Tigers take home Rotary Bowl trophy; defeat Hillsboro in season finale 

HILLSBORO — For the first time since 2023, the Rotary Bowl trophy is going back to Greenfield, as the McClain Tigers built a 28-point lead in the first three quarters, which eventually led to a 36-14 victory over their Highland County rival Hillsboro in the season finale at Richards Memorial Field. 

McClain, who ends the season with a 5-5 overall record, snapped a five-game losing streak to end the season on a high note, and they did so with three touchdown runs and a TD pass from junior quarterback Hudson Lovett, as he ended the game 12-of-21 for 157 yards passing with one touchdown and no interceptions. The junior QB also rushed for 38 yards on eight carries. 

Catching most of those passing yards from Lovett was sophomore Gavin Anderson who had four receptions for 88 yards with one touchdown. On defense, Anderson had a strong game with two interceptions. 

McClain head coach Keith Penwell spoke about the win and how he wanted his seniors to finish their high school careers with a victory in the Rotary Bowl. 

“I told them we want to put the senior out on top, and it took 48 minutes of hitting, playing fast, playing physical, and just executing and doing your job,” Penwell said. “ I thought we did a really nice job of that tonight.

“Hudson is a special player, without a doubt. He can throw it, run it and he sees things, and he played like we thought he should.”

As for the Indians, they had two 100-plus yard rushers with junior Jonathan Malone having 18 carries for 124 yards with two touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per carry in the Week 10 game. Senior Tre Captain played a strong game in his high school finale, rushing for 119 yards on 21 carries with a 5.6 ypr average. 

“(Tre) Captain is a great player, he really is. The kid runs hard, he is fast, he’s physical, he is shifty, and we didn’t want to give up really big runs. We did in the second half a couple of times, but he is a special player, and we were worried about him,” Penwell said. “I also thought our kids did a nice job, were physical and were taking care of responsibilities.

“They (HHS) made a couple adjustments, we made a couple adjustments, and it was a battle. We needed the start that we had (28-0 lead) because if they get the ball moving, they are hard to stop.”

Though the Tigers (1-4, 5-5) were first to score in the ’26 edition of the Rotary Bowl, Hillsboro (0-5, 0-10) began the game with the football and were putting together a strong opening drive which included a 17-yard rush by senior Braylon Mayes — who had seven carries for 65 yards —  but ultimately the drive ended with McClain’s Lovett recovering a Hillsboro fumble on the Tigers’ 7-yard line.

Neither team had success for most of  the first quarter when it came to adding points to the scoreboard, but with .22 left on the clock, the Tigers roared to the endzone for six points when a run of three yards by Lovett put McClain on the board for a 6-0 lead, as the 2-point conversion attempt failed.

The first scoring drive of the game was set up on a nine-play drive that had a pass of 14 yards completed to junior Hunter Peabody, which took the ball to the 3-yard line one play before the TD was scored. 

Following a Hillsboro punt, the Tigers took over on their own 40-yard line and four plays later they had scored their second touchdown of the game. Before the score, it was an 11-yard rush by Lovett on first down, followed by a pass from Lovett to Peabody for nine yards. Next was a big throw downfield by Lovett to Anderson for a 37-yard gain, putting the ball on the 3-yard line for first-and-goal. 

The next play was a 3-yard run to the endzone by Lovett with 9:08 left in the second quarter. A pass to sophomore Holden Lyons was converted for the 2-point conversion, giving the Tigers a 14-0 lead. 

On the ensuing drive, the Indians were chipping away at the defense of the Tigers with gains of six yards on a run by Captain and a 10-yard rush from Malone. The drive continued, and HHS was in McClain territory on first-and-10 from the 29-yard line, but that's when the momentum went back to the Tigers. 

On the first down play, the Indians had a communication issue, resulting in a fumble, which McClain junior Brady Binegar scooped up and raced downfield, but while fending off tacklers, the ball came loose, and after a couple moments, Lyons eventually landed on the ball for McClain on the Indians’ 5-yard line. 

“We wanted to win the turnover battle, we thought if we can win the turnover battle, keep the ball in our hands, it would really benefit us,” Penwell said. “We took care of the ball for the most part, and the turnover battle was key.”

On second-and-goal, Lovett scored his second rushing score of the game with a 5-yard run through the defense with 2:13 left in the first half. Lovett then raced to the endzone on the 2-point conversion attempt for a 22-0 lead. 

Following strong halftime performances by both the McClain and Hillsboro Marching Bands were complete, the Tigers burst out of the gate to start the third with Lyons racing 92 yards for a kickoff return touchdown, breaking past the defenders of Hillsboro for the touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, putting the Tigers ahead 22-0 with 11:46 on the third-quarter clock. 

“What a return by Holden, but here is the other thing … as I watched, I watched those kids block really well, and when he hit the seam he was gone. It was a great return,” Penwell said. 

The Indians had their first scoring drive in the third, beginning with a 22-yard run by Malone, and later, following having a TD ruled back on a penalty, the Indians eventually scored the touchdown on third-and-goal with Malone taking the ball 10 yards for the score, running through a defender to break into the endzone with 7:31 left in the third, The PAT was no good, leaving the score 28-6. 

The Indians forced a three-and-out, and they had momentum on their side with the ensuing drive taking them back to the endzone, as Captain had a 12-yard run to start the drive. From there, it was a 9-yard run by Malone, then a Collin Swackhamer pass by the senior QB to junior Landon Holland for a 16-yard gain on a slant route. 

Next was another 9-yard run by Malone, followed by an 8-yard touchdown run by Malone, diving into the endzone with a defender attempting a tackle with 5:09 left in the third. Swackhamer found Captain on another slant route to convert the 2-point conversion try, for a 28-14 score with McClain still in the lead. 

With 9:17 left in the fourth quarter, the final touchdown of the game — and for the season in Highland County — came on a third-and-16 play where Lovett passed to Anderson for a 32-yard touchdown in the corner of the endzone, Lovett then converted the 2-point conversion run for a 36-14 lead as that score stood until the clock hit 0:00. 

Other stats for each team included the Tigers having 14 rushing yards on seven carries by sophomore Landen McNeal, plus the sophomore had one catch for 12 yards. Other receiving totals for the Tigers included senior Leiland Bond with one catch for 11 yards and Binegar with one catch for seven yards. 

Hillsboro had stats that included Swackhamer with five carries for 20 yards, plus he completed three passes for 32 yards. Holland ended the game with two receptions for 21 yards, while Captain had one catch for 11 yards. 

Seniors for Hillsboro are: Tre Captain, Braylon Mayes, Kameron Evers, Grant Shepard, Malakai Aber, Steven Ison, Collin Swackhamer, Kaiden Robbins, Jordan Lowe, Roman Hardy, Andrew Shelton, Nolan Meyer and Aaron Hunter. 

McClain’s seniors are: Leiland Bond, Julian Swan, Charlie Gipson, Jayce Storts, Peyton Alexander, Ethan Fryer and Noah Sponcil.

“All of these kids have been a pleasure to coach, and this is a great senior class. I am really going to miss them,” Penwell said. “This is a great way to end it, such a positive note to end on for the seniors.”

Penwell capped off the win by speaking how it is special to win the Rotary Bowl. 

“Winning it twice in the past four years, these guys wanted it this year, and it feels really good,” Penwell said. “Our fans follow no matter what, we have a great community. They have put in the work for these kids this year. Not only coming to games, but off the field with T-Mobile (McClain is competing in a $1 million field remodel contest) and our community has worked hard.

“We are blessed to live in the community that we live in."