ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
The Hillsboro Trojans put together four solid quarters of football on both sides of the ball Friday night and soundly defeated their intra-county rivals, the Marion Warriors, 28-0, in Marion.
Jeremy Loewen got Hillsboro off to a good start after the defense shut down the Warriors on their first possession. Loewen carried the ball four times and gained one, 37, five and finally two yards to score the first touchdown of the game with 10:44 left in the first quarter. Sheldon Funk missed the extra-point kick, but Hillsboro led, 6-0.
After swapping possessions a couple of times, the Trojans drove from their own 24-yard line and, with the help of a 41-yard gallop by Loewen, got to the Warrior 1-yard line in six plays. Dustin Jost, subbing for starter Ronn Coates on this series, snuck the ball in from there and Loewen added the 2-point conversion run to make the score 14-0 with 10:01 left in the half.
Marion took the ensuing kickoff and marched from their own 29 down to the Trojan 6 in 15 plays, but Loewen tackled the Marion runner for a three-yard loss and the Trojans took over on downs with 1:09 to go in the half.
That stop bolstered the Trojans’ confidence as they went to intermission. Hillsboro added two touchdowns in the second half. The first came on a 16-yard run by Loewen with 3:13 to go in the third quarter, and then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Andrew Hein stole the ball from Marion quarterback Jamey Cooper and waltzed into the end zone from 20 yards out for the Trojans’ fourth and final touchdown. Sasha Hechler kicked the extra points after both touchdowns to give Hillsboro the final 28-0 margin.
With the win, Hillsboro moves to 6-2 on the season and will face Hesston Thursday for the district championship.
Hillsboro shuts out Marion, 28-0
