HHS senior quarterback Aric Carroll will be back in the lineup after missing a week due to injury.

"We just work one day at a time and hope guys who are out get healthy by Friday," Spicer said. "No one has been hurt to the point they are out for the year. When they are ready … they will be in there. I really can't say more than that for now."

Spicer described last week's performance of players who took over for injured teammates as phenomenal.

"We have had mixed results with players coming in (this season). Last week, their efforts were phenomenal, and that's what's important now," Spicer said. "They get better with game experience and most of these players have been getting plenty of that the past few weeks. 

Earlier in the year, they were ‘earning their stripes,’ so-to-speak, but now I feel like they are out there getting the job done."

Speaking of getting the job done, last week the Indians played with what was described as an "inspired" effort and Spicer quickly agreed with that assessment.

"We played four quarters with intensity and enthusiasm, something we really hadn't done all year," Spicer said. "The defense was absolutely great. I was so proud of what they did, especially without Bodhi (Hawkins) in there. I thought offensively we did a good job, too. We had three of our four players in the backfield playing new positions but still moved the ball well. I was quite pleased with our performance for sure."