Jacob Yoder and Spencer Brown each ran for two touchdowns and Brown threw for a third to Daniel Jost as the Hillsboro Trojans rolled to a 33-3 win over a solid Sterling team Friday at Sterling.
Hillsboro dodged a bullet to start the game when Ishmael Morris couldn’t find the handle on the opening kickoff and Sterling recovered the football at the Trojan 21-yard line.
But Hillsboro’s defense held, giving the ball back to the offense on downs at the 12-yard line.
Four plays later Brown was in the end zone at the end of 69-yard scamper. His kick made it 7-0 with 8:45 left in the quarter.
Sterling’s Kholby Munoz kicked a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter to narrow the margin to 7-3.
Later, Hillsboro’s Tanner Johnson recovered a Black Bear fumble at the Sterling 45-yard line, and four plays later HHS was in the end zone again, this time on 3-yard sweep by Yoder.
Brown’s kick made it 14-3 with 4:45 left in the half.
HHS got a huge momentum boost when the defense stopped a Sterling drive on downs at the Trojan 43-yard line, then drove 58 yards in 10 plays with Brown hitting Jost on a 2-yard pass from seven yards out with 9.1 seconds left in the half. Brown’s kick was blocked but Hillsboro led 20-3 at intermission.
After forcing Sterling into a three-and-out to begin the second half, Hillsboro started its next possession at the Black Bear 47-yard line and scored in nine plays on a 1-yard run by Yoder with 5:53 left in the quarter. Brown missed the kick but HHS was up 26-3.
Hillsboro’s final touchdown came after Jost intercepted a Cody Riggs pass to give HHS the ball at its own 30-yard line. The Trojan traversed the 70 yards in seven plays, including an 18-yard run by Yoder and a 27-yard pass from Brown to Jost. Brown jitterbugged the final seven yards for the score with 9.9 seconds left in the third quarter. His kick added the Trojans’ 33rd and final point of the evening.
The win improves Hillsboro’s record to 3-2 for the season while Sterling drops to 1-4.
