Tigers win the Rotary Bowl
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — The McClain Tigers were the better team in Week 10 in their dominating 54-6 win over Highland County rival Hillsboro in a sloppy and muddy Rotary Bowl at Richards Memorial Field.
With their playoff hopes out of their hands, there was nothing the Tigers could do Friday night but play their game and play for county bragging rights, and that's what they did.
The win moved the Tigers to their best season in recent memory at 7-3 overall (5-2 in the SCOL), while the Hillsboro squad finished winless at 0-10 (0-7 in the SCOL), the first team from HHS to finish with 10 straight losses since '67 (they also went winless in 1966). This year was a six-win improvement for the Tigers, as one season ago they finished 1-9.
In their win, the Tigers totaled 320 offensive yards with 274 of those yards on 45 rushes. The Indians were held to 2 yards of offense with 16 yards passing and -14 total yards on the ground.
"When it comes to rivalry games, it is always great to get a win in the Rotary Bowl," MHS head coach Randy Closson said. "We gained momentum headed into next season with this win, and we wanted to send the seniors out with a win. It was big to get that last win, and this team played well."
As for the '12 Indians, they were first to score with a 5-yard TD from Craig Jackson after a high snap by McClain put the ball near the end zone. Jackson's TD came with 8:14 left in the opening quarter.
From there, though, the rest of the scoring belonged to the visitors as MHS began their path to regaining the Rotary Bowl trophy on the ensuing drive. The Tigers put together a drive that went 52 yards as they chipped away at the HHS offense until Roscoe East raced 14 yards to the end zone on a first-and-10 play from the 14-yard line for six points with 5:35 on the clock in the opening quarter. East led MHS with 107 yards rushing (5.9 ypc). The 2-point conversion was run in by Jordan Goble.
Offensively, Goble ran the ball six times (mostly on reverses) for 78 yards as he averaged 13 ypc.
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McClain made it a 14-6 score when East plowed his way for one yard to the end zone with 9:25 left in the second frame, though at times in the game, the Tigers had their share of struggles with penalties.
"It was a slippery and wet field (Friday), so some of those penalties could have been caused by that, but luckily we overcame those mistakes," Closson said.
The score went to a 22-6 lead by McClain with 11.9 left in the second when the Tigers scored on a pass from Thomas Schrader to Shawn Haddox, who was wide-open for 24 yards. Goble ran in his second 2-point conversion run on a fake field goal. MHS initially gained possession as their defense forced a 14-yard punt from the 5-yard line on fourth down.
MHS scored on their first drive of the second half as Chris Sellman pounded his way for a 16-yard TD with 9:12 left in the third frame. The drive was set up on a 37-yard kickoff return by East. Sellman ended the game with 11 carries for 60 yards.
Following a punt by the Indians, MHS scored again, this time with 3:37 left in the third as Schrader found Isaac Savage for 15 yards and six points. Haddox scored on a 2-point conversion for a 30-point lead at 36-6. Schrader went 3-of-11 for 46 yards in the air, while Savage totaled two receptions for 22 yards.
As the game was well in favor of the Tigers, they continued to take advantage of quality field position with their next TD going 50 yards on five plays. The TD was scored on a second-and-4 when East raced for 29 yards an six points with 8:32 left in regulation.
MHS took a 42-point lead with 3:50 remaining when Clayton Burgess ran 10 yards on a first-and-goal from the Hillsboro 11-yard line following a penalty. On the next play, he finished the drive with a one-yard TD.
The final MHS score came with 1:07 left on the scoreboard as Zach Puckett went 12 yards to the end zone.
Coach Closson summed up the the Tigers regaining possession of the Rotary Bowl trophy.
"We wanted the seniors to make memories (Friday)," Closson said. "We had seniors play very well, and I'm happy they ended the regular season with a win."
With their playoff hopes out of their hands, there was nothing the Tigers could do Friday night but play their game and play for county bragging rights, and that's what they did.
The win moved the Tigers to their best season in recent memory at 7-3 overall (5-2 in the SCOL), while the Hillsboro squad finished winless at 0-10 (0-7 in the SCOL), the first team from HHS to finish with 10 straight losses since '67 (they also went winless in 1966). This year was a six-win improvement for the Tigers, as one season ago they finished 1-9.
In their win, the Tigers totaled 320 offensive yards with 274 of those yards on 45 rushes. The Indians were held to 2 yards of offense with 16 yards passing and -14 total yards on the ground.
"When it comes to rivalry games, it is always great to get a win in the Rotary Bowl," MHS head coach Randy Closson said. "We gained momentum headed into next season with this win, and we wanted to send the seniors out with a win. It was big to get that last win, and this team played well."
As for the '12 Indians, they were first to score with a 5-yard TD from Craig Jackson after a high snap by McClain put the ball near the end zone. Jackson's TD came with 8:14 left in the opening quarter.
From there, though, the rest of the scoring belonged to the visitors as MHS began their path to regaining the Rotary Bowl trophy on the ensuing drive. The Tigers put together a drive that went 52 yards as they chipped away at the HHS offense until Roscoe East raced 14 yards to the end zone on a first-and-10 play from the 14-yard line for six points with 5:35 on the clock in the opening quarter. East led MHS with 107 yards rushing (5.9 ypc). The 2-point conversion was run in by Jordan Goble.
Offensively, Goble ran the ball six times (mostly on reverses) for 78 yards as he averaged 13 ypc.
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McClain made it a 14-6 score when East plowed his way for one yard to the end zone with 9:25 left in the second frame, though at times in the game, the Tigers had their share of struggles with penalties.
"It was a slippery and wet field (Friday), so some of those penalties could have been caused by that, but luckily we overcame those mistakes," Closson said.
The score went to a 22-6 lead by McClain with 11.9 left in the second when the Tigers scored on a pass from Thomas Schrader to Shawn Haddox, who was wide-open for 24 yards. Goble ran in his second 2-point conversion run on a fake field goal. MHS initially gained possession as their defense forced a 14-yard punt from the 5-yard line on fourth down.
MHS scored on their first drive of the second half as Chris Sellman pounded his way for a 16-yard TD with 9:12 left in the third frame. The drive was set up on a 37-yard kickoff return by East. Sellman ended the game with 11 carries for 60 yards.
Following a punt by the Indians, MHS scored again, this time with 3:37 left in the third as Schrader found Isaac Savage for 15 yards and six points. Haddox scored on a 2-point conversion for a 30-point lead at 36-6. Schrader went 3-of-11 for 46 yards in the air, while Savage totaled two receptions for 22 yards.
As the game was well in favor of the Tigers, they continued to take advantage of quality field position with their next TD going 50 yards on five plays. The TD was scored on a second-and-4 when East raced for 29 yards an six points with 8:32 left in regulation.
MHS took a 42-point lead with 3:50 remaining when Clayton Burgess ran 10 yards on a first-and-goal from the Hillsboro 11-yard line following a penalty. On the next play, he finished the drive with a one-yard TD.
The final MHS score came with 1:07 left on the scoreboard as Zach Puckett went 12 yards to the end zone.
Coach Closson summed up the the Tigers regaining possession of the Rotary Bowl trophy.
"We wanted the seniors to make memories (Friday)," Closson said. "We had seniors play very well, and I'm happy they ended the regular season with a win."