HILLSBORO: Swathers' first half spells doom for Trojans
Hesston holds off second half Trojan surge 26-12
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
For the last two seasons, the blame for keeping the Hesston Swathers out of postseason has rested solely on the shoulders of the Trojans.
Hesston's gone into games against the Trojans highly ranked, only to come out to play spectator to the state playoffs.
Not this year.
In stopping Hesston, the biggest key is shutting down their massive ground attack, making them rely on the pass.
And it means keeping one of the state's premier runners, Brian Roulhac, from taking over.
The Trojans had no such luck Friday night doing either against the fifth-ranked Swathers in Hillsboro, falling short 26-12.
Hesston rolled up 257 yards on the ground with Roulhac carrying 29 times for a game-high 174 yards and a touchdown to play a key role in snapping a five-year losing streak against Hillsboro.
"That would've been the biggest key (shutting down the running game) to beating Hesston," Trojan coach Dustin McEwen said. "Roulhac is going to get his yards; he's a great back.
"They have a lot of talent that they need to be a very good team. They've got a good kicking game, a good big back, a good fullback, a good speedster, good team speed and big offensive linemen."
The loss drops Hillsboro to 4-4 on the year and 1-1 in districts.
Even with the defeat, Hillsboro likely qualifies for its fifth-consecutive playoff birth thanks to the new postseason alignment.
The game had all the makings of a disaster for the Trojans by the end of the first quarter.
Within the game's first six minutes, both teams traded back-to-back turnovers on their first two drives.
Roulhac coughed up the ball on the first play of the game only to have Hillsboro give it right back on a Caleb Marsh fumble.
Marsh made up for the early mistake, hauling in five Dustin Jost passes for a game-high 141 yards receiving.
Then Kris Jones recovered a loose ball on the Swathers' second drive.
But Hillsboro couldn't capitalize on either Swather miscue, with Jost firing an interception right to Andy Bartell on the ensuing play.
"If we could have capitalized on some of them," McEwen said, "it really would have helped us. They took care of the ball from then on out."
Tackling a fresh Roulhac alone is nearly impossible with the 211-pound senior gaining a fair share of his yardage after contact.
With the huge Swather line averaging 220 pounds across the front, Roulhac was able to find open holes to run the entire first half.
"I think the difference in the game was our offensive line," Roulhac said. "They did a great job. They opened a lot of holes and made it easier for me part of the time."
Roulhac chewed up 29 yards on the Swathers' first score, punching it in from six out for a 7-0 score, 6:44 into the game.
Hillsboro's defense saw to it that was the last time Roulhac made it in.
A blocked punt set up the key play of the game for Hesston.
The Swathers proved that there is more to the running game than just Roulhac with speedy fullback Jason Pomeroy taking it in on a 66-yard run.
With 1:37 left in the first quarter, Hillsboro's balloon appeared deflated, in a 14-0 hole.
It would get worse with the Swather quarterback hitting Dustin Klassen for a 25-yard touchdown 7 seconds into the second quarter.
With the Trojan defense being permanent residents of Reimer Field in the first half, the offense only mustered 73 yards with 67 coming on the ground.
Trailing 20-0 at halftime, the Swathers' 232 yards of first half offense still wasn't enough to keep the Trojans down. As one-sided as the first half was, Hillsboro weathered the storm.
The Trojans came out a changed team in the second half as a 32-yard run by Jones set up a first-and-10 at the Swather 22. Jones went on to pace the Trojans with nine carries for 63 yards.
One play later, Jost hit Jones for a 19-yard touchdown with 7:56 left in the third quarter, to cut the lead to 20-6.
"Our team has a lot of pride," Jost said. "They didn't intimidate us; our defense shut them down the second half. We played with a lot of heart. We didn't want to lose."
The Trojans were a touchdown away in the fourth quarter with Alan Yoder plunging his way in from the 2, pulling to 20-12 with 8:09 to go.
The Swathers had a chance to answer right back with a first-and-goal at the 5.
Hillsboro held the Swathers on four plays, stopping a winded Roulhac on three carries before quarterback Randall Drier fumbled the ball away on fourth down.
"That was a tremendous effort on our kids' part," said McEwen of the goal line stand. "It was do-or-die and they stood up to the test. Keeping Hesston out inside the eight-yard line is tough."
The Trojans were still breathing with 2:15 to go.
Unfortunately for Hillsboro, the drive fizzled out at its own 3, giving way to a back-breaking Pomeroy touchdown with 1:20 left.
"We won the second half," McEwen said. "I was proud of how we played."
The Trojans travel today to winless Halstead for a 7 p.m. start.
