JEROMESVILLE — Hillsdale’s Friday night postseason opener was a smashing success.
The sixth-seeded Falcons hammered Conotton Valley 62-24 in a Division VII, Region 25 playoff quarterfinal in Jeromesville. Trevor Cline’s club was in complete command throughout, and played the entire second half with a running clock.
The usual suspects were the culprits.
Hillsdale quarterback Jake Hoverstock ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns, and added a TD pass to help his squad take control from the beginning.
Hoverstock’s 5-yard scoring run put the Falcons on top 7-0 with 8:08 showing in the first period. Owen Sloan blasted in from a yard away to make it 14-0 heading to the second quarter.
Hoverstock bolted in from 27 yards away to open the floodgates in a scoring barrage. Max Vesper found the end zone on a 12-yard TD run and added a 25-yard touchdown catch. Just before the half, Braylen Jarvis collected a Rockets fumble and scooted 38 yards to make it 41-0 at halftime.
The Falcons’ Jack Fickes ripped off a 59-yard TD less than a minute into the second half for a 48-0 advantage.
Conotton Valley (6-5) finally broke through when quarterback Zach Putnam fired the first of his three touchdown passes, this one a 25-yarder to Brooks Bower.
Hillsdale’s Dannie Richie peeled off 40-yard scoring sprint to make it 55-8 early in the final period.
The see-saw scoring continued when Putnam and Bower connected on a 61-yard strike to shrink the gap to 55-16.
But the Falcons (7-4) backups chipped in on the scoring spree with Brady Heller tossing a 30-yard TD pass to Bradey Krichbaum.
The 11th-seeded Rockets finished on a positive thanks to Putnam’s 48-yard touchdown pass to Kamden Wright.
Hillsdale overpowered Conotton Valley up front, compiling 375 yards rushing with 17 first downs.
The Rockets countered with 220 yards passing, but just 33 yards on the ground in 18 attempts. Bower had 148 yards receiving.
The Falcons will play at Danville (9-2) in next week’s regional semifinal. The third-seeded Blue Devils pounded 14th-seeded Windham 41-18 on Friday night.
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