Friday’s Scenic Bluffs Conference football game between Hillsboro and visiting Necedah was no contest.
Twin brothers Tommy and Tyler Crandall combined for 213 yards rushing and four touchdowns as the host Tigers routed the Cardinals, 42–6, to snap a two-game losing streak.
Hillsboro improved to 6–2 overall, 3–2 in the SBC and clinched a playoff berth.
Meanwhile, Necedah fell to 3–5, 2–3.
“I felt we put together our most complete game of the year against Necedah,” said Hillsboro head coach Eric Auel. “Our defense played well against the run and were able to put pressure on Necedah’s passing game to force some errant throws.
“It was a confidence building win as Necedah is a pretty good ball club. The kids were focused and not intimidated by a big, strong team. The win is very important in building some momentum and confidence going into the playoffs.”
Tyler Crandall got the party started with a 22-yard run midway through the first quarter. Tommy Crandall added the conversion run to make it 8–0.
Tyler Crandall scored again from a yard out on the first play of the second quarter, and his brother again found the end zone for the two-point conversion.
Quarterback Joe Helgerson and fellow senior Max Stockwell connected for the Tigers’ next score. A 16-yard Helgerson to Stockwell TD pass on fourth-and-goal with 7:46 left in the half made it 20–0.
Helgerson ended Necedah’s next drive near midfield when he broke up a fourth down pass.
Three plays later Tommy Crandall broke free for a 41-yard touchdown. He added his third two-point conversion of the night to make it 28–0.
He added a second touchdown with 50 seconds left in the half.
Backup fullback Jacob Urban scored from 10 yards out midway through the third quarter put the finishing touches on the blowout.
Necedah broke up the shutout when Noah Herried completed a 60-yard TD pass to Miles Saylor with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.
“I was pleased with many phases of the game Friday,” added Auel. “I thought our defense did a nice job tackling and putting pressure on their QB. Our offensive line did a nice job of getting push, blocking at the second level, and protecting Joe on passes. Our receivers did a nice job getting open, catching the ball, and putting pressure on the Necedah defense. Our backs ran hard and physical and did job blocking on the perimeter. Joe did a nice job with his reads and put us in position to make some big plays.”
Tommy Crandall rushed for 148 yards on 11 carries. He also finished the game with a team-high seven tackles.
Tyler Crandall finished the game with 65 yards on nine carries. Helgerson completed 5 of 7 passes for 77 yards. Stockwell caught three passes for 37 yards.
Hillsboro will close out the regular season Friday night against visiting Royall (2–6, 0–5). The Tigers will look to improve their playoff seeding with a win over the last-place Panthers.
“Our main focus is to keep our intensity level high and play a complete game to build the best record possible for seeding purposes,” said Auel. “Royall is fairly young, but has some quality football players. While they are winless in conference, they might be the most competitive winless team I’ve ever seen in the Scenic Bluffs conference. They are coming off of a big win over River Ridge, another triple option team. They will have some familiarity in our offensive scheme so we will have our work cut out for us.”
