Indians start ‘26 season with victory over Peebles

HILLSBORO — The Hillsboro Indians returned to the soccer field to start the 2026 season with a home win by defeating the visiting Peebles Indians by a 5-0 score in a game where four players reached the scoring column. 

Hillsboro — coached by Ben Howland — didn’t have the start they wanted in the first 40 minutes of play in the non-conference season opener, but the second half was an entirely different story with their lead going from one goal at halftime to the final win total being five goals due to a four-goal surge in the second half. 

“We played much better in the second half. We had a lot of opportunities in the first half, we just didn’t convert. Every time we play Peebles, it is like this because they play strong defense, and it is always closer than I would like,” Howland said. “We got a lot of kids in, and this is the most kids we’ve ever had in our program and on our roster this year, so it has been exciting. 

“We have a lot of new freshmen, with three of them scoring and five playing. Peebles is a good team. Their numbers are low, but they played hard, and it is just good to have a win. We’ve been doing a lot this summer, we’ve been at it since the first of June, so it was good to have this first game.” 

After applying pressure for a majority of the first half in front of the Peebles goal, the Hillsboro Indians scored their first goal of the 2026 season when Luke Thompson put the ball past the keeper with 3:35 left in the first half.

The second half began strong for the home-team Indians with freshman Michael Epure scoring the second goal of the game within the first 18 minutes of the half for a two-goal lead over Peebles.

Hillsboro made it a 3-0 lead when junior Easton Inman put the ball past the keeper with 10:59 left in regulation. 

The Indians of Hillsboro added two final goals with 4:50 and 2:10 on the second-half clock, both scored by freshman Obed Cervantes, with the second goal being unassisted. 

“Obed is a freshman. He is an exciting player, runs fast and is probably the smallest kid on the field,” Howland said. “He had two goals and the most shots of anyone. It was exciting. He is an exciting player.”

Assists in the game were recorded by senior Levi Bailey and senior Grant Shepard, and two assists were collected by junior Aiden Thomas.

Peebles — whom HHS tied 2-2 in last season’s match at PHS —  didn’t record a shot on goal for the entire 80-minute contest. Defensive players for HHS who were part of the shutout included seniors Kam Evers and Grant Shepard, sophomore Wyatt Lister, junior Chancellor Lister and sophomore Mason Rinal. 

“Those five played defense for us tonight, and no shots makes for a happy coach,” Howland said. “We practice defense all week. We went down to Whiteoak for a scrimmage, and I didn’t like how we played. Obviously, tonight, we didn’t give up a shot, so that means the defense did things right.” 

The HHS Indians were just excited to get back on the soccer field and play against another opponent to start the ’26 season. 

“We were joking Thursday night that we were tired of playing each other, so it is good to get the frustrations out on the other team rather than our own,” Howland said. “Also, kudos to our fan base. The PTO put on a big night, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this many fans here for a game, so it was exciting.”

Next for the HHS Indians (1-0) is a home non-conference match against the Fairfield Lions on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 5 p.m. at Hillsboro High School. 

BOX SCORE 
PHS    0 0 — 0 
HHS    1 4 — 5