SPECIAL TEAMS … Hilltop’s Brycen Grubbs returns a kickoff in the first half versus Montpelier.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
FIRST QUARTER SCORE … Griffin Cooley gets the Locos on the board with a 30-yard touchdown run as Bryson Kesler of Hilltop tries to bring him down.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
WEST UNITY (October 10, 2025) – There were more penalty markers floating through the air than flags flying at the United Nations complex in Geneva. Then there were long explanations of said fouls to coaches afterward.
The only saving grace was that at points in the second half, there was a running clock, or those from Montpelier and Hilltop may have still been in the stands for Auld Lang Syne to end 2025.
In between all that, Montpelier’s Hayden Sharps flipped five first-half touchdown passes to lead the Locos to a 51-14 halftime lead, and Montpelier coasted home with a 58-28 triumph at Hilltop.
Xavier Eidenier picked off a Cameron Shimp pass on the game’s third play at the Loco 30 to put Montpelier in business offensively.
Eight plays later at the Hilltop 20, the Cadets seemed to have got a break when a snap sailed over Sharps’ head and Riley Carter nailed the Loco quarterback for a 10-yard loss.
However, the next snap, Griffin Cooley, bounced off two tackles, got the edge, and went 30 yards for a score to put the Locos up 7-0 halfway through the first.
That began a barrage of 29 straight points, the last three touchdowns coming by air from Sharps. The third play after a Hilltop punt, Sharps rolling right found a wide open Braylon Hopper on the sideline for a 52-yard strike to make it 15-0.
Then, the first play after another punt, Jacob Lyons grabbed a Sharps pass and split the defense, racing 62 yards for a score with 1:39 still left in the first.
Sharps threw a third scoring touchdown to Jaxon Stahler from 23 yards away with 10:03 to go in the half to make it 29-0, which game turned into a circus with a big top act full of zebras.
The ensuing Cadet drive featured no less than five markers, two of which were the unsportsmanlike variety on Montpelier.
In the middle of all that, Scott Bowers blasted 29 yards on the first of five carries on the march, the last one covering the final two yards to put Hilltop on the board.
Zane Burdine pounced on an onside kick to give Hilltop a chance to get closer, and eight plays, seven of which were on the ground, Bowers did just that, bowling into the end zone from three yards out to make it 29-14 with 6:05 still on the first half clock.
The Locos put that to rest in the next six minutes…which, according to press box personnel, took 28 minutes in real time…scoring the final 22 points in the half.
Carter Meek’s 23-yard run set up Sharps’ fourth TD of the night, a 16-yard pass to Wesley Hartsock to boost the Locos ahead 37-14.
A snap that went over the punter’s head and through the endzone gave Montpelier two more points, then Meek galloped 31 yards to pay dirt and Sharps hit Hartsock a second time in the quarter from 30 yards away, getting the Locos to 51-14 at the end of the half.
Sharps was 12-14 in the first half for 229 yards while Bowers ran for 136 on 22 carries for the Cadets.
With the running clock starting the second half, Terry Rebeck rumbled for 30 yards to begin the third, then Bowers raced the last 21 for a score, and with the two-pointer, the game clock went back to normal operation.
Meek took care of that seven plays later, around three more penalties with a 20-yard touchdown jaunt to regain the running clock at 58-22.
Late in the contest, Rebeck punched one home from a yard out for the final six-pointer.
Sharps tacked on another 26 yards, playing the first series in the second half. He went 14-18 on the night for 255 yards and those five scores.
In all, Bowers ran for 195 yards on 28 totes. Rebeck added another 100 on 14 carries. Meek was the Locos’ leading ball carrier with 66 yards in seven carries.
UP NEXT: October 17 – North Central (1-7, 1-4 TAAC) at Montpelier (4-1, 5-3 TAAC); October 18 – Hilltop (3-5, 3-2 TAAC) at Edon (6-2, 4-1 TAAC)
MHS 22 29 7 0 – 58
HHS 0 14 8 6 – 28
M – Cooley 30-yd run (Guliford kick)
M – Hopper 51-yd pass from Sharps (Cooley run)
M – Lyons 62-yd pass from Sharps (Guilford kick)
M – Stahler 25-yd pass from Sharps (Guliford kick)
H – Bowers 2-yd run (Rebeck run)
H – Bowers 4-yd run (conversion failed)
M – Hartsock 16-yd pass from Sharps (Meek run)
M – Safety
M – Meek 32-yd run (conversion failed)
M – Hartsock 30-yd pass from Sharps (kick failed)
H – Bowers 20-yd run (Rebeck run)
M – Meek 21-yd run (Guliford kick)
H – Rebeck 1-yd run (kick failed)