Hononegah grinds out key NIC-10 win against Boylan

ROCKTON, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — The Boylan Titans went toe-to-toe with Hononegah for a good chunk of the game Friday night, but Hononegah made big plays when it needed them on both offense and defense. The Indians won 17-7 to improve to 6-2 on the season.

The first big play by Hononegah came in the first half with the Titans’ offense in the red zone. The Titans passed for the end zone, but the only player who had a chance on catching the ball was Hononegah defensive back Brian Little, and he did catch it for an interception snuffing out the Titans’ threat.

Nolan Mabie also intercepted a Boylan pass later in the game.

Hononegah running back Kurtis Smith made the first score of the game on an 18-yard touchdown run right before halftime for a 7-0 Hononegah advantage.

In the third quarter, the Indians got a 30-yard field goal from Zachary Pinkston to go up 10-0. Boylan struck back with 2:02 to play in the third quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jaden Williams to Anthony Lorenzo cutting Hononegah’s lead down to 10-7.

But Hononegah’s defense stiffened down the stretch not allowing Boylan any more offensive threats. The Indians added an insurance touchdown with 3:29 to play in the game on a 46-yard touchdown run by Brayden Lane.

Smith rushed for 69 yards for Hononegah. Senior quarterback Dominic Kelly played very well for the Indians extending plays with his running ability. Kelly rushed for 40 yards. He also completed 10 of 12 passes, most of them while roaming outside the pocket. He passed for 107 yards.

Hononegah’s defense shut down Boylan’s rushing attack holding the Titans to 35 yards on 25 carries for an average of 1.4 yards per carry.

Boylan’s rotating quarterbacks performed well under pressure. Junior Jaden Williams completed 3 of 4 passes including the 25-yard touchdown to Lorenzo. Sophomore Dominic Cacciatore completed 10 of 15 passes for 137 yards, but he did have the two interceptions.

Boylan’s record is now 5-2. To view highlights of this game and to hear the thoughts of our NIC-10 analyst Tim Bailey, watch the media player above.

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