NANKIN — The Trevor Cline era got off to a resounding start Friday at Mapleton High School.
First-year quarterback Alex Becker rushed for four touchdowns and threw for two more as the Falcons roughed up Ashland County rival Mapleton 61-27, making a winner of Cline in his first game as head coach.
The 2012 Hillsdale graduate took over for Tom Williams, who piloted the Falcons for 15 seasons before stepping down in July.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous,” said Cline a three-sport standout at Hillsdale who quarterbacked the Falcons to a regional finals appearance in 2010. “Even when I played, usually until the very first play, I always had some nerves. Then once that first play goes, they all go away.”
Becker helped put his new coach at ease. The senior succeeded Trey Williams, the former coach’s eldest son and Hillsdale’s career passing leader, after lining up as a slot receiver the past two years.
“This is my third year starting varsity, but coming back to quarterback for the first time in three years was stressful,” said Becker, who rushed for 118 yards and threw for 52 more. “There’s a lot more weight on my shoulders. I had a lot more responsibility so I had to make sure I did my job to the best of my ability every single play.”
The Falcons struggled defensively early and trailed 13-7 after the first quarter before ripping off 35 unanswered point in the second quarter. Becker, who scored on a 4 yard run in the first quarter, rumbled 65 yards for a touchdown early on the first play of the second quarter to give Hillsdale the lead for good. Garrett Smith added TD runs of 8 and 37 yards en route to a game-high 130 rushing yards before Becker added a 10 yarder and a 14 yarder to cap the outburst.
“Defensively, we’ve got to do a lot better,” Mapleton coach Rob Maheney said. “The Becker kid and the Smith kid are a great one-two punch. The Smith kid is shifty and then the Becker kid does a great job of making the reads.”
Becker hooked up with Garrett Goodwin on a 10 yard TD pass midway through the third to push the lead to 48-13 but Mapleton quarterback Logan Pharmer tossed TD passes of 11 yards to Ethan Hartley and 3 yards to Lucas Cragel to cut Hillsdale’s advantage to 48-27 early in the fourth. Becker sealed it two minutes later when he found Ty Williams for a 14 yard touchdown strike midway through the fourth.
“We believe in the guys we have on offense,” Maheney said. “Logan Pharmer is going to give us a chance against everybody.”
Pharmer threw for 197 yards and rushed for 45 more. Garrett Hartley rushed for 76 yards , while Hartley hauled in a pair of TD passes.
