Hononegah improves to 6-0 after defeating Boylan 24-21
Hononegah Indians remain undefeated and on top of the NIC 10 as they stand tall against Boylan.
I feel like the yearly football battle between Hononegah and Boylan comes down to the wire every year. The 2023 version had everything you could want as a football fan. It had big plays, hard hits, and dynamic plays from dynamic players on both teams and the crowds for Boylan and Hononegah cheered on their teams.
As should be the case in a big game, both teams started slow in the opening quarter. Hononegah junior kicker Kurt Smith got the Indians on the board with a 33-yard field goal early in the 2nd quarter. Boylan answered less than 2 minutes later with a connection from Connor Dennis to WR Rasheed Johnson for 63 yards. Hononegah said, "Anything you can do, we can do." Seniors Cole Warren and Isaiah Houi connected on a 55-yard touchdown, making the score 10-7 Hononegah midway into quarter number two. After a special teams error gave the Titans the ball on the 5-yard line, Boylan was able to cash in on a run from Austin Alonso to make the score 14-7 going into the half.
In the opening second-half drive, the Hononegah Indians coaching staff decided they wanted to pound the rock and for all except a couple of plays, ran the ball through, around, and, if needed, over the Boylan Titans defense. Luke Poppe scored from two yards out and the PAT was good, making the score 17-14.
The next score came early in the fourth when it looked like Hononegah had thrown the knockout punch to the Titans with a 69-yard touchdown from Cole Warren to Cole Schmall. Cole was able to streak through the Titans secondary and pull away from the Boylan defender on his way to the endzone.
Boylan thought they had returned the kickoff for a touchdown; however, a late holding call stopped that momentum. However, a few plays later, Boylan got an awesome pass and catch from Connor Dennis to Rasheed Johnson, making the score 24-21.
The final few minutes were filled with some hiccups for Hononegah, but nothing the 2023 Hononegah Indians couldn’t handle. The defense came up big with a 4th down stop with under three minutes to go, which allowed the Indians to run out the clock, improve to 6-0, and become leaders in the NIC 10.
Indians ran for 187 yards in the game against the Titans.
Next week, Honoengah is at home on Friday, October 6 to take on Belvidere North. It's going to be another big game as North is tied for 2nd in the NIC 10.
Thank you Hononegah Football for the stats of the game against Boylan.
Thank you honofootball on Instagram for the use of the graphic.
If you want to watch the complete game, you can sign-up for the NFHS network and watch it on demand.
A previous version of this story misidentified the Hononegah player who scored the first field goal of the game. Thanks to Miranda Motter for pointing it out.
