(PHOTOS BY RENEA KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
SEASON OPENER … Terry Rebeck runs through an opening in Hilltop’s season opener versus Ridgedale. VIEW 88 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
WEST UNITY (August 23, 2024) – There were a number of great plays that were countered by misplays on opening night but in the end, it was too much of Ridgedale’s Michael Deas, as the junior running back romped for 226 yards on 30 carries to lead the Rockets past Hilltop 14-13.
Both teams drove into enemy territory early. Cadet sophomore quarterback Cameron Shimp hit Brycen Grubbs for 13 yards and ran for 13 more to get Hilltop to the Rocket 16.
However, a false start and a pair of Shimp incompletions stalled the march. Deas blasted for 13 and raced for 24 more to carry the Rockets to the Hilltop 30, but Brock Kesler ended that scoring threat when he picked Brayden Townsend’s aerial.
Hilltop had a golden opportunity to get on the board early in the second quarter. With Ridgedale in punt formation, the snap went over the kicker’s head and an ensuing fumble was pounced on by Scott Bowers to give the Cadets possession at the Rocket 2.
On the next three plays, the Rockets pushed the Cadet backwards to the 16 and Shimp’s fourth down pass was intercepted by Ayden Salyer at the Rocket four-yard line to kill the chance.
From there, Ridgedale began a march that because of a delay of game penalty, totaled 101 yards on the next 10 plays to paydirt.
Deas picked up 13 and Townsend got 16 more on the ground before Deas broke loose for the final 38 to give the Rockets a 7-0 lead with 5:33 left in the half.
Late in the first half, Townsend’s interception and return set up the Rockets in the red zone, and it took Deas one play to cover the 19 yards to the end zone, giving the Rockets a 14-0 margin with 1:53 to go.
It was at that point the game shifted. A 15-yard personal foul on the scoring play was enforced on the kickoff and for whatever inexplicable reason, Ridgedale tried to onside from their own 25 up two scores with short time on the clock in the half.
Hilltop fell on the kick at the Rocket 39 and Shimp hit Grubbs three straight times, the last covering the final 24 yards to get the Cadets back in the game with 27 ticks left in the half.
LEADING RUSHER … Running back Scott Bowers wraps up the football on a first half carry as he ended the game with 120 yards rushing on the night.
After the Rockets ate up over eight minutes on a drive to start the second half, they were stopped short of the first down sticks at the Cadet four-yard line and after a Hilltop punt, Shimp gave the Cadets more life when he picked a Townsend pass and brought it back 26 yards to the Cadet 41.
Shimp hit Cameron Schlosser for 10, Bowers bulled for 16 and Shimp nailed Kesler streaking down the left side the last 31 yards to bring Hilltop within 14-13 on the final play of the third quarter.
Whether it was a snap offline or a bobble on the hold, it gave the Rockets an extra split second to break through and block the extra point to maintain a one-point lead.
Hilltop had one more chance after a shanked Rocket punt gave them the ball at their own 31. Terry Rebeck slugged his way for 13 yards and Bowers crashed for 12 more to get to the Rocket 39.
However, the Rockets held, as two passes went awry on third and fourth down giving the ball back to Ridgedale with just over five minutes left.
Hilltop never saw the ball again. Deas ate up yards like Joey Chestnut ate up Nathan’s hot dogs, running six times for 41 yards during a drive that ran out the rest of the clock.
For the game the Rockets rushed for 316 yards total and added 32 in the air on just 6/19 passes.
Hilltop ran for 141 with Bowers picking up 120 on 21 carries. Shimp was 7/19 for 100 yards.
UP NEXT: August 30 – Hilltop (0-1) at Edgerton (0-1)
RHS HHS
First Downs 14 7
Rushing Yards 44-286 34-150
Passing Yards 32 99
Passing 6-19-2 7-19-2
Total Yards 318 249
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties 8-40 3-35
RIDGEDALE 0 14 0 0 – 14
HILLTOP 0 7 6 0 – 13
R – Deas 38-yd run (MaHaffrey kick)
R – Deas 19-yd run (MaHaffrey kick)
H – Grubbs 23-yd pass from Shimp (Kesler kick)
H – Kesler 31-yd pass from Shimp (kick blocked)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Ridgedale – Deas 30-226; Townsend 5-40; Hilltop – Bowers 21-120; Rebeck 7-33; PASSING: Ridgedale – Townsend 6-19-2; Hilltop – Shimp 7-19-2; RECEIVING: Ridgedale – Slaughterbeck 3-17; Hilltop – Grubbs 3-45; Kesler 1-31