ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DR
Conway Springs embodied the proverbial “irrestible force” as the undefeated and top-ranked Cardinals simply overpowered the Hillsboro Trojans, 42-14, to win the regional title at Reimer Field Saturday afternoon.
Conway took the opening kick off and ground out steady but not a particularly impressive 13-play, 69-yard drive to score on a two-yard run by quarterback Matt Wykes with 6:47 left on the clock. Jason Benge kicked the extra point and the Cardinals led 7-0.
But Hillsboro landed a haymaker punch on its next possession as Caleb Marsh cut to the outside and ran 68 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown on Hillsboro’s second play from scrimage. The extra point was blocked, but the game was close at 7-6 with just under 6 minutes on the clock.
But rather than stagger the opponent, the Trojan touchdown seemed to wake them up as the Cardinals steamrolled 70 yards in five plays with Darrin Seiwert crashing in from one yard out for the score. The extra point was good and Conway led 14-6 with 3:55 to play in the opening period.
The Cardinals scored once more in the half on a one-yard run by Wykes with 7:50 play in the second quarter to cap an 80-yard, 16-play drive. Benge’s kick made it 21-6.
A Wykes fumble at the Trojan 2-yard line prevented a fourth touchdown in the half, and an interception by Brodie Unrau at midfield may have prevented another one.
Even so, Conway had 258 rushing yards by intermission on 40 carries and still led 21-6. HHS had 73 ryushing yards, all but five of which came on Marsh’s TD run. Derek Hamm was 3-for-11 throwing for 30 yards passing.
The second half was mostly a matter of seeing how many points Conway would put on the board before bringing in the reserves. The answer was 21 as Wykes scored two more times on runs of eight and four yards in the third quarter and Seiwert added an 11-yard run in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
The Trojans managed a fourth-quarter score against the Cardinal reserves on a 12-yard pass from Hamm to Tim Funk with 7:01 left in the game to cap a nine-play, 53-yard drive. HHS almost managed a second score, but Hamm was held out of the end zone on fourth-and-one to end a 68-yard drive over the final five minutes of the game.
With the win, Conway Springs moves to 11-0 while the Trojans finish their successful season at 7-4.
Conway Springs ends HHS football season
