Hillsboro-Deering High School was buzzing all week. Students, teachers and even the principals were hyping their football team in preparation for the Division IV State Championship. Senior running back Robert King was ready to win it.
King had seen the ups and downs of football, from being on a co-op team with Hopkinton players to making a championship run in D-IV as a new solo program.
On Saturday, the No. 1 Hillcats (7-1, 7-0) faced the No. 2 Mascoma Valley Royals (7-1) and won their school’s first state championship in any sport since 1995, with a 34-20 win.
“How can you not go out when they do so much for you in school and out of school and go win it,” King said about getting the win for not just the team, but everyone in his community. “I couldn’t have asked for a better ending.”
Hillcat senior Robert King is tackled by Mascoma senior Declan Lyons (5) in the D-IV State Championship. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Hillsboro-Deering senior running back Robert King breaks away for his first touchdown of the game against Mascoma in the D-IV championship. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Robert King (1), a Hillcat senior, capped off his high school football career with 208 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
The Hillsboro-Deering’s backfield duo of King and senior Dan Richard exploded for four touchdowns, and the defense shut Mascoma down in the second half in a comeback win to make history.
Head coach Jay Wood instilled confidence in his team to take on the larger Mascoma side, and they believed in themselves enough to hang in during the difficult moments and come back to win.
“This is the 12th year of football in the community and it wasn’t easy to get in, and you know what?” Wood said. “Now there’s a banner they can never forget about. It’s going to be sitting on that wall. I told those kids you’re gonna have a legacy for generations to come, and hopefully the program just continues to flourish,” he continued.
The game started slowly for the Hillcats as they went down 20-6 early in the second quarter after three long touchdown drives by the Royals, from which they only converted one two-point attempt. King had erupted for a 60-yard touchdown to put up his team’s only score in the first quarter, but they knew they needed more.
The Hillcats strung together a six-play drive ending with a strong 23-yard run by Richard to get them right back into the mix at 20-13.
Richard, who has only played football for three years, said Robert King was instrumental in his development as a runner. They studied film together and King was always there to give advice. It paid off.
“You just can’t get down on yourself. You have to believe in your teammates. You gotta do whatever you can to get the win. You can’t give up yourself, you just gotta keep pushing,” Daniel said proudly after the win.
Hillsboro-Deering senior running back Daniel Richard (10) rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the Division IV State Championship to get the team its first championship in program history. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Hillcat senior running back Daniel Richard (M) converts a two-point attempt while being tackled by multiple defenders. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
The Hillcats’ defense knew their opponent well. They had held the Royals to 14 points during their regular-season match-up and had studied the film extensively. The second half was all theirs, in a way.
Some say the best defense is a strong offense. When the Hillcats received the ball in the second half, they went on an 80-yard, 19-play touchdown drive that lasted the entire third quarter.
It wasn’t an easy drive by any means, but it worked. Senior quarterback Joshuwa Perron capped off the drive with an outside fade pass to the endzone, hauled in by senior tight end Chase Owen, but a missed kick saw them still down, 20-19.
By this point, Mascoma’s offense had not seen the field since the second quarter and its two-way players were exhausted by the long Hillcat drive. They committed two penalties and fumbled a snap, which forced a punt deep in their own territory.
All it took was one snap, and King erupted again for a 52-yard touchdown to finally take the lead and Dan Richard ran in the two-point conversion. The defense had stepped up once this half, time to do it again.
Junior defensive back Micah Adams came up big to wrestle the ball away from a Mascoma receiver and came away with a nearly game-winning turnover as the clock wound down to five minutes.
“We’ve been studying them for the whole year, basically. We know what they do, we know what they like to do, we know what they want to do,” Adams said. “And we were there for it and we were ready to match their athleticism.”
The Hillcats wanted to put it away. They marched down once more and Richard scored his second touchdown with 3:43 remaining to seal the game, 34-20.
King rushed 22 times for 208 yards and two touchdowns while Richard had 81 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. The senior backs ached and groaned from the hits they took, but the feeling of winning bested everything else.
“It’s going to hurt. You’ve got to get back up and keep going,” King said.
“If you’re running the ball, you gotta be the fastest one, you have to do the best and you’ve got to want to be the best,” King added.
The Hillcats proved they were the best. From the offensive line matched up against bigger opponents but still creating space, to clutch moments by the defense, to running through the pain. The first football championship in school history was hard-earned.
