Too much Caleb Cherry?holmes and too many Trojan turnovers were decisive factors in Remington?s 32-15 win over Hillsboro in the second round of district play Friday night at Joel H. Wiens Stadium.
Remington?s talented quarterback rolled up 345 yards of total offense?148 yards and one touchdown on 34 carries, and 197 yards and three touchdowns through the air on 12-for-26 passing.
?What we saw on film was a guy who never crossed the line of scrimmage?we were thinking he would run back and forth like he did, but he just attacked us,? coach Max Heinrichs said of the Bronco junior. ?They had a good game plan. They attacked us and he made us pay.?
The outcome of game turned late in the first half. Hillsboro had just taken its first lead at 8-6 with 4:23 left when Remington punter Matt Jacobs stepped on the back line of the end zone while trying to punt with the ball on the Bronco 2-yard line.
On the ensuing free kick, Hillsboro fumbled away the football, giving the Broncos the ball at the Trojan 42-yard line. Eight plays later, Cherryholmes slipped untouched into the end zone from three yards. Luke Igo ran the 2-point conversion to give the visitors a 14-8 advantage with 2:34 left in the half.
Then, on Hillsboro?s first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, quarterback Luke Moore?s pass was picked off by a Bronco defender to give Remington the ball at the Trojan 32.
After a 10-yard penalty on each team, Cherryholmes connected with wide receiver Jake Green for a 31-yard scoring pass down the middle of the field. The 2-point pass fell incomplete, but Remington led 20-8 going into intermission.
Dampened by come-and-go rain showers all evening, the game was halted for 30 minutes in the third quarter because of lightning. At that point, the score was still 20-8 with 1:45 left.
When play resumed, Reming?ton continued its drive. But on the third play, the football popped loose in the backfield. Hills??boro?s Ben Gardner scooped up the ball around midfield and ran inside the 20.
A face-mask call and a personal foul against the Broncos on the tackle gave HHS the ball at the Bronco 21?2-yard line. An encroachment penalty on the first play moved the ball to the 1.
Chance Reece smashed in for the score on the next snap. Gardner kicked the extra point to pull HHS to within 20-15.
Hillsboro then stopped Rem?ington on downs, thanks to a Bronco fumble on fourth-and-1 at the Trojan 20. But three plays into Hillsboro?s ensuing possession, Moore fumbled a shotgun snap and Remington recovered the football at the Trojan 19.
Six plays later, on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line, Igo broke through for the score. The 2-point pass failed, but Remington led, 26-15, with 6:10 to play.
After Hillsboro turned the ball over on downs after a five-play possession, Remington nailed down the victory when Cherryholmes hit Green with a 59-yard scoring pass with 2:44 left. The 2-point pass failed, giving the Broncos the 32-15 final margin.
In the first quarter, Cherry?holmes threw his first touchdown pass of the night to Alex Freking from 17 yards out. Hillsboro tied the game at 6-6 in the second quarter when Moore connected with Gardner for a 17-yard score.
Heinrichs said the 30-minute delay wasn?t a factor in the game, but the wet weather contributed to some of Hillsboro?s five turnovers for the night.
?The ball was wet, we were dropping it and they were dropping it,? he said. ?We got lucky and got a couple of theirs and they got some of ours, too.?
With the loss, Hillsboro falls to 4-4 for the year and 1-1 in district play while Rem?ing?ton improved to 6-2 and clinched the district title at 2-0.
Coming?Hillsboro and Marion, both 1-1 in district play, will square off in the regular-season finale to see who moves on to the state playoffs as the district runner-up. The last three games between the two schools have been overtime thrillers with the Trojans getting two wins, Marion one.
Game time at Joel H. Wiens Stadium will be 7 p.m.
Thursday?s winner will play state power Garden Plain Tuesday night.
