RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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JEROMESVILLE — After graduating 15, the most successful class in program history, growing pains were inevitable for the Hillsdale Falcons.
And though they didn't look polished by any means in the opener against Black River, they did enough to come away with a 34-21 win.
"Whenever you can get out of Week 1 with a win ... that's something you're striving for," coach Trevor Cline said. "It was a sloppy game ... and that's not the standard that we as a football program want to play to. With it being the first game, we have a lot of inexperienced guys who have a lot of potential — and they're obviously going to fulfill that potential — you're gonna run into that in these games.
"But we do have to get it cleaned up because if we want to be a great team ... we can't play like that in Week 2, Week 3, Week 4 or you're gonna be disappointed."
The Falcons had nine penalties for 95 yards and fumbled once, but recovered it. Senior Kael Lewis threw an interception but canceled it out with four touchdown passes going 14-of-29 for 231 yards and rushing for 53.
"We expected that with a new team in Week 1, a lot of freshmen are playing and we graduated one of the best classes we've ever had," Kael said. "We knew there were going to be growing pains, but we're working through those and we're gonna get a lot better week by week."
Three of those four touchdown passes were to his brother, Knox.
"That's been brewing for a long time since youth football, flag football," Kael said. "(I) didn't expect that tonight, but he balled out."
"We've had that chemistry since we were born," Knox added. "I think it's a really beneficial thing when you have a receiver and a quarterback that have been playing together for 18 years ... I know all of his tendencies and he knows all of mine, we're just always on the same page and same wavelength."
The first was on 4th-and-goal from the 10 as Kael rolled out of the pocket, bought time, then found his brother who was shouting for the ball from the end zone.
"If it's a jump ball with anybody, I'm gonna want to be the one to catch it — I want to be the one with the ball," Knox said. "I know a lot of other guys can make plays, but I play best when I play confidently and that's what I did."
Kael hit Ayden Salyer from 23 yards out for the second touchdown then hit Knox again from 15 yards out in a span of 70 seconds before the half that dramatically shifted the momentum. What appeared to be trending toward a one-score game at the half as both offenses sputtered most of the second quarter turned into the Falcons heading into the break with a 21-0 lead.
"Coach (Kyle) Clark had a great game plan to limit our possessions and let the play clock run down to 10 seconds," Cline said. "If you were going against us and you felt like keeping the ball out of our offense's hands, that's a great way to do that. But being able to finish the half like that was important, it's what set us up for success."
It's also what led to minor tweaks being made in the locker room by the Pirates as they watched a game within reach slip through their fingers.
"They have some very, very talented kids and kids that have played a lot of football ... the last two years they've had 12 more weeks of practice then us because they made it to the state championship both years," Clark said of the way Hillsdale closed the half. "It's a great program that is coached very well, they saw blood in the water and took advantage of it.
"We saw what we needed to work on ... we were missing things by maybe a foot here or a foot there. We knew if we could actually hit our mark that we could score some points, and I feel like the kids bought into it. Once we got some momentum there — then some Hillsdale kids started cramping and going out of the game — we were able to adjust and kind of attack the their backups that came in. I felt like we did a good job with that and I felt like our kids were in a little bit better shape, even with some cramping."
The Pirates would actually go on to win the second half by a 21-13 margin as Dom Bell connected with Jaxson Brewer twice from 27 and 19 yards out, then punched in the third himself from the one late in the fourth. Bell finished 13-of-28 passing for 176 yards and rushed for an additional 28.
"He really settled in and was finding those guys downfield," Clark said. "And I felt like he was throwing the ball with a little more accuracy there in the second half. He ran the ball great for us and made great decisions.
"We love playing a team like Hillsdale. They're a classy team that plays the right way, good sportsmanship, and they're tough every year. It's important to start with someone like that so that you push yourself a little bit more in the offseason knowing you got them Week 1."
This Hillsdale senior class has been pushing themselves a little more, too, in order to carry on the success of the last few years.
"There's only five of us so we're trying to be a big part and lead this group because we know there's a bunch of underclassmen and that's what they need," Kael said. "The junior class coming up needs a little bit of leadership, but we're giving that to them and I think next year they're gonna be very good."
Speaking of underclassmen, it was the varsity debut of Mason Sloan who took over rushing duties from his older brother Owen who graduated with virtually every rushing record. He scored his first touchdown midway through the third quarter and finished with 55 yards on the ground.
"Mason has a lot of potential, he's someone that has been neat to watch not only in youth football and junior high, but not at the high school level,...
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