RITTMAN — It was a night of big plays for the Hillsdale Falcons, and Hayden McFadden authored three of them in the first quarter.
McFadden caught 10 passes for 136 yards, including touchdown strikes of 50 and 51 yards, and returned an interception 35 yards for a TD — all in the first quarter, to lead coach Trevor Cline’s club to a 42-7 win at Rittman.
The Falcons erupted for 28 points in the first period, and played the entire second half with a running clock. Hillsdale (9-0 overall, 6-0 in the Wayne County Athletic League) will host Norwayne for the outright WCAL championship next week.
This one was over early as sophomore Kael Lewis tossed both TD passes to McFadden in the first eight minutes. Owen Sloan ripped off a 53-yard touchdown bolt and McFadden returned the pick-six for a 28-0 first-quarter lead.
Sloan tacked on a 9-yard TD blast in the second quarter for a 35-0 halftime bulge. Brock Bower’s 18-yard scoring dash in the third period pushed the gap to 42-0.
Rittman’s Vincent Sonego scored on a 14-yard touchdown sprint with 1:01 remaining in the game.
Sloan registered 140 yards rushing, while Lewis threw for 200 yards.
The Indians fall to 4-5 overall, 1-5 in the WCAL.
Norwayne dumped Smithville 27-14 on Friday night. The Bobcats are 8-1, 6-0. Their lone loss was 28-21 at St. Clairsville in the season opener.