Hillgrove had seen its 21-point third-quarter lead over McEachern cut to seven, but Lance Wise came up with a key fumble recovery and Luis Garcia-Cano kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1:25 to play to secure a 31-21 victory in the teams’ Region 3-AAAAAAA opener Friday at Hillgrove.
“The wave of emotions went back and forth,” Hillgrove coach Phil Ironside said. “You think you’re blowing them out, then you think you’re going to get beat and then you’re back winning. The big thing I thought was the composure McEachern held, to come back from 14 down [in the fourth quarter]. They didn’t blink an eye, and we got nervous down here, got offsides and went backwards, backwards and then got the break off the punt.”
McEachern had gotten within 28-21 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Paris Brown with 7:23 remaining and forced Hillgrove to punt from its 10-yard line on its next possession. When Garcia-Cano’s punt was fumbled near midfield, Wise recovered and the Hawks regained control. Hillgrove ran off most of the remaining clock, moving to the McEachern 8 on 11 consecutive running plays. A penalty moved the ball back to the 16 before Garcia-Cano put the game away.
“I think Luis has done an outstanding job,” Ironside said. “Eduardo Angel [who handled some kickoff duties], Jake Sayer our long-snapper, those guys have just kept working and working, and it paid a big benefit tonight. McEachern’s deadly in the return game. But that stuff’s all come together, and you’re going to need that in a game like this.”
Although this was the teams’ first of five region games, the victory was significant for the Hawks because the winner of the McEachern-Hillgrove game has gone on to win the region championship seven of eight times since Hillgrove moved into the highest classification in 2010. Hillgrove won the region title last year, beating McEachern 14-7 in the regular-season finale.
Ninth-ranked Hillgrove (6-0, 1-0) had taken a 28-7 lead on a 1-yard run by Isaiah Grant with 42 seconds left in the third quarter. No. 7 McEachern (4-2, 0-1) returned the ensuing short kickoff out near midfield, and the Indians scored two plays later on a 59-yard pass from Carlos Delrio-Wilson to Brown on the final play of the third quarter to cut the lead to 28-14.
Hillgrove came in giving up just 130.6 yards per game. McEachern had more than that (184) by halftime but trailed at the break 21-7 because of great field position by the Hawks and two interceptions by Wise.
Hillgrove had the ball in McEachern territory on all five of its first-half possessions and converted three into touchdowns. The Hawks’ Issaiah McCray scored the game’s first points on a 44-yard run with 1:50 remaining in the first quarter, and Hillgrove increased the lead to 14-0 on a 7-yard run by T.J. Thomas midway through the second quarter.
McEachern answered with its best drive of the half, going 86 yards in 14 plays to cut the lead to 14-7 on Jordan Simmons’ 5-yard run with 1:02 to play before halftime. The Indians converted two fourth downs on the drive, including a fourth-and-3 from the 9-yard line just before the touchdown run.
Hillgrove’s McCray returned the ensuing kickoff for an apparent touchdown, but a penalty at the McEachern 20 moved the ball back to the 30. Matthew McCravy threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Trevarus Walker on the next play, restoring the lead to 14 points with 42 seconds left in the half.
“Offensively, I thought we were opportunistic at times,” Ironside said. “We got great field position to start the game and we choked it up, but I thought the guys adjusted and got in and out of things. The defense got exposed a little bit, but McEachern’s good.”
McEachern finished the game with a 356-272 advantage in total offense. Delrio-Wilson led the way with 15 completions on 28 attempts for 252 yards.
Hillgrove had just 35 yards passing but ran for 237, led by Trevor Smith’s 109 yards on 19 carries. McCray had 65 yards on six carries, and Thomas had 51 on eight.
McEachern - 0-7-7-7 - 21
Hillgrove - 7-14-7-3 - 31
First quarter
H - Issaiah McCray 44 run (Luis Garcia-Cano kick), 1:50
Second quarter
H - T.J. Thomas 7 run (Garcia-Cano kick), 6:44
M - Jordan Simmons 5 run (Roben Rodriquez kick), 1:08
H - Trevarus Walker 30 pass from Matthew McCravy (Garcia-Cano kick), 0:42
Third quarter
H - Isaiah Grant 1 run (Garcia-Cano kick), 0:42
M - Paris Brown 59 pass from Carlos Delrio-Wilson (Rodriquez kick), 0:00
Fourth quarter
M - Brown 1 run (Rodriquez kick), 7:23
H - Garcia-Cano 32 field goal, 1:25
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