JEROMESVILLE — Hillsdale erased any hope Northwestern had of a monumental upset early, and in resounding fashion on Friday night.
The fourth-ranked Falcons opened a 28-0 first-quarter gap, and expanded the bulge to 49-7 at halftime. The entire scoreless second half was played with a running clock as coach Trevor Cline’s squad rolled to a 49-7 Wayne County Athletic League victory.
Senior Owen Sloan ran for 105 yards and three touchdowns. Junior quarterback Kael Lewis threw for 158 yards and added 86 more on the ground with two scores. Hayden McFadden had 74 yards receiving and Kyle Turk contributed 55 yards in catches, too.
Sloan’s 3-yard TD plunge touched off the first-half fireworks, giving Hillsale a 7-0 edge. That score was followed in quick succession by Sloan’s 45-yard scoring sprint, a 53-yard TD bolt by Lewis, and Reed Magor covering a blocked Huskies punt in the end zone.
That resulted in a 28-0 score after the first period.
The onslaught continued in the second quarter after Northwestern’s lone score, a 46-yard touchdown pass from James Cassady to Rylie Ramsier.
Cline’s club responded with a 5-yard Sloan TD blast, a 20-yard scoring run by Lewis, and Brock Bower’s 29-yard touchdown dash.
That made it 49-7 at halftime.
The Falcons, who are tied with Norwayne atop the league standings, remain undefeated (8-0 overall, 5-0 in the WCAL) and largely unchallenged.
Hillsdale is home to Rittman (5-3 after Friday night’s 31-0 loss to Smithville) next week.
Look for the Falcons to remain atop the Division VII, Region 27 computer ratings next week.
The conference title game will be played in Week 10 at Norwayne, which beat Dalton 26-7 on Friday night to also remain unbeaten in conference play. The Bobcats have a stiff test at Smithville next week.