NECEDAH — Friday’s final score between Hillsboro and visiting Necedah resembled a basketball score more so than the Scenic Bluffs Conference football game it was.
Both teams went up and down the field at will, combining for 931 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Necedah quarterbacks Miles Saylor and Jaron Murphy combine to pass for 403 yards and eight touchdowns to lead the
Cardinals to a 64–40 victory in Friday’s shootout.
“Necedah did a great job of throwing the ball and making plays,” said Hillsboro head coach Eric Auel. “We had kids in the right spots but both quarterbacks were on target the whole night and didn’t leave a whole lot of room for error. The kids did a nice job against the run but we weren’t able to defend the pass with much efficiency.”
Murphy was on the receiving end of a 3-yard TD pass from Saylor to begin the scoring midway through the first quarter.
Saylor then threw TD passes to Patrick Arbansas and Charlie Huschka early in the second quarter to give Necedah an 18–0 lead.
Hillsboro (2–6, 0–5 SBC) responded with a 51-yard touchdown run by senior Justin Muller.
Muller caught a 35-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter to pull the Tigers withing four at 18–14.
Hillsboro answered Saylor’s 33-yard touchdown run with a 14-yard Bach TD pass to freshman Lee Richardson with a 2:08 left in the half.
But Necedah scored its fifth touchdown of the quarter on a 31-yard pass from Murphy to Noah Waltemath with 18 seconds left in the half to make it 40–21.
Hillsboro scored a pair of third quarter touchdowns on a 1-yard run by senior Phillip Beyer and a 15 yard run by Bach.
But the Hillsboro defense could not stop the Cardinals.
Saylor threw two more TD strikes in the quarter — one from two yards out to Tyler Reichel the other a 53-yarder to Arbansas — and Murphy connected with Reichel from 17 yards out late in the third to make it 62–34.
Bach scored the game’s 15th and final touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard run to account for the final score.
The Tigers piled up 422 yards of total offense and 21 first downs. Bach completed 8 of 9 passes for 127 yards and a pair of TDs. He also rushed for a team-high 137 yards and two scores on 19 carries. Muller added 80 yards and one TD on seven carries. He also caught five passes for 88 yards an another score.
“I felt offensively we played better than we have all season,” said Auel. “With a number of young kids, it’s been a challenge getting everyone to understand what we are doing offensively with consistency. We were much more consistent this past Friday. With two fumbled snaps and a slower first half, we weren’t able to keep pace with the scoring. I think most nights we would be able to keep up with the scoring against them.”
Saylor completed 17 of 28 passes for 270 yards and six TDs. He also rushed for a team-high 65 yards on seven carries.
Murphy completed 7 of 13 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
Hillsboro will close out the season Friday night Royall (5–3, 3–2 SBC).
Necedah 64, Hillsboro 40
(from Friday, Oct. 7 @ Necedah)
Hillsboro 0 21 13 6 – 40
Necedah 6 34 24 0 – 64
First quarter
N: Jaron Murphy 3 pass from Miles Saylor (pass failed)
Second quarter
N: Patrick Arbansas 45 pass from Saylor (pass failed)
N: Charlie Huschka 35 pass from Saylor (pass failed)
H: Justin Muller 51 run (Astrid Bryntesson kick)
N: Tyler Reichel 27 pass from Saylor (pass failed)
H: Muller 35 pass from Dane Bach (Bryntesson kick)
N: Saylor 33 run (Huschka pass from Saylor)
H: Lee Richardson 14 pass from Bach (Bryntesson kick)
N: Noah Waltemath 31 pass from Murphy (Huschka kick pass from Saylor)
Third quarter
H: Phillip Beyer 1 run (Bryntesson kick)
N: Reichel 2 pass from Saylor (Huschka pass from Saylor)
H: Bach 15 run (kick blocked)
N: Arbansas 53 pass from Saylor (Murphy pass from Saylor)
N: Reichel 17 pass from Murphy (Reichel pass from Saylor)
Fourth quarter
H: Bach 7 run (run failed)
Team Statistics
First downs: H 21, N 21. Rushing yards: H 52-295, N 15-106. Passing: H 8-9-0, 127; N 24-41-1, 403. Fumbles–lost: H 4-2, N 2-2. Penalties: H 8-70, N 4-35.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: H: Dane Bach 19-137, Justin Muller 7-80, Phillip Beyer 14-44, Jacob Urban 12-34; N: Miles Saylor 7-65. Passing: H: Bach 8-9-0, 127; Miles Saylor 17-28-1, 270; Jaron Murphy 7-13-0, 133. Receiving: H: Muller 5-88, Richardson 2-24, Jon Madden 1-15; N: Patrcik Arbansas 4-130, Charlie Huschka 6-103, Tyler Reichel 8-77, Noah Waltemath 2-61, Jaron Murphy 4-32.
