RITTMAN — Hillsdale’s dreams of a Wayne County Athletic League championship are alive after Friday night.
Not only did the Falcons dispose of Rittman 34-7, but Norwayne knocked off Smithville 31-25 in a battle of league leaders.
That opens the door of opportunity for coach Trevor Cline’s club in its quest for a piece of the WCAL crown.
Hillsdale is 7-1 overall, 4-1 in the league, just a game behind the Bobcats (5-3, 5-0), who happen to be visiting Jeromesville next week. Smithville, which handed Cline’s club its lone loss of the season, now drops into a tie with the Falcons at a game behind the league leader, also with a 7-1, 4-1 mark.
Hillsdale earned a crack at playing for the league lead thanks to their ground game against the Indians.
Four different Falcons ran for touchdowns, including quarterback Kael Lewis, who scored on dashes of 31 yards and 1 yard.
Porter Borman’s 10-yard sprint put Hillsdale on top 7-0. But Rittman’s Rocco Taylor dashed in from 18 yards to tie the score at 7-7 heading to the second period, and it stayed that way at intermission.
Mason Sloan posted a 4-yard TD romp, and the first of two scoring runs by Lewis made it 21-7 through the end of the third quarter.
A short Lewis’ plunge and Mike Schenberger’s 14-yard touchdown streak finished it.
Lewis completed all 12 of his passing attempts for 189 yards and ran for 83 yards to pace the Falcons with 272 yards of total offense. Davis Radcliffe contributed 76 receiving yards.
The Indians ground out 283 yards, including 93 by Taylor and 83 by Jason Sears, but managed just 32 yards passing.