Hillsboro-Deering knocks off Farmington-Nute to reach D4 football final

HILLSBORO - Plenty of history was made in Saturday’s Division IV football semifinal.

For the Hillsboro-Deering High School team, it was the Hillcats first ever home playoff game. For visiting Farmington-Nute, it was the Tigers first playoff appearance.

And then Robert King made some history of his own.

King, a senior captain and running back, ran for 177 yards on 22 carries and scored four touchdowns, including the 50th of his career to lead No. 1 Hillsboro-Deering to a 35-14 victory over No. 4 Farmington-Nute.

Not only did the win send the Hillcats (7-0) to their first ever championship game, it also wrapped up a perfect 5-0 record on their home field. The Tigers (4-4) set the program record for most wins in a season.

When the two teams met on Oct. 18, H-D won 48-22, but F-N scored on its first possession of the game to take the lead. In Saturday’s semifinal the Hillcats didn’t let that happen again.

H-D’s defense forced a three-and-out, and King and senior fullback Dan Richard (139 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries) ran the ball down the field, with King scoring from the 1 and senior Gavin Ford (5 for 5 kicking extra points) making it 7-0 with 7:34 left in the first quarter.

“That set the tone. That 100 percent set the tone,” senior captain and defensive lineman Leo Vassar said. “They’re a run-heavy team just like us. If we could establish that, then we could win.”

The Hillcats continued to establish their run game in the second quarter, with King scoring a 4-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 early in the second quarter.

Then F-N’s offense started to click. Quarterback Ryder McGrail (1 for 4) connected with Jazar Sprague on a 46-yard completion to get the Tigers to the H-D 19, but senior safety Tony Harris (eight tackles) picked off McGrail on the next play.

Senior captain Jake Iadonsi (13 tackles), and juniors Kegan Lamos (13 tackles) and junior Micah Adams (12 tackles) also led H-D’s defense.

The Hillcats took possession, but turned the ball over on downs, giving F-N possession with 6:38 left in the half.

Ethan Burrows (107 yards on 16 carries), Luke Cardinal (50 yards on 10 carries) and Scott Milliken (44 yards on nine carries) methodically moved the ball down the field using F-N’s wing-T offense, and got onto the scoreboard with a trick play.

On fourth-and-6, McGrail pitched the ball to Burrows, who threw a 20-yard pass to Cardinal in the end zone to make it 14-6 with 2:25 left, enough time for H-D to get down the field for Richard to score a 16-yarder to make it 21-6 at halftime.

King scored from the 4 late in the third quarter to make it 28-6 and Cardinal scored with 3:50 left in the game to make it 28-14.F-N attempted an onside kick, but the Hillcats recovered.

Two plays later, King broke away from the line, displaying his speed on his home field one last time on a 36-yard run to the house for his 50th career touchdown.

The buzzer to end the game also marked the end of a historic season for the Tigers.

“I’m proud of the senior group,” F-N coach Fred Wentworth said. “We didn’t have (varsity) football here for five years. These seniors were the JV group that got us back to a varsity squad last year. The program never won more than three games in the program’s 20-year history. They accomplished a lot. Disappointed to lose, but super proud of the kids.”

On the other side of the field, the Hillcat seniors have also been part of a huge transition in their program, playing their first two seasons in D2 as members of the Redhawks cooperative program with Hopkinton before Hillsboro-Deering started as a solo team last year.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Vassar said. “We were in D2, (2-6 and 2-7 in those years). I was thinking, ‘I’m playing with my brothers. I’m ok going out that way.’ Then junior year we were 4-4 and made it to playoffs. Now, we’re going to the championship game. It’s unworldly.”

That championship game will not be easy. H-D will take on the defending D4 champions, No. 2 Mascoma (6-1), who got a win over Raymond in the other semifinal.

It’s been a strange season for the Royals. Due to Bishop Brady canceling its season right before it started and Franklin having to forfeit its final two games due to lack of players, Mascoma went from Oct. 4 to Nov. 1 without a game.

After the Royals took a 16-0 lead, Raymond chose to forfeit Saturday’s semifinal with nine minutes left in the second quarter, according to a post on the Mascoma Royals Football Facebook page.

“We’re excited, but we have a lot of work to do,” H-D coach Jay Wood said. “What they have is size. They are big, they’ve got four guys who are rather large for our division. And not only are they large, they can play football. They can move bodies.

"We’ve got our work cut out for us on offense and defense. We had a couple breakdowns throughout the game at different times, some things that we can control. We’ve been working on that all year, not beating ourselves. But (Saturday) is a celebration.”