HILLSBORO: Smoky Valley ruins Trojan home opener
Smoky Valley deals Hillsboro second consecutive loss, 13-12
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Three games into the 2002 season and the Trojan football team has drug a skeleton out of its closet that was thought to have been gone for five years.
For the first time since 1997, a Dustin McEwen coached-Hillsboro team is lugging around a losing record, 1-2.
The victory-starved Smoky Valley Vikings spoiled the Trojans' home opener Friday night, nipping Hillsboro 13-12.
For the second week in a row, it was another near-miss for Hillsboro.
And for the first time as a Hillsboro Trojan, transfer Caleb Marsh had a load too heavy to lift.
Facing a third-and-three at the Viking 8-yard line with better than 2:00 left in the game, Trojan quarterback Dustin Jost ran a planned bootleg around the right side.
Instead, Jost got dropped in the backfield for a 9-yard loss.
Besides tying the game at 3-3 on a 31-yard field goal with :20 seconds left in the first half, Marsh had a chance to win the game on a 35-yard field goal attempt.
The kick was long enough, but a wide left allowed the Vikings to run out the clock.
"The second half, I thought we played well enough to win the ball game," McEwen said. "We made a bonehead call down late.
"If I could do it again, I'd give it to Marsh and let him run it in."
While some coaches might be racing for the distress button, McEwen isn't panicking. Take away the penalties and the turnovers, Hillsboro could very easily be undefeated.
Until the Oct. 25 slugfest with Hesston, the road gets a little smoother for the Trojans.
What's more, Hillsboro seems to be getting on track as far as running passing routes and Alan Yoder's running game go.
With tailback Kris Jones out of action Friday night, Yoder, Marsh and Tyler Peachey were left to carry the load in the backfield.
The speedster Yoder helped set up what could have been the game winning drive for Hillsboro, busting loose for a 25-yard gain to set up a first-and-10 at the Viking 15.
Yoder clawed his way to a season-high 14 carries for 78 yards as part of the Trojans' 104-yard ground attack.
"I thought the guys ran with the intensity they needed to run," said McEwen. "Alan Yoder ran better tonight than he has all year long, and Marsh and Peachey both gave it their all."
Trailing 6-3 with 2:41 left in the third, Jost floated a pass right to the Vikings' Brandon Krinhop.
Krinhop returned the interception 31-yards, setting the table for a one-yard touchdown run by Sean Hedberg, giving the Vikings a 13-3 lead.
Smoky Valley had a great opportunity to blow the game open on its first drive of the final quarter when Krinhop returned a punt 68 yards to the Hillsboro 10.
The Trojans' defense made another huge goal-line stand, holding the Vikings on four downs.
For the game, Smoky Valley mustered 155 yards of offense, slowed by six penalties for 60 yards.
Hillsboro got a pair of pivotal 13-yard catches from the little-used receiver Brodie Unrau to set up a 42-yard bullet from Jost to Peachey, which chopped the Viking lead to 13-10.
Peachey hauled in four catches for a team-high 75 yards.
With 5:43 left in the game, the momentum made a huge swing in the Trojans' favor.
A pair of sacks by Steven Chisholm and Dustin Hendricks drove the Vikings back to their own 10.
Kyle Jilka trimmed the deficit to 13-12, blocking a Viking punt in the end zone, forcing Smoky Valley to take a safety with 3:50 to go.
The safety punt left the Trojans with excellent field position, first-and-10 at the Viking 44.
But the Vikings thwarted the victory for Hillsboro with Marsh's field goal attempt no good.
"It was a heartbreaker, but I think we'll survive," McEwen said. "I'm not real worried."
The Trojans host Ellinwood Friday for the homecoming game to open Mid-Division play.
