A touchdown pass from Aaron Bina to Matt Martin with six seconds left in the fourth quarter lifted the Hillsboro Middle School eighth-grade team to a 22-6 win over Nickerson in the season opener for both teams Thursday.
After HMS broke a 0-0 tie in the final seconds of the second quarter on a four-yard run by Bina, no one scored again until Nickerson crossed the goal line on a four-yard run with only 1:44 left in the game.
For the game, Bina threw for 112 yards on 8-for-15 passing with one interception, and ran for 19 yards on three carries. Stepanek was 1-for-2 passing for 18 yards and ran for eight yards on 18 carries. Chance Reece added 13 yards on 10 carries.
Reece led the defense with 101⁄2 tackles and Darren Mueller added five.
In the seventh-grade game, Hillsboro rolled to a 30-0 win. Offensive information was unavailable, but Brandon Rooker led the defense with five tackles and Casie Allen added 41⁄2 and recovered a fumble.
