Panthers’ offensive attack leads to win over Hillsboro

EBER — The Miami Trace Panthers celebrated their homecoming with a dominant effort against the Hillsboro Indians in Frontier Athletic Conference action. 

The Panthers had just 12 plays in the first half for 42 points and eventually defeated the Indians 55-15 for the win.

Though the Indians had possession of the ball to start the game and built a 14-play drive on offense, they were forced to punt, and the Panthers took over. That drive included seven runs by junior Jonathan Malone for a hard-fought 24 yards. 

“Johnny ran hard, and we wedged it a little on the belly this week because they have a fast nose that was going to give us problems if we pulled our guards like normal. It worked at times for us,” HHS head coach Nathan Horne said. 

Having the ball on their own 6-yard line to start their first drive, Miami Trace took only one play to reach paydirt for six points as senior Julian Baker rushed for a 94-yard touchdown, untouched through the HHS defense, with 4:16 left in the first quarter. The PAT by sophomore Cam Thoroman left MTHS ahead 7-0. 

The Indians answered with a 12-play drive for a touchdown, as senior Tre Captain rushed for a 16-yard touchdown with 9:51 left in the second quarter for a 7-7 score.

The scoring drive for HHS included a pass from senior Collin Swackhamer to junior Landon Holland for a 29-yard gain that set up the ensuing touchdown.

“We had a couple good drives early,” Horne said. “We put some things together, and it was a nice drive, but on the first one we couldn’t keep it going.”

It took the Panthers just two plays to break the tied score as a pass by junior Baron Phipps to senior Evan Parsley went for 46 yards, and next was a 6-yard TD run by Baker with 9:03 left in the second. The PAT sailed through the uprights for a 14-7 score.

Following a three-and-out by Hillsboro, Miami Trace went for a two-play drive which ended on a 27-yard TD run by Baker leaving 6:05 on the second-quarter clock. The PAT was good again for a 21-7 Panthers advantage. 

“You can’t give a team like (Miami Trace) short field like that, and once you get down the mountain gets harder to climb,” Horne said. “We can’t put ourselves in those situations.”

On the Panthers’ next drive, they took one play to reach the endzone as Phipps rushed on a QB keeper for a 29-yard TD with 3:50 left on the second-quarter clock. The converted extra point kick left MTHS in front 28-7.

The Miami Trace deference forced an interception when senior Brady McBee took away the football on the MT 18 yardline with 2:10 remaining in the second quarter. 

The Panthers used a 58-yard run by Phipps to reach the HHS 24-yard line. Two plays later, a catch for 3 yards by Parsley gave Miami Trace a TD with 1:05 left before halftime. The extra point was good by Thoroman for a 35-7 lead.

The Panthers then forced and recovered a Hillsboro fumble to regain possession of the ball on the Indians 15 yard line. One play later, it was Baker rushing for a 15-yard touchdown — his fourth TD of the game and first half — with 0.51 on the clock. After the PAT, Miami Trace led 42-7.

“He (Baker) has power, explosion and good field vision,” Horne said of the MT running back. “He has a good scheme behind him. They make you spread the field with their option, and you have to cover a lot of ground. He is just a good player. Watching him on film against Chillicothe, he was just a man on a mission against them. He is just a player.”

The first drive of the third quarter saw another Panther score with a five-play, 46-yard drive ending with a 13-yard touchdown run by Phipps on a QB keeper with 7:48 left in the third. Following the PAT, the Panthers led 49-7. 

In the fourth quarter, Hillsboro junior Connor Yochum recovered a fumble, and the Indians took advantage of the opportunity as freshman Rush Workman kept the ball on a QB keeper later in the quarter for a 7-yard touchdown run with 3:50 left in the game. HHS then went for a 2-point conversion where Workman passed to fellow freshman Cohen Skeens for the two points and a 49-15 score. 

MTHS scored one final touchdown as sophomore Camden LeBeau rushed for a late TD to end the game for the 55-15 final score. 

The victory keeps the Panthers in first place in the FAC with a 3-0 record in the conference and 7-1 overall record. HHS falls to 0-3 in the FAC and 0-8 overall. 

Next for Hillsboro is a home game — their third home game of the season — as it will be homecoming for HHS as they will be hosting the Chillicothe Cavaliers (2-1, 7-1) at 7 p.m. at Richards Memorial Field. 

Miami Trace is scheduled to host the McClain Tigers (0-3, 4-4) at MTHS with a 7 p.m. game in Week 9 next Friday night.