Hillsboro comes through in 'nitty-gritty' time yet again for 5-0 start
· Yahoo Sports
STAUNTON — Hillsboro would love to win a game without being behind, but at least the Hiltoppers never panic.
Trailing Staunton by two possessions after one quarter with two punts and a lost fumble, unbeaten Hillsboro’s struggles had the Bulldogs’ crowd thoroughly excited. Then, Noah Satterlee turned the momentum around with a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown and the Hiltoppers scored 35-straight points for a 42-22 South Central Conference win.
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“Our coaches, they really hold us together,” said Hillsboro senior fullback and linebacker Tytin Wells, who rushed 26 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns Friday. “We are a big chatterbox out in the field, and that's got to change. It really kills us. You can see in the first quarter when we were down. Our coaches just got to remind us that we're a family; we're a rock (and) nothing can break us but ourselves.”
It is the first time Hillsboro has started a season 5-0 (overall, also 5-0 in the SCC) since 2016 under now-HHS athletic director Aaron Duff. That season, Hillsboro lost four of its final five games and finished 6-4. The last time Hillsboro won six straight to begin a season came in 2006, when the late Rich Stewart guided the Hiltoppers to a 9-0 regular season.
Hillsboro forced four Staunton turnovers, the second week in a row Staunton (2-3, 2-3 SCC) committed four turnovers. Last week, Carlinville beat the Bulldogs 28-20.
Hillsboro senior nose guard Mason Currie grabbed a lost fumble, Jalen Stewart grabbed an interception and Satterlee picked off another Staunton pass. It was the second straight game with a recovered fumble for the 5-foot-9, 280-pound Currie, who used to play soccer for the Hiltoppers before trading his goalkeeper jersey in for football pads.
“It gets us really fired up because I'm half his weight and I'm out here on the field, and I'm just dying, and I see him just diving on the ball, putting in the extra effort, and it's just like, man, we just have such good dudes that just want it,” Satterlee said. “They want it bad, and I really see it from Mason.”
Currie is just happy to do his part.
“It felt good, honestly, but I'm just glad I was able to help out the team,” Currie said. “When it happened, I didn't know what was going on, but I just saw the ball, and I knew if it's in fair play, we're getting the ball.”
First-year Staunton coach Zach Klaustermeier remains optimistic. His team’s first two losses were by a combined nine points (14-13 in Week 1 to Piasa Southwestern and last week’s eight-point loss at Carlinville).
“I full-heartedly (believe) we should have been 4-0 (before Friday),” Klaustermeier said. “Carlinville is a good team too, but four turnovers . . . it's tough to beat anybody with four turnovers. Athletically, I would be scared to play us. We've got some athletes, and we've got some guys that can really move on offense.
“I think we showed it tonight. We're one play away from going 80 (on a kickoff return), and it's scaring the crap out of somebody.”
Confident Hiltoppers
Hillsboro trailed in wins over Pana, Vandalia, Greenville and now Staunton. The Bulldogs’ 10-0 lead after Chase Bodner made a 20-yard field goal with 5 minutes, 24 seconds left in the first quarter was the biggest deficit the Hiltoppers have faced. Satterlee said the team has ample confidence.
“Our confidence is really just built in the huddle,” Satterlee said. “Sometimes there's bickering, sometimes there's not, but whenever you get in the nitty-gritty, we're all going to come together as a family, and we're going to be like, ‘All right, we know we can punch it down their throats. We know we can get yards. We know we can score.
“At that point, we just have to let our defense handle it, and I think we've proven that we can handle it. It may take some time, but I think by the end of the year, we'll be ready to come out hard, and I think other teams see how hard we hit, and I think they need to be ready.”
Hillsboro coach Joe Reed is happy his team has the fortitude to fight back, but he’d really like to enjoy an early lead instead of being behind.
“I think we were pressing a little bit, being on the road,” Reed said. “We wanted to get up early and have a good showing, but credit (Staunton) because they came out and they were ready to play, and they were physical with us early on, and I think it took us a little bit.
“We got to work on getting out to fast starts, but I'm happy with how we respond. I know we've been there, so it kind of feels like we're already battle-tested.”
Takeaway battle
Two plays after Satterlee’s 29-yard INT return for a touchdown, Staunton quarterback Caden Leonard fumbled the ball and Currie pounced on it. Nine plays later, Hillsboro QB Elijah Patton scored on a 1-yard sneak to put Hillsboro up for good, 14-10.
The next Staunton possession ended when junior quarterback Paxton Brown threw an interception. Once again, the Hiltoppers took that gift and Wells scored on a 9-yard run to put Hillsboro up 21-10 at halftime.
The third quarter started with a 4-yard TD run by Wells before Patton completed his fourth pass of the season on a perfect 32-yard strike to tight end Eli Zaidi for a 35-10 lead.
Staunton’s Jake Spencer grabbed two touchdowns over the final 17 minutes, including hauling in an 89-yarder from Leonard with 5:06 left in the third to get Staunton within 35-16. But it was too little, too late to change the outcome.
“I think we've gotten better every week,” Klaustermeier said. “I think we're very close. I personally feel like that's the hardest (Hillsboro has) been played.”
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, [email protected], Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Hillsboro comes through in 'nitty-gritty' time yet again for 5-0 start