Loewen reigns in 24-8 conquest of Ellinwood

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Mother Nature rained on the pre-game homecoming festivities, but Jeremy Loewen reigned on and off the field as Hillsboro High School rolled over Ellinwood, 24-8, Friday night at Reimer Field.



The senior tailback was crowned homecoming king in a ceremony forced by rain inside Tabor College’s Campus Recreation Center.



But it was on the playing field that Loewen established his rule, amassing 211 yards rushing and all four Trojan touchdowns on an incredible 42 carries.



“That’s what was working, and we stuck to it,” Loewen said of his unprecedented workload. “The passing game wasn’t quite there with the wind in the second half, especially. So we had to stick to the ground. The line did a great job.”



The threat of lightning delayed the start of the game by an hour, and a north wind buffeted passing and kicking, especially when it picked up intensity in the second half.



But it was the intensity of the Trojans that determined the outcome of this battle against a formidable Mid Division foe.



“I thought we played much more inspired, had much better focus, with a little more intensity, and came off the ball a little better-for at least three quarters,” said a pleased head coach, Dustin McEwen. “Then, maybe we got a little tentative again. But for three quarters of the game, we were hitting on all cylinders and things were looking good.”



The game began as a classic battle between divisional heavyweights as both team battled for control of the game.



The Trojans took the opening kick off from their own 35 and drove to the Ellinwood 27-yard line before losing the ball on downs.



Ellinwood came right back, driving to the Trojan 31-yard line before Phillip Terrell intercepted a Mark Panning pass and gave Hillsboro the ball at the 27.



Loewen picked up nine yards on the Trojans’ first play, but lost a fumble on the second play, giving the Eagles possession on the Trojan 41-yard line.



With the help of a clipping penalty, the Trojan defense stopped Ellinwood and regained the ball on their own 20 after an Eagle 64-yard punt was carried by the jet stream into the end zone.



From there, the Trojans began a 10-play touchdown drive fueled by Loewen’s work ethic and a 48-yard scamper by sophomore Alan Yoder.



On the first play of the second quarter, quarterback Ronn Coates rolled to his right, threw a missile on the run that junior Layne Frick dove for between two defenders and caught on the Ellinwood 1-yard line.



“I told Coates I thought that was his finest throw as a Trojan quarterback,” McEwen said. “He was on the run, he put it on the money, low. It was great.”



Loewen cashed in his first touchdown on the next play, and Hillsboro led 6-0 after kicker Sheldon Funk shanked the extra-point attempt.



The Trojan defense stopped Ellinwood again, and the offense then began an 11-play, 78-yard drive for their second score. Once again, Frick made a key catch, hauling in a Coates bomb for a 33-yard pickup to the Ellinwood 39.



Eight plays later, Loewen scored on a second-effort plunge from two yards out to give Hillsboro a 12-0 lead with 2:49 left in the half. A 2-point conversion failed when receiver Dan Funk slipped on the turf running his pattern and Coates was sacked before he could find an alternate target.



The Trojans assumed control of the game early in the third period. The defense stopped Ellinwood on three plays to open the half.



A bad punt gave the Trojans the ball on the Ellinwood 21. Loewen ran for a touchdown on the very next play. The lead stayed at 18-0 when the Trojans failed to cash in another 2-point conversion attempt.



The two teams traded possessions a couple of times before the Trojans took over on the Ellinwood 40 with 7:06 left in the third quarter.



On fourth-and-nine at the 24, Coates rolled to his right, avoided two tacklers, then nailed Loewen for a completion at the 7-yard line.



Three plays later, Loewen ran the ball in once more, this time from 10 yards out. Hillsboro led 24-0 with 2:46 left in the quarter.



A fumble recovery by Funk and an interception by Andrew Hein on consecutive possessions kept the Eagles grounded early in the final period.



But Panning showed why he is an All-MCAA quarterback. Three plays after the Eagles recovered a lateral-pass fumble by Coates on the Hillsboro 49-yard line, Panning hit Andy Wessner with a 16-yard touchdown pass to put the Eagles on the board. Panning’s pass to Jacob Strecker made the score 24-8.



Following a short Trojan possession, Panning began moving his team again. But Terrell intercepted a pass tipped by Ross Duerksen to give the Trojans the ball and the game with 3:01 to play.



Coming off last week’s disappointing loss to Smoky Valley, McEwen liked the way his team responded against Ellinwood.



“I’d say we have a team that’s going to be competitive with whomever you want to put on the field,” he said.



“It’s going to be a big test for us again this week with Collegiate coming. If they’re one of the best (teams in the state), all right. We’ll find out where we’re at.”



But McEwen also downplayed the importance of this Friday’s matchup with the archrival Spartans, who are ranked second in Class 3A and undefeated.



“It’s just another ball game,” he said. “In the big scope of things, it’s the final three (district games) that matter.”



Game time in Wichita is 7 p.m.

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