Spartans rain on Trojan homecoming
Late turnover foils Hillsboro's second straight bid at upset, 13-7
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
For the second week in a row, Trojan quarterback Josh Boese had the opportunity to do what many believed was impossible — knock off another heavily favored opponent.
That came Friday night in Hillsboro against the unbeaten Collegiate Spartans for the homecoming game.
With 1:15 left, momentum rolling the Trojans' direction, and first-and-10 at the Spartan 35, Boese, looking for Troy Frick, instead hit Jamal Murray.
The Spartans ran out the clock, thwarting Hillsboro's (3-2) shot at pulling off the upset, 13-7.
"It's hard to get that kind of a win two weeks in a row." said Trojan coach Len Coryea.
Much like they have been in their two losses, the Trojans were again their own worst enemy.
One week removed from surprising Smoky Valley where the Trojans got a season-high 255 yards through the air, Hillsboro's offense struggled against the speedy Spartan defense.
This week, Boese was held to seven-of-17 passing for 40 yards despite carrying the ball 10 times for a team-high 50 yards to help pick up 137 on the ground
Besides Collegiate's tailback John Houlik, who had a game-high 126 yards on 22 carries, the Spartans hardly looked impressive offensively, either, rushing for 137 yards and 103 in the air.
Both of their touchdowns came courtesy of two of four Trojan turnovers and they left the door wide open for Hillsboro the whole game, had it been able to convert.
The Trojans had the chance to take the lead on their opening drive after holding the Spartans to a three-and-out.
Collegiate's punter's knee touched the ground on the kick, setting Hillsboro up at the Spartan 12.
Two runs from Tim Funk went nowhere and the Trojans gave the ball right back to Collegiate on a fumble in the end zone that was ruled a touchback.
With their offense being held in check by the Trojans' pesky defense, the Spartans' defense finally got them on the board with 3:17 left in the opening frame.
Backed up at the Trojans' 13 Boese was picked off by Bo Dunne, who took it in 13 yards to give the Spartans a 7-0 edge.
Hillsboro had two golden opportunities to take control on back-to-back drives in the second quarter, twice driving inside the Spartan 25.
But both fourth-down gambles gave the ball back to the Spartans with time squandered.
Collegiate led at halftime, 7-0.
The Trojans caught another break on the Spartans' opening drive of the second half.
Josh Kenney dropped the state's leading passer, Joe Houlik, for a seven-yard loss before he coughed up the ball on second-and-10 at midfield.
Chad Hughbanks picked up the loose ball to give the Trojans the ball at their 42.
That chance went down the drain on second down with Hillsboro fumbling and Dunne there to recover.
Six plays later with 5:22 left in the third quarter, Collegiate was in front 13-0 after a three-yard John Houlik touchdown.
Hillsboro got one more break in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter when Matt Brown recovered a John Houlik fumble.
Brown's 55-yard return set the Trojans up with their best field position of the game at the Spartan-five.
Two plays later, Boese broke up the shutout with a two-yard score, and suddenly, Hillsboro was right back in the game after the David Funk-PAT.
The Spartans engineered a time consuming drive, but penalties forced them to punt, giving the Trojans one last crack with 79 yards to go.
Adam Scheele picked up 10 yards on a reverse before Boese hit Frick for a 12-yard gain on fourth down.
The duo again hooked up to get the ball to the 35 before Johnson spoiled the upset.
"They're (Collegiate defense) so fast," Coryea said. "Then they blitz and they're so fast with that blitz and then you turn around and throw that interception. When you have to go 80 yards, you can't make a mistake.
"Every other team, I think we'd get that ball. Boese, the kid is doing great. He feels bad, but he did what he had to do. Hey, it's hard to throw when you got guys coming at you that fast."
The Trojans get a slightly easier test Friday night when they travel to struggling Nickerson for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
