Trojan football team to play Hesston
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports Writer
Hillsboro and Hesston will put their identical 5-3 records to the test in a district football contest at 7 p.m. Friday at Hesston.
Both teams won last week, but their victories came against two very different teams.
Hillsboro beat struggling Marion 38-0, while Hesston pounded previously unbeaten Remington, 42-13.
For the season, Hesston lost to Smoky Valley and Halstead, while Hillsboro lost to Smoky Valley and Wichita Collegiate.
Hesston beat Collegiate, and also knocked off Conway Springs, Garden Plain, and Southeast of Saline, establishing itself as one of the better Class 3A teams.
Add the fact that the Trojans haven't defeated the Swathers in four tries, and it's clear the Trojans will need to play their best to win.
Based on their performance against Marion, it looks like they're ready for the challenge.
With the aftertaste of a 14-13 loss to Smoky Valley still in their mouths, the Trojans took their frustrations out on the young, outmatched, but feisty Warriors.
Even though Marion (2-5) had won the past two meetings against the Trojans, a quick Trojan start left the Warriors in the dust, 38-0.
"Feels good to finally get that off our backs," a joyful Trojan coach Len Coryea said. "They (Marion) do scrap — they're scrappy kids and that worried me. "
Marion's miseries started on the opening kickoff when Aaron Stepanek ran 96 yards for a touchdown.
"It relaxed me a whole bunch; that's what it did," said Coryea. " We had a different mood in the locker room than what we've had all year, everything was just different and that (return) loosened it back up."
With a touchdown run from Michael Suderman, who had two on the night, and a 45-yard run from Lucas Hamm, the Trojans were firmly in control after the first quarter with a 21-0 lead.
Hillsboro dominated the Warriors both on the scoreboard and in stats, holding Marion to 61 yards of total offense.
Thanks to a suffocating defense led by the trio of Hamm, Darren Enns, and Josh Kenney, the closest the Warriors got to midfield in the first hall was their own 45.
The lone chance Marion had at getting something on the scoreboard ended on an Austin Hager fumble late in the game against the Trojan reserves.
So far, one of the biggest sore spot for the Trojans offensively, has been their inconsistency on extra points. They turned the tables on that, too, with Tyler Kaufman a perfect 5-for-5 on points after.
With business as usual for the Trojans, Kaufman provided an uncommon treat, booting a 31-yard field goal just before halftime to put the game away at 38-0.
"The highlight tonight for me was the field goal, especially from 31 yards," said Coryea. "I saw that six seconds, hey, let's just go for a field goal. It's a good time to practice those things."
Jacob Yoder carried the ball eight times for a game-high 81 yards, picking up 26 on Hillsboro's last touchdown with 5:10 left in the first half.
