Sports writer
Can we go home now?
That’s a question the Trojans and coach Len Coryea have been asking for much of the season.
Why bother?
After all, the road has been kind to Hillsboro (3-1), who closed up an eternal four-game stint Friday night, mauling the Lyons Lions, 35-7.
“We actually played both sides of the ball and I thought it was a toss-up ball game,” Coryea said. “I thought it was going to be tight, we just came out sharp. We practiced well again, and the key is you practice well.”
The Trojans came out razor sharp, benefiting from Ishmael Morris, who picked up his third consecutive 100-yard game rushing, carrying for a game-high 146 yards and three touchdowns.
Hillsboro wasted little time getting in gear with Jacob Fish hitting Daniel Jost for a 38-yard touchdown down the Lion sideline on second-and-eight.
Fish stung the Lions both with his arm and with his legs, throwing for 166 yards on 9-16 passing, and having a hand in a trio of touchdowns.
Jacob Wiebe’s PAT kick put Lyons in a bind it never got out of, igniting 28 unanswered points.
Outside of speedy quarterback Daniel Craig, the Lions were unable to mount any offense, making it inside the Trojan 20 only twice thanks to a stingy, swarming Hillsboro defense.
The Lions missed their first of two opportunities to get on the board on their first drive with a field goal sailing wide left.
Morris accumulated nearly half of his yardage on the ensuing possession, lighting Lyons up for 16 and 41-yard runs before pushing Hillsboro’s lead to 14-0 with a one-yard run with 1:31 still left in the first quarter.
He struck again on Hillsboro’s third drive with the aid of another 16-yard run and good field position, punching in a 13-yard score to make it a 21-0 game 2:18 into the second quarter.
Sadly for Lyons, Morris wasn’t done yet, hauling in a 21-yard touchdown from Fish to put Hillsboro up, 28-0, nearly two minutes later and help the Trojans to a commanding lead at halftime.
Craig hurt the Trojans with 123 yards rushing, ripping off a 40-yard gain shortly after the start of the second half, but Lyons stalled inside Hillsboro’s 32, turning the ball over on downs.
Morris would’ve added another touchdown, except the Trojans were flagged for holding, waiving off what would’ve been his longest run of the night, and Hillsboro came away empty-handed.
Fish finished off the Lions with 7:24 left in the game, bulling his way to a one-yard touchdown with a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-one.
Finishing the game strong has been a bugaboo for the Trojans the last two games, and Lyons thwarted the shutout with 2:17 to go as Brandon Harmony snuck in from four yards out.
“Our pass rush was the best we’ve had this year,” Coryea said. “We’ve got to cut down on mistakes and penalties, we didn’t have many penalties. We have that little letdown all the time where we get soft.
“Maybe we just want to stay on the road. It was a great night, you can’t ask for better cylinders than that.”
Hillsboro finally gets to play under its own lights Friday, hosting the winless Sterling Black Bears.