JEROMESVILLE — Jake Haven knew he was in for a long night, so Hillsdale’s defensive lineman rolled up his sleeves Friday at Community Stadium.
The 6-foot, 230-pound senior helped the Falcons control the line of scrimmage in a 31-0 win over Lucas.
“Our coaches were telling us that it wasn’t going to be a fun week on the defensive line,” Haven said. “We were going to be taking on a lot of blockers, but it would fee up our linebackers and safeties and corners.
“It’s definitely hard to prepare for their offense. As a defensive lineman, it’s a lot of double teams and triple teams and getting hit from everywhere.”
Quick Strike
Hillsdale scored on its second play from scrimmage when quarterback Kael Lewis found speedy wideout Hayden McFadden for a 52-yard touchdown. The duo hooked up later in the first quarter on a 28-yard scoring strike.
“We talked to our guys about how it’s important against a team like Lucas to get off to a good start,” Hillsdqle coach Trevor Cline said. “If you fall behind like we did in the 2023 playoff game (a 28-14 Lucas win), their type of offense can eat up a lot of clock and control the time of possession and they can limit your possessions.
“You’ve got to be extremely efficient.”
The Falcons pushed their advantage to 21-0 midway through the second quarter on Owen Sloan’s 5-yard scoring run. A.J. Brown booted a 25-yard field goal late in the period as Hillsdale built a 24-0 halftime advantage.
The Falcons triggered the running clock midway through the third quarter when Sloan rumbled into the end zone from 15 yards away.
Defensive Miscues
Lucas knew what to expect, but had breakdowns at the back end of the defense on McFadden’s long scoring catches.
“They’ve got skill guys everywhere,” coach Jim Sweat said. “They’re going to put their athletes in space and we weren’t up to the task tonight.”
Sloan rushed for 90 yards, while Lewis completed 13-of-17 passes for 206 yards. McFadden had three catches for 92 yards.
“We’ve got to clean up the back end,” Sweat said.
Silver Lining
Lucas rushed for 198 yards on 46 carries. Brady Guegold led the way with a game-high 125 yards, while Tim Daley added 64.
“Offensively, we did some good things,” Sweat said. “We moved the ball. We just couldn’t finish.”
Neither team was especially clean. Lucas was penalized 11 times for 86 yards, while Hillsdale was flagged seven times for 65 yards.
“If we want to be elite like we once were, then we’ve got to clean some things up,” Sweat said.
Rivalry Week
Hilldale (2-0) will host backyard rival Loudonville (2-0) next Friday. It will be the first time since 2015 that both teams will be unbeaten.
“That’s a big rivalry game for us,” Cline said. “We need to make sure we go into that game with focus and be ready to compete because in 2022 we went down there and they took it to us and shut us out (14-0).”
Meanwhile, Lucas (1-1) heads to longtime rival Danville (1-1). The Blue Devils reached the state semifinals last year, where they fell to Hillsdale.
“Two weeks in a row, we’re playing the state runner-up and a state semifinalist,” Sweat said. “We’ve got to be ready to go.
“Danville’s a really good program and we have a lot of of respect for what they do down there.”
