Hill’s big plays power Hubbard past Niles


Team

Hubbard

RecordDiv.Conf.
5/5 Div. IV All-American Conference White Tier
Team

Niles

RecordDiv.Conf.
2/8 Div. III All-American Conference Red Tier

By Steve ruman

sports@vindy.com

NILES

With Niles and Hubbard all knotted up at 14 in the waning seconds of the first half Friday night, Eagles running back George Hill decided it was time to make something happen.

“I was thinking to myself that when guys go to college, they always bring with them that one special moment that they remember from their high school careers,” Hill said. “As soon as I got the ball, for some reason I felt like this was going to be that play.”

Hill’s vision proved most accurate. Hill took a handoff at the Hubbard 36, was hemmed up at the line of scrimmage, raced to the left sideline where he found nothing, dashed across the other side of the field and broke several tackles en route to a 64-yard touchdown run.

Hill’s heroics came with seven seconds left in the first half, and seemed to set the momentum in Hubbard’s 35-14 road win over the Red Dragons.

Hubbard, which had entered the game on a two-game losing streak, lifts its record to 4-2 and 2-2 in the All-American Conference’s White Tier.

Hill’s spectacular run before halftime was part of an overall special night. He finished with 274 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 19 carries. He also pulled in a 33-yard pass for a score.

“That run [before halftime] was sick — honestly it was ridiculous,” said Hubbard coach Brian Hoffman. “That’s why he’s getting recruited. That’s what makes him a special player.”

Hubbard gained 517 yards of offense. Brandon Rios rushed 15 times for 115 yards, as the Eagles compiled 469 yards on the ground.

Niles quarterback Tyler Srbinovich led the Red Dragons with 211 passing yards. The senior completed 14 of 27 passes, but the Red Dragons were never able to get their ground game going. They gained just 78 rushing yards.

Hubbard wasted no time scoring, as Hill raced 81 yards on the Eagles’ second play from scrimmage for a 7-0 lead. Niles (3-3, 2-3) answered with a 27-yard Jimmy Vaughn run, then took took a 14-7 lead with 9:14 left in the second quarter on Marlon Pearson’s 68-yard fumble return.

Hill pulled in a 33-yard pass from Cam Ingram to tie it at 14 midway through the second.

Hubbard racked up 341 yards of offense in the first half, but hurt itself with three turnovers. However, seemingly rejuvenated heading into the locker room, the Eagles played mistake-free football after halftime.

“We had a bit of a sour taste in our mouth after the last two weeks,” Hoffman said. “We felt like we could come in here and run the ball. We wanted to establish some ball control and keep Niles’ offense off the field, because they can score in a hurry. I thought we did a really good job of following our game plan.”

“The turnovers were frustrating, but the positive from that is that we played through it and we corrected our mistakes.”

Hill said he believes the Eagles are poised to make another run that will lead them to the playoffs.

“People wanted to write us off after last week, but I think those two losses just made us more focused,” Hill said. “We could have thrown in the towel. Instead we had our best week of practice and we came together as a team.”

Subscribe Today

Sign up for our email newsletter to receive daily news.

Want more? Click here to subscribe to either the Print or Digital Editions.

AP News