Trojans eliminated with loss to Warriors
Familiar woes haunt Hillsboro in 33-6 blowout
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
The Hillsboro offense stood idly on the sidelines Friday night.
That's because the Trojan defense set up camp and pitched tents on the field during the second half of the Marion County battle at Marion between Hillsboro and the Warriors.
Once again, the familiar mistakes of turnovers and missed opportunities spelled disaster for the Trojans (4-4, 0-2 district) as a big second half for the Warriors led to an easy 33-6 win over Hillsboro.
The loss keeps the Trojans out of the postseason for the second year in a row even with a win Thursday over Southeast of Saline.
One of the best chances to stop the Warriors depends on if their ground game and tailback Casey Nelson get rolling.
Nelson outdid the Trojans offensively, single-handedly, rushing 38 times for a game-season high 228 yards and all five Warrior touchdowns.
That's three more yards than what offensively-challenged Hillsboro had the entire game with Marion pounding out 342 yards on the ground and 30 passing.
Just like every game, the Trojans had a golden opportunity to get on the scoreboard on their opening drive.
Tim Funk carried the ball 10 times for a team-high 72 yards, picking up nearly half on Hillsboro's first possession.
The Trojans drove all the way to the one-yard line only to turn the ball over on downs, lose time, and come away with zilch to change the complexion of the game.
It's been that kind of a year for Hillsboro, though, with sustained drives not producing points.
Nelson made his first strike with 1:32 left in the first quarter, punching it in on a one-yard run to give Marion the 7-0 lead.
In the meantime, the Trojans had their usual chore of trying to get something going offensively, turning the ball over on two of their first four drives.
By the time it was all over for the Trojans, they'd turned the ball over three times on interceptions and lost one fumble that gave the Warriors a 21-point boost.
Nelson struck one more time to make it a two-score game 46 seconds into the second quarter and pushed the Warriors' lead to 14-0, breaking loose on a 17-yarder.
Hillsboro had another chance to get on the board on the ensuing possession with quarterback Josh Boese firing to Troy Frick for a 16-yard gain to give the Trojans first- and-10 at the Warrior 25.
Three plays went backward, and the Trojans again turned the ball over on downs.
Finally with 4:12 left in the first half, Lucas Hamm slipped away for a 28-yard touchdown.
David Funk's PAT was wide left, but Hillsboro got back in the game by halftime, trailing 14-6.
The Warriors controlled the clock the second half, forcing the Trojan defense to camp on the field and eventually run out of gas.
When the Trojans actually had the ball, they turned it right back over to Marion.
The Warriors started to pull away on the opening drive of the second half, eating up 6:56 of the clock before Nelson scored on a two-yard run.
The kick was no good, but Hillsboro was in severe trouble, down 20-6.
The Trojans never threatened again, making it past midfield once the remainder of the contest.
Hillsboro finished the game with 180 yards on the ground and Boese throwing for 45 yards with six completions and three picks.
The Trojans wrap up the season Thursday at Southeast of Saline at 7 p.m.
