By Steve Ruman

sports@vindy.com

Hubbard

Homecoming celebrations were held Friday in Hubbard when the Eagles hosted All-American Conference, American Division foe Niles.

While the homecoming dance won’t be held until this evening, members of the Hubbard backfield should be primed and ready to show off their moves. Against the Red Dragons, they danced and weaved the night away in a 59-21 victory.

The win lifts Hubbard’s record to 7-0, including a 3-0 league mark. Niles falls to 3-4 (0-3).

The Eagles rocked and rolled their way to a 620-yard offensive outburst, including 573 rushing yards.

As he has done throughout his career, L.J. Scott led the charge. The junior rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. He led an Eagles’ ground attack which made the most of their opportunities.

Darnell Tate rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown on just four carries. Quarterback Brennan Wassil gained 84 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns on just five carries. George Hill scored on an 81-yard run, and gained 93 yards with just four touches.

“We have a nice balanced attack, and we have a lot of guys who can contribute, as you saw tonight,” said Hubbard coach Brian Hoffman. “We got all our backs and receivers involved, and our line did a great job of taking care of business. Our pass protection and run blocking was very solid.”

Niles was paced by senior quarterback Kyle Paden, who completed 26 of 43 passes for 270 yards. However, after completing 17 of 19 in the first half, Paden was just 9-of-24 after intermission.

“We made some adjustments at halftime,” Hoffman said. “We wanted to get more heat on him, and force him to rush things a bit. We did a good job in the second half to slow them down.

“Any time you can hold Niles to 21 points, you’re doing okay. They have a lot of weapons.

Vlassios Pizanias gave Hubbard a 3-0 lead with a 20-yard field goal midway through the first quarter. Niles then took what would be its only advantage of the night when John Cicero ran in from five yards out in the latter stages of the period.

However, from that point forward, the Eagles’ big-play ability kept the Dragons’ defense on its heels.

Niles has now given up a combined 129 points in back-to-back games.

“We just have to keep on working hard,” said Niles coach Brian Shaner. “Seniors, you have three more weeks, what are you going to do with them?

“Hubbard’s a great football team. We gave them our best, that’s just a very talented team.”

One concern Hoffman did have with his team was the number of penalties. Hubbard was flagged 17 times for 157 yards.

“I’m not happy at all about that,” Hoffman said. “Some of those were part of the game, but others were things we have to control. We will address that this week.”

The Eagles will prepare for a home showdown against league rival Poland (7-0).

“We’ll begin preparing (today), and that’s going to be an exciting game,” Hoffman said. “A lot of things will be on the line, so it will be on the minds of both teams all week.”

Niles will look to rebound when it hosts Howland.