Hillsboro Edges Chillicothe In FAC OT Thriller

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The Hillsboro Indians held-off a Chillicothe second half rally for a 23-17 overtime win in their Frontier Athletic Conference football opener at Chillicothe Friday night.

Hillsboro built leads of 14-0 and 17-7, only to see the Cavaliers tie the game 17-17, before the Indians pulled it out in OT.

After a scoreless first quarter, Hillsboro opened the scoring with a 70 yard/9 play drive at 7:26 of the second quarter on a 9 yard TD run from quarterback Mason Dumpert, followed by Wes Bailey’s PAT kick for a 7-0 lead.

The Indians stretched that 14-0 at 4:29 of the second period on a Jeven Hochstuhl 20 yard TD run, capping a 45 yard/3 play drive.

Chillicothe cut the deficit to 14-7 on a Juan Miller quarterback keeper from 14 yards away at 3:07 remaining in the first half, capping a 57 yard/5 play drive.

Hillsboro took advantage of a Chillicothe fumbled punt reception at the 25 yard line, cashing in with a 40 yard field goal from Wes Bailey with 15 seconds left for a 17-7 halftime lead.

The Cavaliers defense was stellar in the second half, shutting down the Hillsboro offense in the third and fourth quarters, allowing the Cavs to score 10 unanswered points for a 17-17 score. Those scores came on a 26 yard field goal from Decon Crawford at 4:33 of the third quarter, capping an 88 yard/9 play scoring drive. Chillicothe tied the game on a 1 yard Juan Miller score with 10:08 left in regulation, finishing off a 70 yard/11 play scoring drive that was kept alive on a fake punt that went for a first down.

Chillicothe was driving in the closing minutes, and would have had a first down on a busted play scramble by Juan Miller, but the play was called back by a penalty claiming a Chillicothe blocker hit a “defenseless player”. This killed the drive and forced a punt, where Hillsboro killed time to end regulation and send it to the extra period.

Chillicothe had first crack at the offense, but a field goal attempt was blocked. The Indians scooped the ball up and ran the length of the field, believing they had scored the winning touchdown. But officials, consulted the rule book and determined the blocked field goal attempt becomes a “dead ball”, ending the play.

Hillsboro’s possession saw them get a first down, then score on a 5 yard TD run by Austin Barrett to end the game 23-17.

Hillsboro compiled 474 total yards, with Austin Barrett running for 177 and the game winning score. Chillicothe had 349 total yards with Juan Miller rushing for 149 and Oscar Morgan 130.

Hillsboro improves to (1-0/3-3), while Chillicothe drops to (0-1/1-5).