News editor
The Hillsboro High School Trojans lost their final game of the football season Thursday at home against the Halstead Dragons.
The game couldn’t have started much worse for the Trojans. On the first play from scrimmage, Halstead recovered a Hillsboro fumble on the 24-yard line. Two plays later, Halstead scored on a 26-yard run to lead 7-0.
The Trojans responded by marching down the field into the red zone before coming up short on fourth-and-24. However, the Trojans recovered a fumble by Halstead at the 13 and scored on a pass from Jesse Brown to Preston Nelson. Nelson broke a couple of tackles on the way to the end zone, and the Trojans tied the game at 7.
The Dragons scored two more touchdowns in the first quarter to lead 21-7. Hillsboro’s next drive nearly ended when a pass to Evan Ollenburger came up short on fourth-and-5, but a pass interference penalty kept the drive alive.
A penalty for a block in the back moved Hillsboro into a long third down. Ollenburger caught a pass for 23 yards, setting up fourth-and-5, but a false start penalty moved it to fourth-and-10 at the 12-yard line. The Trojans scored on the long fourth-down play with a pass to Cody Delk.
The Dragons moved backward on their next possession with a false start and a snap over the quarterback’s head, setting up third-and-36 before Jesse Meier intercepted a pass and returned it to the 1-yard line. A pass to Jordan Faul tied the game at 21.
Hillsboro’s defense forced Halstead to punt on the next possession, but Halstead intercepted a pass by Brown and returned it for a touchdown to regain the lead, 27-21. The Dragons extended the lead to 35-21 with less than a minute left in the first half.
David Dick scored on a pick-6 for the Trojans, cutting the Dragons’ lead to 35-28 on the first play of the second half. It was the Trojans’ final score of the game. Halstead added two more rushing touchdowns. The Dragons won 49-28.
Hillsboro finished the season with a 3-6 record.
Statistics
Passing
Jesse Brown: 21/42, 200 yards, 3 TDs.
Rushing
J. Brown: 10 carries, 4 yards.
Jakob Hanschu: 2 carries, 1 yard.
Preston Nelson: 1 carry, -2 yards.
Receiving
Evan Ollenburger: 8 catches, 84 yards.
Jordan Faul: 4 catches, 43 yards, 1 TD.
Cody Delk: 3 catches, 36 yards, 1 TD.
P. Nelson: 4 catches, 30 yards, 1 TD.
Justus Hilliard: 2 catches, 7 yards.
Returns
J. Hilliard: 3 kickoff returns, 90 yards.
E. Ollenburger: 2 kickoff returns, 39 yards.
Braden Vogt: 1 kickoff return, 8 yards.