Two quick touchdowns near the end of the second quarter transformed a close ball game into a rout Tuesday night, as the Hillsboro Trojans rolled to a 48-13 victory at Sedgwick in bi-district play.
With the score 14-7, Jacob Yoder finally gave the Trojans some breathing room when he scored from 5 yards out with 2:31 left in the first half. Spencer Brown’s kick improved the margin to 21-7.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Sedgwick fumbled and Andy Klassen recovered the ball for Hillsboro at the Sedgwick 35. The Trojans were into the end zone four running plays later with Brown scoring from a yard out with about 1:30 left in the half. The kick was blocked, but HHS seemed in command at 27-7.
Hillsboro almost scored again before halftime when Ishmael Morris intercepted a Sedgwick pass on the Cardinals’ first play from scrimmage. Five plays later, in the last seconds of the half, an apparent 15-yard TD run by Yoder was called back on a penalty.
The Trojans got a second chance at the end zone when the Sedgwick was penalized for leaving the sideline too soon, thinking the half was over. But Jacob Fish’s pass into the end zone fell incomplete.
It didn’t matter, ultimately. Hillsboro scored three more unanswered touchdowns in the second half—one on a 29-yard run by Morris, one on a 1-yard run by Yoder and the last on a 1-yard run by Chris Couts with 10:11 left in the game.
Sedgwick did score on a 41-yard halfback pass with 8:55 left in the game, but it was of no consequence to the outcome.
Ironically, the game started as an apparent shoot out between two offensive-minded teams. Hillsboro scored first on the opening possession when Yoder broke loose on a 44-yard TD romp five plays into the contest.
Brown missed the PAT kick, giving Sedgwick an opportunity to take its only lead of the night. The Cardinals, fueled by their small but quick backfield, drove 80 yards in 12 plays with Jon Schrick scoring from 4 yards out with 5:15 left in the opening quarter.
Dillon Richardson added the PAT to give Sedgwick the 7-6 lead.
But Hillsboro bounced right back, scoring in three plays: a 6-yard run by Brown, a 19-yard scamper by Morris and then a 55-yard gallop by Yoder for the TD. Brown’s pass to Daniel Jost made it 14-7 with 3:42 left in the quarter, and the Trojans moved on from there.
In ithe upcoming round, Hillsboro (6-4) will play host to Conway Springs (8-2) at 2 p.m. at Reimer Field on the Tabor College campus. Conway defeated Wichita Collegiate in overtime on Tuesday night.
