Indians use defense to defeat Miami Trace in thriller

HILLSBORO — Leave it to playing on Friday the 13th for the Hillsboro Indians to not only have their marching band play “Thriller” at halftime, but to end the game in thrilling fashion, as a late missed field goal by the visiting Miami Trace Panthers led to the Indians winning by a 14-13 score in Week 9.

The win against MTHS — Hillsboro’s first win vs. Miami Trace since 2018 — at Richards Memorial Field was senior night for fall sports, and for the football team, the defense did everything that was needed to take sole possession of second place in the Frontier Athletic Conference with the one-point victory.

“Our defense showed up tonight, and some days it’s like that,” Hillsboro head coach Nathan Horne said. “Offense wins some days for us, and defense wins some days for us, and that’s a credit to this team. They gut it out, they play hard to the end and are just a great bunch of boys. We’ve got about 31 boys right now, and they just work their tails off.

“It’s always tough coming off of Jackson and never quite know how your kids are going to respond. Our kids, they do that time and time again. They’ll bounce back, and really, practice is not a whole lot different after a win versus a loss. They’re pretty even-keeled, and we work hard on Monday and just get after it for the next team. Again, I’m super proud of them today.”

In the final seconds of the game, Miami Trace had rallied downfield to the 25-yard line of Hillsboro, and on 3rd-and-one with 5.9 seconds left in regulation, the Panthers lined up for the field goal. The low kick was on target, but just a yard or two short, leaving HHS ahead by the final 14-13 score.

HHS had to kneel the ball in victory formation to end the game, as the victory left the Indians with a 5-4 overall record and a 3-1 record in the FAC. The loss dropped MTHS to 4-5 overall and 2-2 in the conference standings.

Both Hillsboro touchdowns were scored by sophomore quarterback Mason Dumpert, who played an excellent game through the air and with his abilities to run with the football. Dumpert finished with 11 rushes for 116 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

“Being down one of our running backs, I knew we would have to lean on Austin [Barrett] and Mason, and Mason really, being a sophomore, got it together and played a great game,” Horne said. “He scored our only two touchdowns, so I was really excited about what he did today.”

The first touchdown of the game was a Dumpert run, as the sophomore signal caller on first-and-10 from the MTHS 30-yard line reached past the Miami Trace defense, winning the sprint to the end zone with 4:25 left in the first quarter. Wesley Bailey’s PAT was good, leaving the Indians ahead 7-0.

The Indians’ defense recovered a fumble on the previous play before the touchdown run, as senior Ian Lawson recovered the loose football with 4:32 left in the first quarter, just two plays after the Indians lost the ball on offense with a fumble of their own.

Next was a barrage of punts and solid defensive play by both the Indians and Panthers with three drives (two MTHS, one HHS) combining for 15 total yards, including a pass broken up by HHS junior Nic Burns with around 4:00 left in the first quarter, but more on Burns later.

HHS put together a drive starting with 11:51 left in the second quarter, as it began on their own 27-yard line, and they put themselves on the MTHS 19-yard line, following plays that included a 10-yard run by Jack Cornele, a 16-yard run on a sweep outside the tackles by senior Austin Barrett and a 15-yard pass from Dumpert to junior Logan Elliott for a first down.

All of that led to the Miami Trace special teams making a play, blocking a 29-yard field goal attempt with 7:18 left in the quarter.

Again, the Indians’ defense was there to make their own noise, as it was another three-and-out produced by the unit, including a big stop by senior Ayden Clemons on first down.

HHS had another solid offensive drive as they took the ball from the MTHS 45-yard line to the 18-yard line, as the drive had an 11-yard run by Barrett and a 6-yard rushing gain by junior Logan Elliott. The drive ended with Miami Trace’s Brice Perkins intercepting a pass in from of the goal line with 1:52 left in the second quarter.

Five plays later, the Indians responded with Burns intercepting a Miami Trace pass on the HHS 14-yard line, as the junior leaped into the air to grab the football for the turnover with 57.9 remaining in the first half.

HHS worked downfield as Barrett had a 39-yard rush, and Elliott caught a 22-yard reception off a Dumpert pass, but time ran out in the first half, with the Indians leading 7-0.

Though the Indians didn’t score points on the first drive of the second, they had positive plays on offense, including a 17-yard run by Barrett and a 41-yard rush by Dumpert on a QB keeper, putting the Indians on the MTHS 35-yard line, but the drive ended with a punt.

As for Barrett, the senior extended his season-long 100-plus yard per game rushing streak to nine consecutive weeks, finishing the Week 9 win with 31 carries for 177 yards, including 128 yards rushing in the first half on 18 carries. For the season, Barrett unofficially has 1,737 yards rushing.

On the ensuing drive, Miami Trace scored their first touchdown of the game, starting the drive on their own 30-yard line, and ending with a pass from Trey Robinette to Garrett Guess for a 14-yard score with 5:49 left in the third. MTHS went for two points, but Clemons caught the ball in the end zone for Hillsboro, keeping HHS in the lead at 7-6.

After the Panthers recovered the kickoff on the HHS 30-yard line, it took them just two plays to take the lead over Hillsboro as Robinette raced away from the Indians for a 27-yard touchdown run with 4:57 left in the third. The PAT was good by Ian Mavis for a 13-7 lead for the visitors.

Both teams were forced to punt due to tough defense, then it was Hillsboro regaining the lead on a drive that started with 24.4 left in the third and ended with around 8:55 left in the fourth quarter.

The go-ahead drive for the Indians started with a 14-yard run by Barrett, followed with Dumpert racing 21 yards. Next was a 2-yard gain by Elliott and a 6-yard scamper by Barrett. Dumpert followed with a run of three yards, and Barrett had a rush of six yards on first-and-goal.

After no gain on second-and-goal, the Indians took back the lead with a 3-yard rush by Dumpert on third-and-goal, as he dove to the corner of the end zone for the six points. Bailey converted the extra point attempt, putting the Indians ahead 14-13.

Miami Trace had an 11-play drive on the ensuing possession, but were forced to punt on fourth-and-21 from the HHS 44-yard line, sending the ball to the 6-yard line on a Robinette punt. HHS then punted the ball to the MTHS 42-yard line, giving the Panthers back the ball with three timeouts.

MTHS began that drive with a 19-yard pass to Asher LeBeau and eventually had a turnover on downs following an incomplete pass on the HHS 33-yard line.

HHS tried to gain a first down, but were unable to do so, and the punt was blocked by Miami Trace, as the ball landed out of bounds at the HHS 27-yard line.

The Panthers got to the Indians’ 19-yard line with pass completions for a combined nine yards, but the final field goal attempt was no good.

The Indians were also without their second-leading rushing and sophomore playmaking running back/defensive back Jeven Hochstuhl, who was injured last Friday in Week 8.

Next for Hillsboro is the Rotary Bowl game against Highland County rival, the McClain Tigers, who are also 5-4 overall this season, and they have a 1-3 FAC record this season. MHS lost in Week 9 on the road against the Jackson Ironmen by a 62-14 score.

“It’s always huge, and they’ve got talent with their running backs and their quarterback, and they mix it up,” Horne said. “We know we’re in for a dog fight, and we’re up for the challenge. It’s going to be a big game, and Monday we’ll get ready.”

The Indians have won seven straight games against the Tigers, winning last year by a 42-21 score.

Kickoff for the Week 10 game will be at 7 p.m. in Greenfield at McClain Field.