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Hillers Continue to
Roll Big, Beat Norton 42-21 for 6th
Consecutive Win!
By: Lou Ottaviani
These weather conditions, however, were not going to hinder the play of either Hopkinton’s offense or defense. As a matter of fact, the Hopkinton offense racked up a total of 346 yards of rushing and passing (302 rushing and 44 passing) on the night, while special teams picked up an additional 137 yards (78 on punt returns and 59 on kick-off returns). Defensively, the Hillers held the Lancers to 158 total yards (93 rushing and 65 passing). This was pretty impressive considering the number of downpours Mother Nature threw at both teams throughout the night. There had to be at least 6 to 7 times where the skies just opened up like a shower depositing massive amounts of rain for several minutes at a time. When the rains stopped, the players and fans relished the slight sprinkling that would take place until the next downpour would come along. Both teams adjusted well considering the conditions. Some could argue that this was a good character building session for the Hillers, as it didn’t seem to phase the way they played. Field conditions continued to get worse and it didn’t bother Hopkinton one way or the other. Let’s start with the opening kick-off, shall we? Ryan Bohlin returned the opening kick-off 46-yards to give Hopkinton great field position at the Hiller 44. Hopkinton tested the footing on a couple of plays and quickly realized that their early success (before the real heavy rains come) would be better off to move the ball via the air. Mike Decina wasted little time on Hopkinton’s opening 5 play drive, covering 44 yards in 2:55 to start the game for the Hillers first score on the night. Decina went 3 for 3 with pass completions of 16-yards to Alex Hulme and back to back completions to Barrett Hanlon (5 and 23 yards) to give the Hopkinton a 7-0 lead. Hanlon also split the uprights with his first of six PAT kicks on the evening (which was some feat, no pun intended). Hopkinton’s defense played tough against the Lancers on their first three series, forcing Norton to punt each time creating a 3 and out punt situation in each of their series. On Norton’s second punt of the game, Alex Hulme received the ball on the Norton 47. A couple of good moves on Hulmes’ part and several key Hiller blocks sprung the speedy punt returner loose leaving a trail of Lancers behind watching him cross the goal line with 1:45 left in the opening quarter and giving Hopkinton a 14-0 lead. Hopkinton’s third score came on the second play of the drive at the start of the second quarter. With the ball on the Hiller 42, Ryan Bohlin sprang loose and scampered 58-yards to pay dirt giving Hopkinton a comfortable 21-0 lead. Norton rebounded, scoring with 4:51 left to the half on an 11 play, 68-yard drive which was capped off with a 10-yard run by Brad Wry to put the Lancers on the board. Pat O’Malley kicked the PAT point to make it 21-7. Hopkinton wasted little time on the ensuing possession, getting great field position at mid-field. On their second play from scrimmage, Mike Decina (6 rushes for 94 yards, TD) broke through the middle for a 50-yard score to up the score 28-7. Norton added one more score with just 26 seconds to the half when Mike Ready hit James Keating on an 18-yard pass to bring the Lancers within 14 points (28-14) heading into the locker room. Coming out in the second half, the field was very sloppy and keeping one’s footing was certainly a challenge for both teams. There were several moments where slipping and sliding seemed to be a normal part of the action. Once again, the Hiller defense shut the Lancers down on their opening possession of the third quarter forcing them to punt after having three unsuccessful downs. Hopkinton’s offense took over on the Lancer 47. On the third play from scrimmage, Ryan Bohlin (8 carries for 110, 2-TDs) busted loose for a 40-yard touchdown run, his second on the night, to up the score to 35-14 with 7:18 left in the quarter. On Norton’s next series, the Lancers started to move the ball up and were right around mid field, but a Hopkinton fumble recovery by sophomore linebacker Nolan Cornu gave the ball back to the Hillers at 36-yard line. Midway through this series, Hopkinton Coach Jim Girard decided to make some changes to rest his starting offensive unit and give his second unit some valuable playing time. A personal foul quickly set the Hillers back to the 25-yard line. A quick pickup of 25-yards by Cornu sparks the Hillers to a big first down at midfield. Four plays later, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Hillers are threatening the Lancers at the Norton 25. A one yard loss by Cornu places the ball on the 26. On the following play, Cornu redeems himself and breaks through the defensive line running for Hopkinton’s final score and giving the Hillers a 42-14 lead. Norton’s final tally came with 3:45 left in the game, when Mike Travers capped off a 5-yard run, on a 9 play drive covering 60-yards. O’Malley added the PAT kick to make the final score 42-21. Hopkinton remains undefeated at 6-0 (3-0, TVL), while Norton drops to 2-3 (0-3, TVL). The Hillers true test will come next Friday when they will be hosting 2010 defending TVL and Massachusetts Division III Super Bowl State Champions, Holliston Panthers here at David Hughes Stadium. I would venture to guess that this game will be packing in the fans from both schools. Be sure to arrive early so that you don’t miss out on this incredible matchup. 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL HOPKINTON 14 14 7 7 42 NORTON 0 14 0 7 21 OVERALL STATS: HOPKINTON TOTAL RUSHING YARDS: 302 NORTON TOTAL RUSHING YARDS: 93 HOPKINTON TOTAL PASSING YARDS: 44 NORTON TOTAL PASSING YARDS: 65 HOPKINTON PUNT RETURN YARDS: 78 NORTON PUNT RETURN YARDS: 5 HOPKINTON KICK OFF RETURN YARDS: 69 NORTON KICK OFF RETURN YARDS: 115 SCORING: School Player Run/Pass/FG/INT/ YDG Time QTR H Barrett Hanlon Pass from Mike Decina 23 yds. 8:08 1 Barrett Hanlon PAT kick – Good H Alex Hulme Punt Return 47 yds. 1:45 1 Barrett Hanlon PAT kick – Good H Ryan Bohlin Run 58 yds. 10:48 2 Barrett Hanlon PAT kick – Good N Brad Wry Run 10 yds. 4:51 2 Pat O’Malley PAT kick – Good H Mike Decina Run 50 yds. 3:58 2 Barrett Hanlon PAT kick – Good N James Keating Pass from Mike Ready 18 yds. 0:26 2 Pat O’Malley PAT kick – Good H Ryan Bohlin Run 40 yds. 7:18 3 Barrett Hanlon PAT kick – Good H Nolan Cornu Run 26 yds. 9:21 4 Barrett Hanlon PAT kick – Good N Mike Travers Run 5 yds. 3:54 4 Pat O’Malley PAT pass – Good
STATS - Leading Rushers Team Player Carries Yardage Hopkinton Ryan Bohlin (2TDs) 8 110 Hopkinton Mike Decina (TD) 6 94 Hopkinton Nolan Cornu (TD) 7 89 Hopkinton Alex Hulme (TD - Punt return) 47 STATS – Passing Team Player Comp/Attempts Yardage Hopkinton Mike Decina 3/5 44 STATS – Receivers Team Player Receptions Yardage Hopkinton Barrett Hanlon 2 28 Hopkinton Alex Hulme 1 16 |
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"The News Starts Here!"
October
15, 2011 — Yesterday’s on and off showers throughout
the day, certainly didn’t help the field conditions
for the start of last night’s action between the
Norton Lancers and the Hopkinton Hillers. Weather
conditions to start the game off weren't too bad, as
the light misty rain started to fall. The natural
grass field looked good from the stands, but down on
the field there were mud patches and
water puddles throughout the entire field.