Indians stay undefeated; win on road against Portsmouth West

The Hillsboro Indians had their most competitive game to date, returning home to Highland County with their third consecutive win to start the 2025 season. 

Playing against the Portsmouth West Senators the Indians battled back and forth in Week 3, but eventually a 28-point fourth quarter put the Indians ahead for good, winning by a 49-34 score.

The Indians had some big performances in the win, as the offense totaled 400 yards, including 367 yards rushing. 

HHS also collected seven total touchdowns, as this week’s leader was Jeven Hochstuhl, who on seven carries rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns, plus the senior had a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown that sealed the win. 

Hochstuhl not only had the pick-six late in the game, but before that he scored a fourth quarter touchdown that saw him race 80 yards to the end zone. Hochstuhl’s first touchdown of the game was a 24-yard run. 

The Indians also had quarterback Mason Dumpert total 10 rushes for 74 yards with a 34-yard run for a touchdown, plus he was 5-of-7 passing for 33 yards. 

Tre Captain had another strong game, finishing with a 38-yard punt return for a touchdown on special teams, which was also the Indians' first touchdown of the game. Captain totaled 10 carries for 75 yards and two rushing touchdowns as well, giving him three touchdowns for the game. Captain’s TD runs were for 34 and 7 yards each. 

Jack Cornele ended the game with nine carries for 46 yards, and Collin Swackhamer finished the game with five carries for 30 yards. Zack Brown totaled three receptions for 27 yards, plus he also had 37 yards on kickoff returns.

Swackhamer led the Indians with 12 tackles, and next was Brown with 10 tackles. Finishing with five tackles was Shawn Hottinger, and with four tackles each were Hochstuhl and Malachi Aber. Totaling three tackles each were Landon Jordan and Landon Holland, while with two tackles apiece were Jack Cornele and JaHari Pitts. Having one tackle each were Braylon Mays, Mason Dumpert, John Deans, Connor Yochum, Jordan Lowe and Roman Hardy. Finishing with sacks (one each) were Jordan and Malachi Aber. 

Cooper Swope had eight kickoffs totaling 415 yards, averaging 51.9 yards per kickoff, including one that traveled for 60 yards. He had one touchback.

Jordan had three punts totaling 125 yards, averaging 41.7 yards per punt, including one punt that went 50 yards.

Hillsboro led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, and when halftime arrived, both teams each had 21 points. The Indians were scoreless in the third quarter and allowed 13 points in the same quarter for a 34-21 score after three quarters with the Senators leading. 

As they’ve done for three games to start the season now, after a tough third quarter, the Indians rallied back in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Senators 28-0 in the final quarter of the game. 

The Indians’ defense forced a three-and-out on the game's first possession as Shawn Hottinger batted away a third down pass by PWHS. On the ensuing fourth down punt, Captain returned the ball for a 38-yard touchdown and a HHS lead. The Indians converted a 2-point conversion attempt with Dumpert passing to Landon Jordan for the conversion and an 8-0 HHS lead with 10:52 still remaining in the first quarter. 

Hillsboro’s defense forced a turnover on the ensuing Portsmouth West possession when Brown had an interception and returned it to the 30-yard line of the Senators.

After back-to-back punts, the Senators got on the scoreboard when Brody Hall found Anthony Bishop for a 58-yard touchdown with 3:11 left in the first quarter. The PAT was good, making the score 14-7 in favor of the Indians. 

The Indians took a 21-7 lead when Hochstuhl raced 24 yards to the end zone with 11:24 left in the second quarter, followed by the converted PAT. 

Even after a big hit by Hillsboro’s Landon Holland on first down, the Senators kept their poise and eventually cut into the HHS lead when Hall found Braden Adkins for a 46-yard touchdown pass on third-and-11 with 8:23 left in the second. The PAT was no good, leaving Hillsboro ahead 21-13. 

Portsmouth West forced the Indians to punt on the next possession, then built a solid drive of their own that left them eventually in the end zone with 44.4 left in the second quarter when Hall passed to Gunnar Shonkwiler for 16 yards. The 2-point conversion run by Bishop left Hillsboro and West tied at 21. 

Hillsboro was scoreless in the third quarter, but not the Senators, as they took the lead with a 6-yard touchdown run by Bishop with 9:13 left in the third. Eli Blevins kicked the PAT through the uprights for a 28-21 lead by the home team Senators. 

West built their lead to 34-21 when Bishop rushed the ball to the end zone on a fourth-and-11 play from the 11-yard line with 2:36 left in the third. The PAT was no good. 

Then came a big moment near the end of the third as there was a scuffle between the two teams, resulting in a player from Hillsboro being ejected. In all, there was around a seven-minute delay in the game due to the incident, which left the Indians starting from their own 1-yard line. The drive eventually was a turnover by the Indians as PWHS recovered a fumble. 

Once the third quarter came to a close, the Indians were back on track, building a drive that saw Dumpert find Brown for a completion, a big run by Cornele, a rush to the 16-yard line by Dumpert, then another run by Cornele, putting the ball at the 9-yard line. 

The goal line situation saw the Indians score their fourth touchdown of the game with a 2-yard run by Dumpert with 7:06 left in regulation. Cooper Swope made the PAT for a 34-28 core with the Indians trailing. 

The Indians then recovered the muffed kickoff return, giving the Indians the ball around the 20-yard line of PWHS. Captain rushed the ball to the 11-yard line, and on third-and-1, Dumpert made a 7-yard run for a first down. 

On first-and-goal, Captain rushed to the end zone with 5:37 left in the game. Swope’s PAT was good, leaving the Indians in the lead at 35-34. 

On the next possession, HHS battled with the Senators, eventually forcing a fourth-and-5 from the 28-yard line as the defense saw the Senators throw an incomplete pass, giving the Indians possession of the ball with 4:04 left in the game. 

The next Indians score was an 82-yard play by Hochstuhl that resulted in a touchdown with 3:45 left in regulation. Swope made a 35-yard PAT following an unsportsmanlike penalty on HHS that occurred on the previous touchdown play, putting the Indians ahead by a 41-34 score. 

Portsmouth West built a very solid drive that took them from their own 30-yard line all the way to the Indians' 16-yard line, but an interception by Hochstuhl was returned for a 95-yard touchdown with 25.5 left in the game. Swope made the PAT for the final 49-34 score. 

Hillsboro (3-0) will play again on Friday, Sept. 12 on the road against the Williamsburg Wildcats at 7 p.m. Williamsburg (3-0) defeated Mariemont by a 32-14 score on Friday night. WHS has also defeated Reading (28-7) and New Richmond (28-12) this season. 

BOX SCORE
HHS       14 07 00 28 — 49
PWHS    07 14 13 00 — 34

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