Befitting a quarterback committed to a major college, Hillsboro senior Preston Brown passed for 358 yards and four touchdowns and ran for a team-leading 105 yards on six carries to lead the Hawks to a runaway 64-24 demolition of host Windsor Oct. 4.
After Brown guided the Hawks to the Class 4 state final and posted a record of 22-4 in his first two seasons as the starting QB, he committed to North Dakota State University in Fargo. His brother, Payton, is a freshman running back at Southeast Missouri State University.
In Hillsboro’s 14-7 loss to unbeaten Festus one week earlier, Brown completed only five of 15 passes for 38 yards. But against the Owls, he spread the ball out to six different receivers. Brown’s top targets were running backs Chris Duncan (three catches, 105 yards) and Aidan Roland (two for 100), who both took short passes and turned them into long gains. On a jet sweep, Duncan took a shovel pass from Brown and scampered 91 yards for a touchdown.
“We used to hand it off there, but sometimes that ball gets knocked loose,” Hillsboro head coach Bill Sucharski said. “Preston was able to make some plays with his arm and feet and Chris Duncan had a big night.”
Hillsboro led Windsor 43-8 at halftime and played mostly reserves in the second half. A key interception by Kaden Larkin set the Hawks up on a short field for one TD, and they recovered a fumbled punt at the Owl three-yard line to set up another score. Junior kicker Caleb Arnold was eight for eight on extra-point attempts.
Windsor rushed for 275 yards, led by junior running back Logan Wilson, who had 18 carries for 103 yards. Junior Willie Coleman contributed 95 yards on 17 carries. The Owls’ first-year head coach is Lee Freeman, who coached Hillsboro from 2014 through 2019 and led the Hawks to a district title in 2017.
Hillsboro improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Mississippi Area Football Conference, where the Hawks are in second place behind Festus (6-0, 4-0), which already has clinched the conference championship. Hillsboro can wrap up second place with a win over its next opponent, host De Soto, which is also 3-3 and has won two in a row, outscoring the opposition 97-50.
“Windsor’s first play against us (tonight) was play-action and our kids bit on it and (the Owls) hit (a pass) over the top. De Soto did the same thing against North County,” Sucharski said. “I like to think Windsor and De Soto have similar offensive styles, so having these teams back to back lets me believe they prepared for each other. De Soto does a good job running the ball. They have a talented fullback (Eli Thebeau) and (Dragon running back Brenton Drummond) plays bigger than his size. He probably broke six tackles on a touchdown run against Festus. You have to know where those guys are at.”
Windsor (3-3, 0-3) concludes its MAFC games Friday at North County (3-3, 1-2).
With three weeks left before the district playoffs begin, the seeding is starting to take shape. In Class 4 District 1, Festus is a strong No. 1 with 52.67 points. Perryville (5-1) is next with 42.50 followed by Hillsboro (41.0), North County (35.67), De Soto (31.67), Sikeston (30.67) and Windsor (25.5).
Lancers back on track
St. Pius X is learning a lot in its first year as an independent school in athletics.
Lesson No. 1: If you’re driving hundreds of miles to play out of state, choose your opponent carefully. The Lancers traveled to Senatobia in northern Mississippi Sept. 20 and got their heads handed to them in a 54-0 blowout.
Lesson 2: Stay closer to home and road games are winnable if you play up to your potential. Pius did that Oct. 4 with a 27-14 victory over an improved Cuba program. It was the Lancers’ second straight win after hosting and beating St. James 23-6 Sept. 27. Pius and Cuba are both 3-3.
“(Cuba) has really improved and kudos to them,” St. Pius head coach Frank Ray said. “They’ve got some kids who weren’t on the team last year. For us, it was one more week. We’re young and trying to get better as we go. I set us up for some lumps on purpose and the kids handled them and I’m proud of them.”
Senior standout Justin Lehn leads the Lancers on both sides of the ball. At running back, he shredded Cuba for 265 yards on 40 carries. At linebacker, he made eight tackles.
“Anytime we needed anything, we put the ball in his hands and let the big guy go,” Ray said. “It was Justin being Justin. He led us with tackles and makes the defensive checks and calls based on formations and motions for us.”
Pius junior quarterback Danny DeGeare threw three interceptions but helped make up for it with a 55-yard touchdown run. The Lancers had two pickoffs of their own by Brody Ervin and Jack Michaud, who is tied for the most in the St. Louis area with five.
“They couldn’t run on us, so they went full spread to throw and that really challenged our cornerbacks because their QB was really accurate,” Ray said.
Eagles win conference game on road
Grandview forced five turnovers – four fumble recoveries and an interception – and came back to beat host Herculaneum 14-7 in a Quad County Conference game Oct. 4.
Blake Brown, Wyatt Keim, Aaron Smith and Christian Volner jumped on Blackcat fumbles, and Quinton Byers had the INT as the Eagles improved to 4-2 and 2-2. Luke Brice led Herculaneum (0-6, 0-4) with 88 yards rushing and scored the first touchdown of the night for the Blackcats’ only lead at 7-0.
Isaac Walker led Grandview with 92 yards rushing and one touchdown. Brock Poole scored the Eagles’ other TD.
Grandview hosts Jefferson (4-2, 3-1) in a Quad County game Friday. Herculaneum stays home to play Bayless (2-4, 0-4) as both teams seek their first league win.