Jack Cornele scores 5 touchdowns, ties school record in win over Ponitz

(Editor's Note: Check back on Saturday for Photo Gallery from the Week 5 game)

HILLSBORO — There is a new member of the five-touchdown game club for the Hillsboro Indians, and his name is Jack Cornele. The Hillsboro senior led the backfield in Week 5, capitalizing on the opportunity as the Indians won by a 50-14 score over the Ponitz Career Technology Center Golden Panthers. 

Cornele, a fullback, scored all five of his touchdowns in the first three quarters, with four in the first half, including three in the first quarter. For the game, Cornele totaled 105 yards on 14 carries. 

“For starters, I have to give all my thanks to my o-line. I love them to death, and they are underappreciated by far. We had some guys step up and had some guys put some blocks together that we needed, and it really turned out to be a great night,” Cornele said. “I’m happy we won. The team needed it, and hopefully we can keep it going through the season. 

“You know, I’ve never been the guy who runs for the long runs. Coach always tells me to get those five-ten yards if you can, and I do my best.”

Cornele ended by speaking about the feeling of having the quality performance from the o-line and the overall game he had. 

“It is amazing. It feels like going to sleep at night and your pillow is cold,” Cornele said while smiling. “It is just a great feeling. I couldn’t be happier.”

Hillsboro head coach Nathan Horne talked about the win following the game. 

“We had some guys in different spots tonight and a lot of guys stepped up and played well, and we got some experience today,” Horne said. “That’s something we can build on in the future, so I’m proud of the effort they had.

“Jack Cornele had a heck of a game. Our offense was a little different today, but we got the fullback established, and he ran his tail off and had a great game. Collin Swackhamer at slotback position, he had a good game too, Braylon (Mays) and Zack Brown, all those guys playing in the backfield for most of the game, and we had a lot of guys do a lot of different stuff and step up. Again, I was proud of the effort there.”

The Indians scored on the first drive of the game when Cornele scored the first of his four first-half touchdowns. 

In an eight-play drive, Cornele capped off the 65-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown with 8:42 on the clock. The PAT by Cooper Swope was good for a 7-0 lead. 

The first scoring drive also included a 30-yard run by Zack Brown, a 13-yard run by quarterback Mason Dumpert and a 9-yard rush by Cornele.

After forcing a turnover, the Indians had possession of the ball in the red zone where they capped off the short yardage drive with a 1-yard touchdown by Cornele with 7:54 left in the first quarter. Again, the PAT was good for a 14-0 lead.

The Indians defense forced a punt, and the offense took over with another 65-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown run by Cornele, his third touchdown run of the first quarter, with 2:07 on the clock. The PAT by Swope put Hillsboro ahead 21-0.

The TD drive by Hillsboro included a 19-yard run by Collin Swackhamer, a 7-yard run by Brown and a 12-yard run by Dumpert.

Two plays later, Ponitz scored their first TD of the game with a 76-yard run by Davarris Jones with 1:22 left in the opening quarter. They had a 2-point conversion run by quarterback Shameer Cunningham for a 21-8 score. 

The Indians took a 28-8 lead when Cornele scored his fourth touchdown of the half with a 7-yard rush to the end zone with 9:50 left in the second quarter. The PAT by Swope was good for a 20-point Hillsboro lead.

This scoring drive included a 9-yard and 16-yard run by Swackhamer, plus a 26-yard rush by Cornele.

The final touchdown of the first half was a 1-yard run by Swackhamer on a quarterback sneak, as he was in at QB due to Dumpert being injured on the drive (he eventually returned to the game). The touchdown run occurred at the 1:36 mark of the second quarter. The PAT by Swope was good for a 36-8 lead that stayed at the half. 

Hillsboro's touchdown drive included gains of 14 yards on a Swackhamer run, an 8-yard rush by Braylon Mays and a 7-yard run by Brown.

Ponitz scored a touchdown on the first drive of the third quarter, putting together a lengthy drive that began on their own 23-yard line and ended on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Cunningham to Marcellus Watkins for the touchdown with 3:15 left in the quarter. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Indians ahead 36-14. 

Cornele scored his fifth touchdown — tying the school record — with 26.6 left in the third quarter when on first-and-goal he barreled his way for a 2-yard rush to the end zone. The Indians took a 30-point lead with a 2-point conversion success, as Dumpert passed to Brown for the 44-14 lead. 

“Jack also had a good game last week and ran hard,” Horne said. “He’s just getting back into the groove of it, and we are expecting big things from Jack.” 

Hillsboro’s final touchdown came with 44 seconds on the clock as Mays broke away for a 60-yard touchdown run, racing away from the defense of the Golden Panthers and putting the Indians ahead 50-14 as time expired on the running clock for the final play of the game. 

On defense for the Indians, Malachi Aber led Hillsboro with 10 tackles, and Swackhamer totaled nine tackles on the night. 

Others with tackles were: Mays (five), Landon Holland (five), Cornele (three, one sack), Brown (three), Landon Jordan (three, one forced fumble), JaHari Pitts (three), Kaiden Robbins (two), Dumpert (two), Foster Britton (two), Connor Yochum (one) and Jordan Lowe (one). 

As for the TD record, Cornele joins Luke Gallimore (Oct. 21, 2016), Austin Barrett (Sept. 9, 2022) and Jeven Hochstuhl (Oct. 25, 2024) as HHS players who have scored five touchdowns in a game.  

The Indians begin Frontier Athletic Conference play on Friday, Sept. 26, as they will host the defending conference champions, the Jackson Ironmen (3-2), at 7 p.m. at Richards Memorial Field. 

“Jackson is always the team to beat in the league, and they have a great tradition down there,” Horne said. “We’ll have to come off the ball well and play great defense.” 

BOX SCORE
PCTC —     08 00 06 00 — 14
HHS —       20 16 08 06 — 50