The 2022 high school football season has gone according to plan for Head Coach Bill Sucharski and his boys on the Hillsboro High School Varsity team, but no one could have predicted it would have gone this well. The Hawks are sporting a perfect 7-0 record, and they seem impossible to beat. With everything and everyone firing on all cylinders, the Hawks are playing like a well-oiled machine.
It’s been a fruitful seven games for Hillsboro. Last Friday, October 7th, the Hawks decimated the Dragons of DeSoto en route to an incredible 79-0 victory and an MAFC Conference Championship. With this shutout victory, the Hawks have now scored 380 points and given up only 78. In fact, the fewest points this high-powered offense has been held to is 31. The Hawks have lit up the scoreboard in every game, scoring at least 47 points in the other six.
One of Hillsboro’s more impressive performers this season has been Austin Romaine. He has been incredible on both sides of the ball, with 631 yards and nine touchdowns rushing, while racking up 74 total tackles, 11 for a loss, six sacks and a fumble recovery. He leads the team in nearly every statistical category. Another Hawk who has been laying waste to the competition, Jaxin Patterson, has 39 total tackles, three sacks, and an interception on defense while rushing for 513 yards and nine touchdowns.
Up next for Hillsboro is a home game against Cardinal Ritter, the first time these two schools have ever played. This will certainly be a real test for the Hawks, as the Lions come into the game also sporting an unblemished record at 7-0. However, a big difference between the two schools lies in the class assignment. The Hawks play in the much more difficult Class 4, while Ritter plays in Class 3 against smaller schools.
A look at the stats side-by-side shows that this game is too close to call. The slight edge offensively goes to Hillsboro as they are averaging 54.3 points per game while Ritter is at 41.7. Defensively, the edge goes to the Lions who allow just 3.9 points per game, while the Hawks are averaging 11.1. Again, the quality of opponents must be taken into account, and Hillsboro certainly has had the tougher schedule.
Regardless of class or statistics, the fact remains that after this game, only one team will remain unbeaten, while the other will taste defeat for the first time. Week 8 is a pivotal game for Hillsboro as it is their penultimate game of the season, and a win here will certainly give them the rights to the number one seed in the District Tournament, securing the critical first-round bye.
This Friday, October 14th, the Hillsboro Hawks host the Cardinal Ritter Lions in a must-win game for both teams, but only one can prevail. Coach Sucharski will without a doubt have his Hawks ready to soar. With a perfect season on the line for both teams, this will be one not to miss.
Good luck Hawks!
