Trojans roll past ?Cats

HHSfbMoundridgeHilliard

HHSfbMoundridgeHilliard

Even the weather cooperated on this night. Forecasts were for possible storms, but the only storm was the one the Hillsboro Trojans cast upon Moundridge in a 55-0 rout on the opening night of district play.

Playing one of their most complete games of the season, the Trojans wasted little time taking control.

The defense stopped Mound?ridge with a three-and-out to start the game, then the offense took possession on the 50-yard line and scored three plays later on a one-yard plunge by Tyrell Thiessen after a 12-yard run by quarterback Tyler Proffitt and a 37-yard swing pass to Thiessen put the Trojans at the goal line.

Moundridge responded with its best possession of the night?a 14-play drive that moved the ball from the Wildcat 20 to the Trojan 26 before running out of downs.

On the first play going the other way, Hillsboro then lit up the foggy night with a 37-yard pass from Proffitt to Shaq Thiessen. Four plays later, the pair hooked up again, this time for a 30-yard touchdown with 43.8 seconds left in the quarter.

When Moundridge went three-and-out as the second quarter began, Hillsboro?s Jesse Brown returned the Wildcat punt 55 yards for a score and the Trojans were off to the races. On a fake kick, extra-point holder Evan Ollenburger ran in the 2-point conversion play to give HHS a 22-0 lead with 10:26 left in the half.

Moundridge added fuel to the fire by losing a fumble on its next possession. The Trojans took over at their 48 and actually scored twice. The first touchdown, a 31-yard pass to Shaq Thiessen, was called back on a penalty. But four plays later, Tyrell Thiessen rumbled in from 20 yards out and the score stood at 29-0 with 5:02 left in the half.

Hillsboro added its fifth touchdown of the half after an interception by Lucas Sinclair gave HHS the ball at its 37-yard line. Eight plays later, Josh Wiebe caught a nine-yard pass around his ankles and fell into the end zone for the score with 26.6 seconds left for a 36-0 margin.

With the lead exceeding 35 points, the teams played with a running clock the entire second half. Hillsboro didn?t waste any time, though, scoring on a six-play, 67-yard drive with Proffitt taking the ball into the end zone from a yard out and 8:21 left in the quarter.

Hillsboro cashed in another Moundridge fumble soon after, moving the ball 14 yards in four plays with Sinclair stepping in at quarterback and scoring on a one-yard keeper with 4:21 left in the quarter for a 49-0 lead.

Moundridge fumbled away the football yet again, giving HHS the ball at the Wildcat 25. Five plays later, the Trojans scored the final points of the night on a three-yard run by Preston Nelson with 11:22 left.

?I thought all three phases of the game played pretty well tonight,? coach Lance Sawyer said. ?We knew it was going to be a little wet, so we played with a wet ball on Tuesday and Wednesday to try and get them ready for it. They weren?t nervous about it all.

?I was proud of our defense,? he added. ?We came out and stuffed them at the start of the game. Our whole goal was to come out and play tougher than we have the last two games, and we did it.?

With the win, Hillsboro improved to 7-0 overall and 1-0 in district play while Moundridge slipped to 1-6 and 0-1.

Coming?The Trojans will face Marion Friday at Joel H. Wiens Stadium. Marion, 3-4 for the season, is coming off a 40-22 win over Halstead on Friday.

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