LUCAS — Hillsdale beat Lucas at its own game Friday night.
The Falcons controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and rolled to a 26-8 win in a battle of north central Ohio small-school heavyweights at Bob Wine Field.
“They out-Lucas-ed us tonight, 100 percent,” first-year Cubs coach Jim Sweat said. “That’s on me.”
Hillsdale (2-0) opened the scoring with a five-play, 98-yard drive capped by a 24-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Kael Lewis to senior wideout Holland Young with 3:27 remaining in the opening quarter. The drive was prolonged by a 69-yard pass from Lewis to Brock Bower on third-and-long deep in Hillsdale territory.
The Falcons extended the advantage to 12-0 late in the second quarter when speedy junior Hayden McFadden took a shovel pass from Lewis at midfield and sliced through the Lucas defense for a 50-yard TD.
Hillsdale put the game away midway through the third quarter. Running back Owen Sloan took a handoff from Lewis and raced down the far sideline for an 80-yard touchdown and a 19-0 lead with 5:06 showing in the third period.
“We knew Lucas would be physical, so we had to come in and match that,” said Sloan, who rushed for 127 yards on 11 carries. “There were a couple (of defenders) so I had to outrun them.”
The Falcons opened a 26-0 gap early in the fourth quarter when Lewis hooked up with McFadden on a 38-yard scoring strike. Lewis, who broke Hillsdale’s single-game record with six touchdown passes in last week’s win over Black River, completed 11-of-16 attempts for 233 yards and three touchdowns.
Lucas (1-1) got on the board when senior running back Dan Hockensmith rumbled into the end zone form 26 yards away to make it 26-8 with 2:35 to play in the fourth. The senior rushed for 39 yards on four carries, while Brady Guegold carried the ball 16 times for 55 yards.
Hillsdale beat Lucas 21-17 during the regular season last year. The Cubs turned the tables in the postseason, topping the Falcons 28-14 in the opening round of the Division VII, Region 25 playoffs.
“They showed up in Week 11 last year and embarrassed us on our home field,” Hillsdale coach Trevor Cline said. “I was proud of how our guys responded.
“I think most people would agree we were physical tonight.”