Quick start puts Hillsboro in the Elite 8

By RYAN RICHTER

Staff writer

The senior class at Hillsboro High School would have been toddlers the last time the Trojans advanced to the state quarterfinals in football. 

That was in 2006, and the Trojans upended Sacred Heart-Salina before being cut down in the final four by eventual state runner-up Garden Plain. 

Don’t look now, but the possibility to match the Trojans’ success of 15 years ago looms large. 

The Trojans (10-1) throttled the Chaparral Roadrunners (8-2) Friday night in Hillsboro to move within a win away from the Class 2A semifinals. 

Hillsboro’s luck with Central Plains League opponents hasn’t been the greatest, but that’s mainly come from misfortunes against the likes of Conway Springs and Garden Plain. 

And that’s news to current Trojans. Hillsboro wasted little time Friday putting the brakes on the Roadrunners, racing to a 19-0 halftime lead and a 41-14 victory.

Matt Potucek was a one-man wrecking crew, racking up 345 of Hillsboro’s 464 total yards.

Potucek had a hand in five of six Trojan touchdowns, throwing for 243 yards on six-for-nine passing and two scores while rushing for a game-high 112 yards and two more touchdowns. 

Hillsboro’s defense suffocated the Roadrunners, limiting them to a modest 199 total yards and a chilly 4-of-10 on third down and stopping all four fourth down attempts. 

Chaparral was in grave danger by the time Wyatt Drouhard hit Joe Ord for a 25-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, down 33-7. 

Jamari Harris diced his way through the Chaparral defense, carrying the ball 19 times for 86 yards and two touchdowns, including the final score.

Senior wideout Duncan Duell hauled in nine catches for a game-high 104 yards, snagging a seven-yard touchdown from Potucek to send Hillsboro in at the break with a three-score lead. 

Another batch of Trojans will be standing in Hillsboro’s way of matching 2006’s longevity Friday, with hosting Beloit.  Hillsboro last saw Beloit on the gridiron 23 years ago in the postseason, with the black and orange Trojans kicking Hillsboro out on a swinging-gate play in overtime.