McClain takes back Rotary Bowl trophy; defeats Hillsboro

GREENFIELD — Friday night in Week 10, the McClain Tigers showed the entire county how badly they wanted to break a seven-year losing streak to the Hillsboro Indians, and even more than that, they showed how much they wanted to have a chance to play in Week 11.

McClain used a ground game that caused the Indians problems, and a defensive scheme that stopped the Hillsboro rushing attack — their bread and butter all season long — in all but one big play for Hillsboro. The end result of the facets of the game was McClain head coach Keith Penwell handing the Rotary Bowl trophy over to his players, and the Tigers handing the Indians a 21-13 loss at McClain Field.

“I’m just excited. It is special. I'm so excited for the kids,” MHS head coach Keith Penwell said. “You know, it's been a long time since any kid as a high school group has experienced that. They worked hard, and they played well. They earned it, and that's what I'm really proud about.”

Penwell also spoke about being able to hand the trophy to his team following the win.

“It was awesome, man. That was so awesome, and I got to hand it to my son, but a lot of those guys I've been around for so long,” Penwell said. “I've coached them since they've been in third grade. They've been great friends and special families, and it's just a great group of kids.”

It is likely for the first time ever — not counting the COVID-19 2020 season, when all teams earned automatic berths to the playoffs — that the Tigers and Indians will both be playing in the playoffs at the same time. The Indians had already clinched a spot in the Division III, Region 12 playoffs, and with the win on Friday against the Indians, the Tigers have also earned a playoff berth in the Division IV, Region 16 playoffs, according to unofficial projections. (Unofficial seedings from Joe Eitel Friday night have Hillsboro as a No. 11 seed, and McClain as a No. 14 seed.)

As for the Tigers on Friday night, they started off the game with an aggressiveness that wasn’t matched from the opening kickoff, with McClain causing a fumble on the kickoff return by Hillsboro and McClain senior Seth Weller recovering the football.

That play set the tone for the remainder of the game that both the Tigers and Indians were going to battle, and that they did.

“The kids played great, man. They really did,” Penwell said. “I thought we had our best week of practice of the year this past week. We got on our new practice field, which made it nice, and they were excited about that, but they were more focused than usual. Our seniors, you know, they led the way and kept us going.

“We had some great plays from everybody in the game. I thought Riley Cummins had a great game, Owen Sykes, Cam Medley. I mean, there's some young guys who really played well and made some good plays. And I credit the seniors, man, they really wanted it and they played hard. KP [Kaden Penwell] is finally, I think, getting healthy, so he's moving so much better. [Cade] Sponcil, we did something a little different with him tonight, and he did a great job of it. Our offensive line played well. You know, there's so many things that went right tonight, and I'm super proud of them.”

Though McClain (6-4, 2-3) was forced to punt after recovering the football, there were some hard hits and battles in the trenches that took place, with rushes by senior Andrew Potts that resulted in positive yardage, and a 9-yard run by senior quarterback Drake Stapleton on fourth-and-2, which continued the drive at the point of the game.

Potts finished the game with 34 rushes for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Stapleton rushed for 56 yards on nine carries, plus he was 5-of-15 for 79 yards passing.

Blocking for those yards for the Tigers were: Jayden Allison (center), Zeke Sexton (guard), Gabe Gilbert (guard), Kaleb Fryer (tackle), Conner Frazier (guard), Gunnar Bode (tackle) and Sponcil.

McClain’s defense didn’t let up, as they kept the Indians at bay on offense with strong blitzes and putting pressure on the Indians’ strong rushing attack like no team had all season long, forcing a punt.

The Indians (5-5, 3-2) answered by forcing another Tigers punt, and through the end of the first quarter and into the second that trend continued, as the first eight drives combined ended in punts for Hillsboro and McClain.

That was OK, though, as it was more of the defenses forcing the issue with strong and all-out play, but it was McClain striking first that changed the tempo of the game, with the first points of the Highland County rivalry game coming with just 28 seconds left in the second quarter.

McClain started their first scoring drive with 2:35 left in the second quarter and on their own 20-yard line. The first play was a 5-yard run by Potts, followed by a 12-yard run by the senior running back for a first down on the Tigers’ 37-yard line.

Following a 2-yard rush by Potts, on second-and-8 it was Stapleton finding junior Owen Sykes for a 25-yard gain as the wide receiver was wide open, and Stapleton was under heavy pressure, making the throw near the sideline.

After an incomplete pass, there was another 25-yard connection through the air with Stapleton finding Sykes again for a first down, putting the ball at the Indians’ 11-yard line. On first down, Potts took the ball on a trip to the end zone, as the senior raced 11 yards — nearly untouched through the middle of the defense — for a touchdown with the aforementioned 28 seconds left before halftime.

Weller kicked the PAT through the uprights for a 7-0 McClain lead.

McClain had possession of the ball first to start the second half, and they began the third quarter with more points, stunning the Indians with an eight-play, 85-yard drive which added another seven points to the McClain total.

Potts started the scoring journey with gain of five and three yards on runs, and then on third-and-2 he used the blocking of the McClain offensive line, and his own hard-nosed style of running with the football, to run 42 yards for a first down, going from the MHS 23-yard line to the Hillsboro 35-yard line.

The next play was a 6-yard run by Kaden Penwell — who had eight carries for 35 yards — for a first down, and the drive continued with runs by Stapleton and Penwell. On a second-and-11 from the HHS 12-yard line, Potts scored his second touchdown of the game with a 12-yard run to pay dirt with 8:32 left in the third. Weller’s PAT put the Tigers ahead, 14-0.

The very next play on offense by the Indians, it was McClain’s defense spoiling a potential drive opportunity with junior Cam Medley intercepting the pass and taking it to the Indians’ 33-yard line with 8:19 left in the third.

That turnover turned into more points, with the Tigers building a seven-play drive that eventually turned into seven points for the home team.

Starting from the Indians’ 33-yard line with 8:19 left in the third, Penwell reached for a 12-yard gain, and the drive was followed with some penalties, and rushes from Potts and Stapleton, as the senior quarterback had a 17-yard run on fourth down, taking the ball to the 1-yard line. Potts finished the drive with his third touchdown of the game, scoring a 1-yard TD on first-and-goal with 5:51 left in the third. The PAT was good for a third time by Weller, leaving the Tigers ahead 21-0.

Both teams followed with drives ending in punts, and eventually the Indians got on the board with 2:44 left in the third when it took one play and a 77-yard run by Dumpert on an QB keeper for six points and a touchdown. Wesley Bailey made the PAT for the Indians, leaving the score 21-7.

Following three more drives ending in punts, the Indians scored their second touchdown of the game with 3:43 left on the clock as Dumpert found Logan Elliott in the end zone, as Elliott jumped in the air to make the catch. HHS went for a 2-point conversion, but the throw was batted to the ground by Penwell, leaving the score 21-13.

The Tigers’ Jayden Allison recovered the onside kick attempt by Hillsboro and eventually ran out the clock with five runs by Potts and a rush by Penwell to close out the game. The Tigers went to victory formation on the final play, kneeling the ball to seal the win.

Stats for the Indians included Dumpert rushing for 89 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, and Austin Barrett’s nine-game streak of 100-plus yards per game ended, as he had eight rushes for 19 yards. Jeven Hochstuhl finished with four carries for 16 yards.

HHS was led in receiving by Elliott, as he caught two passes for 32 yards and a touchdown. Nic Burns had one catch for eight yards for HHS. Dumpert finished 3-of-7 for 40 yards passing.

Penwell ended the night by speaking about the Greenfield community.

“Our community always comes out and supports our kids. That's what's special about our community — no matter what, they get support,” Penwell said. “This is a great community to be in. I've always been here and will always be here.”

BOX SCORE
HHS 00 00 07 06 — 13
MHS 00 07 14 00 — 21