Hillsboro scored on the fourth play of the game and never let up en route to a surprisingly easy 35-3 homecoming victory Friday over the Kingman Eagles at Joel H. Wiens Stadium.
The only team that slowed the Trojan express was the Trojans themselves. Hills?boro had two touchdowns called back because of penalties and lost a third one on an interception deep in Eagle territory. For the game, the Trojans were assessed 116 yards on eight penalties.
Even so, the Trojans clearly dominated the contest. HHS fans barely had time to settle into their seats before the Trojans were on the board. Quarterback Luke Moore hit Aaron Klassen with a 31-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage, then ran 23 yards to the Eagle 12.
After an incomplete pass, Moore ran off tackle the remaining yards to the end zone only 48 seconds into the contest. Jesse Brown made the first of his five consecutive extra-point kicks to give HHS a 7-0 start.
?We had a pretty good plan for them right away to get a score pretty quickly, and hopefully get them to put their heads down,? coach Max Heinrichs said.
Kingman then fumbled on the third play of its first possession, and Dylan Jirak recovered the football at the Eagle 28. Moore threw to Evan Ollenburger three plays later for an apparent score, but the touchdown was called back on an illegal-motion penalty.
No matter. The Trojans regrouped and scored in six plays when Moore darted 11 yards into the end zone with 6:48 left in the first quarter.
After Kingman went three-and-out, Moore hooked up on an apparent 34-yard scoring pass to Shaq Thiessen on Hills?boro?s first play from scrimmage. This time the touchdown was called back because of a holding call.
After the two teams traded a couple of possessions, Hillsboro scored its third touchdown with 2:43 left in the first half when Moore snuck into the end zone from one yard out to cap an 11-play, 82-yard drive that took just over three minutes.
The Trojans almost cashed in one more time before intermission. After the Eagles went three-and-out, backup quarterback Lucas Sinclair connected with Klassen for a 48-yard pass to give HHS a first down at the 12. But Moore then threw a pass into the hands of Mikabe Erd?man, giving the Eagles possession at the Trojan 9.
Kingman had its best drive at the start of the second half, moving from its own 36-yard line to the Trojan 6 in 13 running plays.
But Hillsboro?s defense stiffened, stopping Erdman for losses of eight and five yards on consecutive quarterback keepers. After an incomplete pass, the Eagles settled for a 36-yard field goal by Will Cousins for their only points of the night.
Led by the running of Tyler Proffitt, Hillsboro came right back with a 62-yard scoring drive in only six plays with Proffitt scampering in from 28 yards away. The junior ran three times for 36 yards during the drive, which gave Hillsboro a 28-3 lead with 1:31 left in the third period.
Scott Brazil added one last score for Hillsboro, taking a pitch from Sinclair and sweeping the left end for a 16-yard touchdown.
Moore picked up 110 of Hillsboro?s 297 rushing yards on 13 carries and Proffitt added 97 yards on 11 attempts. Moore added 115 yards through the air, completing nine of 18 passes. Hillsboro held a 316 yards to 199 yards advantage in total offense.
Heinrichs was pleased with his team?s play except for the penalties and lost points.
?It was a little more sloppy than we thought,? he said. ?At homecoming you always kind of expect a few of these things. We left three touchdowns on the field, and that kind of concerns me. We?re going to have play better next week against Smoky Valley.?
With the non-league win, Hillsboro remains 1-2 in the Central Kansas League while improving to 3-2 overall. Kingman drops to 1-4 overall and remains 1-3 in the CKL.
Coming?The Trojans will complete league play Friday when they travel to Lindsborg to play Smoky Valley (2-1, 2-3).
