JEROMESVILLE — Lucas spoiled the christening of Hillsdale’s new field Friday night.

The Cubs overcame three turnovers and held on for a 14-12 win over the Falcons at Hillsdale’s new Community Stadium.

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  • Lucas defensive back Corbin Toms tackles Hillsdale’s Ethan Goodwin during a Week 2 game at Hillsdale.

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  • Lucas quarterback Corbin Toms looks for an open teammate during the first half of a 14-12 win at Hillsdale last year.

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Hillsdale’s state-of-the-art athletic complex is part of a larger construction project that includes a single-building campus that will house pre-K through 12th grade. The new school is scheduled to open in the fall of 2022.

“When this facility is done, in my opinion it’s going to be one of the best facilities in the state of Ohio,” said Hillsdale coach Trevor Cline, a 2012 Hillsdale graduate and a teacher in the district. “It’s so exciting for everyone in the community and me being from here, it’s so special.”

The Falcons almost gave the near-sellout crowd even more reason to celebrate.

Hillsdale quarterback Jake Hoverstock, who was filling in for the injured Cole Sinnett, scrambled for a 9-yard touchdown with exactly one minute remaining in the fourth quarter to cut the Lucas lead to 14-12. The Falcons two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, however, as Corbin Toms broke up a pass intended for Hillsdale’s Caden Fickes.

Hillsdale attempted an onside kick, but Andrew Fanello recovered the ball and the Cubs (2-0) ran out the clock to preserve the win.

Lucas won despite throwing a pair of interceptions and losing a fumble. 

“The positive thing tonight is there’s no more bullets left to shoot ourselves in the foot,” coach Scott Spitler said. “Take nothing away from their team. They played a whale of a ball game and put us in several conflicts, but we were our own worst enemy at inopportune times.”

Lucas opened the scoring late in the first quarter when Toms lofted a pass for Aiden Culler in the back of the end zone. Culler’s extra-point gave the Cubs a 7-0 edge with 28 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Falcons answered late in the second period when Hoverstock hooked up with Carter Brightbill on a 20-yard scoring strike with 1:46 remaining in the half. The PAT was no good, however, and the Cubs led 7-6.

Hillsdale took the second-half kickoff and marched deep into Lucas territory, but Culler picked off a pass in the end zone on fourth down to short-circuit the drive. The Cubs then put together a solid march, but Hillsdale’s Mark Abel recovered a fumble at the Hillsdale 35.

Leading 7-6, Lucas scored with 5:22 remaining in the game on a 1-yard Grant Barrett run. Culler’s PAT gave the Cubs a 14-6 advantage.

Disaster nearly struck on the ensuing kickoff when the Hillsdale return man fumbled the ball, but David Parker alertly pounced on it to retain possession. The Falcons then rolled deep into Lucas territory thanks to an acrobatic catch by Brightbill and a pass interference call on the Cubs, setting up Hoverstock’s nifty 9-yard TD scamper.

The Falcons dipped to 0-2 for the first time since 2002 after last week’s 40-14 loss at Ravenna Southeast. Hillsdale gave up 27 unanswered points in the second quarter of the season opener.

“Last week in the second quarter we let things snow-ball,” Cline said. “We challenged them this week. Last week was a learning experience and our kids responded well when we challenged them in how to deal with adversity. 

“I thought we battled. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys.”

Likewise, Spitler was pleased with the way his team dealt with adversity.

“I’d rather be 2-0 and have things to fix then the other side of it,” Spitler said. “When you go play programs like Hillsdale, you find out what you have to get better at and we found a lot of things we’ve got to get better at tonight.”

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