BANGOR — Bangor’s Andrew Piske rushed for 197 yards and four touchdowns to as the conference-leading Cardinals steam rolled visiting Hillsboro 42–14 last Friday night.
Piske, a 6-foot, 217-pound senior, scored twice in the first quarter and undefeated Bangor was off and running.
“Piske is a load and a tough man to bring down,” said Hillsboro head coach Eric Auel. “They moved him from wingback to an I-back set most of the night which allowed him to run more north and south as opposed to horizontally. He’s a good back. His line is strong and did a good job of opening holes for him.”
Piske carried the ball on the first three plays of the game, capping Bangor’s 49-yard opening drive with a 23-yard touchdown run.
After a Hillsboro punt, Piske carried the ball on seven of eight plays on the Cardinals’ ensuing drive. Piske scored from a yard out with 5:14 left in the opening quarter to make it 13–0.
Hillsboro (5–2, 2–2 SBC) fumbled at its own 23 a few plays later, and Bangor was back in business.
After a third Piske touchdown run was nullified by a holding penalty, Kellen Kravik tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-goal on the first play of the second quarter. Kravik added the two-point conversion run for a 21–0 lead.
The Tigers answered with a nice drive and got on the scoreboard with a 1-yard TD run by senior Tommy Crandall with 6:22 left in the half. Crandall’s conversion run made it 20–8.
Bangor (7–0, 4–0) added once last score before halftime when Luke Reader broke loose for a 50-yard touchdown to make it 28–8.
Piske scored from a yard out on the Cardinals’ first drive of the second half to extend the lead to 35–8. He also put the finishing touches on his big night with a 48-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.
Jacob Urban accounted for Hillsboro’s final points on a 12-yard touchdown run with 4:56 left.
“I thought we did some positive things on Friday night and made a few mistakes that didn’t allow us to stay in the battle with Bangor,” said Auel. “We did a better job of getting the ball pitched and onto the perimeter with our triple option, but it still needs some reps and work against the type of front Bangor was giving us.”
Hillsboro rushed for 114 yards on 42 carries. Crandall led the Tigers with 70 yards on 21 attempts.
Senior quarterback Joe Helgerson rushed for 23 yards on nine carries. He also completed 1 of 4 passes for 15 yards.
Bangor rushed for 318 yards on 48 carries.
Crandall and Dane Bach led the Tigers’ defense with six tackles each.
“We knew we wouldn’t be able to eliminate Bangor’s offense, but hoped we could slow them down and trade punches,” said Auel. “We were often in the hole starting drives on offense deep in our own territory. That limited our play calling ability and often resulted in providing them with a short field. I look forward to hopefully winning a couple of games and seeing them down the road in the playoffs for another shot.”
Hillsboro will host Necedah (3–4, 2–2 SBC) Friday night at 7 p.m. The Tigers can clinch a playoff berth with a win.
Hillsboro will close out the season at home against Royall (1–6, 0–5) on Oct. 16.
Bangor 42, Hillsboro 14
(from Friday, Oct. 2 @ Bangor)
Hillsboro 0 8 6 0 — 14
Bangor 13 15 14 0 — 42
First quarter
B: Andrew Piske 23 run (Drew Johnson kick)
B: Piske 1 run (kick failed)
Second quarter
B: Seth Plenge 11 pass from Kellen Kravik (Kravik run)
H: Tommy Crandall 1 run (Tommy Crandall run)
B: Luke Reader 50 run (Johnson kick)
Third quarter
B: Piske 1 run (Johnson kick)
H: Jacob Urban 12 run (run failed)
B: Piske 48 run (Johnson kick)
Team Statistics
First downs: H 8, B 11. Rushing: H 42-114, B 48-318. Passing: H 1-4-1, 15, B 1-3-0, 11. Fumbles–lost: H 1-1, B 0-0. Penalties: H 4-30, B 9-85.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: H: Tommy Crandall 21-70; B: Andrew Piske 23-197. Passing: H: Joe Helgerson 1-4-1, 15; B: Kellen Kravik 1-3-0, 11. Receiving: CH: Tyler Crandall 1-15; B: Seth Plenge 1-11.
