Hard times still haunting Hillsboro football team
Looking for a way to get back on track and boost their confidence, the Smoky Valley Vikings were one of the last teams the Trojans needed to see Friday night in Lindsborg.
A team featuring far more speed and offense than that of Hillsboro, the Vikings are one of the hottest teams in Class 3A.
The good news for Hillsboro was being able to convert on an extra point attempt, scoring the most points since putting up 33 against Lyons in week one.
Even though the Trojans have been outscored 80-19 the last three games, they've yet to be shut out.
The Trojans' (1-3) roughest part of the schedule is upon them after taking a 35-7 loss to the Vikings (4-0.)
"We had a good week of practice, and I thought we were making some gains, but yet, you watch and our line still won't fire out." said befuddled Trojan coach Len Coryea. "That's the bottom line — our line is not firing out."
Since putting up more than 250 yards in the opening week against the Lions, Hillsboro has been a team offensively challenged, being held to under 200 yards and averaging 13 points a game.
In hopes of getting more production out of his offense, Coryea juggled his lineup, shifting Derek Hamm from quarterback to wingback, Josh Boese to quarter, as well as making adjustments on the interior line.
Much to the chagrin of the Trojans, nothing worked with the speedy Vikings allowing just 37 yards total offense and a pair of first downs.
One problem plaguing Hillsboro has been the lack of time the quarterbacks have to make decisions.
That explained why Boese was sacked four times for a loss of 45 yards.
It didn't even take 3:00 before the flood gates opened on Hillsboro with Viking quarterback Darrin Biegert hooking up with Shannon Christians for an 11-yard touchdown.
Christians hauled in four catches for a game-high 73 yards and two touchdowns as part of the Vikings' 90 yards through the air.
Against a team playing as hot as Smoky Valley, being able to capitalize on Viking mistakes was a key factor.
Hillsboro had a chance with Biegert fumbling away the Vikings' second drive and Lucas Hamm on the recovery.
Unable to get anything on third down, going 0-for-9, Hillsboro was forced to punt.
Things didn't get any better for Hillsboro with Christians returning the kick 35 yards to set the Vikings up at the Trojan 45.
Three plays later, Ryan DuMars broke a 31-yard gain to put Smoky Valley up 14-0 with 2:40 still left in the first quarter.
Then Boese was picked off by Rowdy Jones on the ensuing drive, only to have the Vikings give it back to Tyler Goldsby to start the second quarter.
Hillsboro's drive ended on a bad snap that sailed over Lucas Hamm's head.
That led to the Vikings using a time consuming 33-yard drive, capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Michael Baker with just under 5:00 left in the first half.
The Trojans went into the locker-room at halftime down three scores and mustering 19 yards of offense while getting burned for 170.
Facing a 35-0 deficit with 6:51 left in the game going against the Viking reserves, Hillsboro staved off another shutout with Derek Hamm hitting Goldsby for a 23-yard touchdown.
Tyler Kaufman snapped a streak of two blocked PAT kick attempts, splitting the uprights.
"Smoky is a great team right now," Coryea said. "They're playing with a lot of confidence right now and their speed factor showed, our lack of speed showed.
"We've had good speed the last few years, and now we don't, but we still have to execute and we're not. We've got to take it one day at a time and keep trying to get better, that's the only thing I can say now."
More bad news for the Trojans is the road gets no easier Friday night when they travel to Wichita to tackle the Collegiate Spartans.
The Spartans doubled up then second-ranked Hesston, 28-14 after being beaten the previous week by the Vikings.
Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Junior varsity
The Hillsboro High School junior varsity football team lost to Smoky Valley Monday 30-13, on the Trojans' home field.
In the first quarter, Smoky Valley scored first on a 55-yard run but missed the PAT. Hillsboro then scored on a Kyle Kroeker run and the PAT kick was good by Kenton Kaufman and Hillsboro led 7-6.
The Vikings scored in the second quarter on a 11-yard pass and the PAT pass was good. The first half ended with Hillsboro trailing 14-6.
In the third quarter, Smoky Valley scored on a 20-yard pass and the PAT run was good. The score was 22-7.
In the fourth quarter, Hillsboro scored on a three-yard run by Chris Jenson but the PAT kick failed.
The Vikings came back with a 20-yard run and the PAT run was good, making the score 30-13.
"We moved the ball well all night, both in the air and on the ground," Coach Scott O'Hare said. "We just didn't complete a few key plays."
According to O'Hare this was the first time a team has scored on the Viking defense all year.
O'Hare praised Adam Dirks for his running hard and carrying the load on the ground. He said Kroeker did a nice job running the offense and Troy Frick made some clutch catches.
Dirks ran 72 yards in 15 carries followed by Jenson who ran 12 yards in five carries. Kroeker was eight of 19 for 135 yards.
Frick caught six passes for 83 yards, Tyler Suderman had one for 12 yards, and Jesse Boucher was one for 40 yards.
On the defensive side, Dirks had four solo tackles and five assists; Alex Nuss, three solos and four assists; Darren Enns, three solos and three assists; and Boucher, two solos and three assists.
"For the most part, our defenses kept them in check," O'Hare said. "Unfortunately, we gave up too many big plays."
The JV team will play at 6 p.m. Monday at Collegiate in Wichita.
