The Hillcats have only been a solo football program for two seasons, but thereโs no question who the best team in Division IV at the moment. The Hillcats celebrated their seniors and showed off their athleticism with a 48-22 victory over Farmington-Nute in their final home game of the season.
Hillsboro-Deering improved to 5-0 in D-IV with the victory and closed out a perfect 4-0 regular season on the teamโs home field. The win also holds H-Dโs spot in first place in D-IV with just one game remaining in the regular season.
โWeโve got 10 seniors and their leadership has been awesome, and itโs a very athletic class as well,โ H-D head coach Jay Wood said.
While the Hillcats eventually pulled away, the Tigers were the first on the scoreboard.
Farmington running back Ethan Burrows (116 yards, two touchdowns on 15 carries) finished off an 11-play, 71-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown on the first drive of the game. The first series gave the Tigers an 8-0 lead and shaved over six minutes off the clock.
The Tigers (3-2) entered Saturdayโs game with a 3-1 record, the best start in the cooperative programโs history, and Farmington moved the ball well, despite losing starting quarterback Ryder McGrail to an injury in their second drive.
Although Farmington ground out first downs consistently, the Tigers couldnโt match the athleticism of the Hillcats, or their ability to make big plays.
Senior fullback Dan Richard (84 yards on six carries) scored a 52-yard touchdown on H-Dโs first play from scrimmage, tying the game, 8-8, in a single play.
It took five plays for Hillsboro to find the endzone again, but senior running back and captain Robert King (85 yards, two touchdowns on nine carries, two 2-point conversions) ripped off some long runs, including a 19-yard touchdown to give the Hillcats a 16-8 lead early in the second quarter.
โThey can be explosive,โ Wood said. โWe picked up some athletes Iโve been trying to get for the last two or three years, and theyโre a tremendous help. Anybody would love to have these kids athletic-wise. We have very good speed. The line does a good job on both sides too.โ
King scored a 9-yard touchdown to open the third quarter, but the Tigers responded with their biggest play of the game.
Going for it on fourth-and-10, David Miller (64 yards on four carries) took the ball 55 yards to the house to cut H-Dโs lead to 24-16.
The momentum swing was squashed when King returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards to give the Hillcats a 32-16 lead in the middle of the third quarter.
Hillsboroโs running game continued to wear down Farmington, with junior fullback Layne Lefebvre (67 yards on four carries) scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
Senior quarterback and captain Joshuwa Perron (1-for-1, 28 yard pass), senior captain Ethan Franklin (26 yard run), seniors Tony Harris (28 yard reception, seven tackles, interception) and Lance Bows (eight tackles, fumble recovery), and juniors Andrew Abair (58 yards on nine carries, three 2-point conversions), Micah Adams (eight tackles, two for losses) and Keagan Lamos (eight tackles) also made big plays for the Hillcats.
After the game, the Hillcats celebrated 10 seniors, who comprise a large percentage of the teamโs 24-man roster.
โThere are a good portion of them that were here when we were still Redhawks,โ said Wood, referring to the Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton cooperative program that played in Division II for many years before Hopkinton dropped football after the 2023 season. โTheyโve got two years playing in Division II. They understand how that hurts. Theyโve been able to have success (in D-IV) and theyโre feeding off of that.โ
With a 5-0 record and just two weeks left in the regular season, the Hillcats are in a good position to have the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. H-D has a bye week and then closes the season with a road game against Raymond (4-1) on Oct. 31.The Hillcats have steamrolled their D-IV opponents, outscoring them 213-50. That includes their closest win, a 26-14 victory over defending champions Mascoma (4-1).
โOur defense was a little sluggish today, but the offense picked it up,โ King said. โWeโre brothers on this team. Senior night, itโs all about family tonight and thatโs what we made it about. Our play on offense showed who we are as a team. We were able to stick together at the end of the game and really bonded together in the second half. Thatโs what prevailed us to victory.โ