West senior running back Mason Parker (2) rushed for 311 yards and four touchdowns on a massive 47 carries in the Senators’ 27-21 non-league football win at Hillsboro on Friday night.

Courtesy of Joey Shupert

HILLSBORO — Mason Parker pretty much cut right through the rain, and the visiting West Senators took advantage of an inadvertent whistle with a four-man officiating crew, capturing a 27-21 non-league football victory over Hillsboro on Friday night — inside a rainsoaked Richards Memorial Field in Hillsboro.

For the run-heavy Senators, Parker put up four touchdown runs —including a key one-yard sneak with three minutes remaining in the third quarter, which made it 27-14 in the midst of a second-half defensive struggle.

That touchdown was actually the first of two crucial calls which benefited West, which won its first game after being outscored by a combined 75-7 against two Ohio Valley Conference clubs (Fairland 34-0 and Portsmouth 41-7).

The Senators are coming off back-to-back seasons of at least eight wins, and Parker —behind an experienced and sizable offensive line — has been a key cog.

Against the Indians, the Senators never trailed for the final three quarters, as Parker’s first TD run of three yards and his subsequent two-point conversion run made it 8-7 with eight seconds left in the opener.

It capped a 12-play and 54-yard drive —as West dominated in time of possession (West 31:45 and Hillsboro 16:15), first downs (West 17 and Hillsboro seven) and plays from scrimmage (65-37).

The next two Senator scores were once again by Parker, and off Indian lost fumbles which West’s Bo Wroten recovered.

On the first play following facing the 8-7 deficit, the Indians fumbled with Wroten recovering at the Hillsboro 24 yard-line.

Three plays later, Parker was in the end zone from 19 yards away —with just a minute and 16 seconds elapsed in the second stanza.

On the next Indian drive, they moved to the West 36 before fumbling again with Wroten recovering —and only this time the next Senator series lasted four plays, with Parker ripping off a 56-yard sprint at the 5:07 mark.

Drew Dettwiller drilled the extra-point kick for the 21-7 lead, which was West’s largest of the entire waterlogged night.

Dom Smart, who paced the Indians in rushing with two touchdowns and 64 yards on 15 carries, scored his second TD —a mere 15 seconds after Parker’s 56-yard burst.

Nic Burns gave the Indians excellent field position prior to Smart’s score, and Wesley Bailey’s second extra-point kick, returning the ensuing kickoff of the Parker TD 70 yards to the Senator 16.

Smart, who scored from six yards for the Indians’ first-quarter touchdown, scored on the first play following Burns’ burner.

But Parker put the Senators ahead again by two touchdowns with his aforementioned 1-yard dive — on a six-play and 44-yard drive which spanned a mere minute and 40 seconds.

Yet once again, West’s two-TD edge was extremely short-lived.

That’s because the Indians got back to 27-21 —a mere minute and 16 seconds after Parker’s punch-in.

This time, it was another Hillsboro big play — a 73-yard pass pitch-and-catch from quarterback Mason Dumpert to Jevon Hochstuhl.

Hochstuhl made the reception at midfield, and out-maneuvered oncoming Senators en route to the house.

Bailey booted the extra point with 1:44 left in the third, but it wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter when West was the beneficiary of a major officials’ decision.

With 5:45 remaining and the Indians in their own territory, Dumpert called a common play in the game —where he faked the handoff to the fullback Smart, who bullied his way into the Indians’ offensive line and the Senators’ defensive front.

Dumpert kept the ball this time, and was outside of the West defense —downfield and untouched towards the end zone.

But an officials’ whistle from the four-man crew could be heard, thus stonecold stopping the play altogether.

Instead of the usual six-person crews, this game featured four —and after a huddle they spotted the football at the West 40-yard line.

Dumpert did have another run of 18 yards, but the Indians’ drive ended at the Senator 44 with 3:18 remaining.

West only attempted one pass which was incomplete, as all but 66 of its 377 total yards belonged to Parker.

Anthony Bishop added 41 yards on 11 attempts, while Wroten chipped in 31 on four.

West sophomore Anthony Bishop (18)

Courtesy of Joey Shupert

Hillsboro had just 135 yards rushing, as Dumpert completed 4-of-6 passes for 89 yards.

For the Division VI Senators, perhaps there was a rainbow in Hillsboro on Friday night —and with it a pot of gold in the form of Ohio High School Athletic Association playoff computer points.

The Indians are now 1-2 like West, but are a Division III program —hailing from the Frontier Athletic Conference, which began competition in 2017.

West will play its home opener on Friday night, and against another FAC school — and Division III squad — in the Chillicothe Cavaliers.

West sophomore Braden Adkins (11)

Courtesy of Joey Shupert

* * *

West 8 13 6 0 –27

Hillsboro 7 7 7 0 – 21

H —Dom Smart, 6-yard run (Wesley Bailey kick), 8:13, 1st (7-0 H)

W — Mason Parker, 3-yard run (Mason Parker run), :08, 1st (8-7 W)

W — Mason Parker, 19-yard run (run failed), 10:44, 2nd (14-7 W)

W — Mason Parker, 56-yard run (Drew Dettwiller kick), 5:07, 2nd (21-7 W)

H — Dom Smart, 16-yard run (Wesley Bailey kick), 4:52, 2nd (21-14 W)

W — Mason Parker, 1-yard run (kick failed), 3:02, 3rd (27-14 W)

H — Jevon Hochstuhl, 73-yard pass from Mason Dumpert (Wesley Bailey kick), 1:44, 3rd (27-21 W)

Team Statistics

W H

First Downs 17 7

Scrimmage plays 65 37

Rushes-yards 64-377 31-135

Passing yards 0 89

Total yards 377 224

Cmp-Att-Int. 0-1-0 4-6-0

Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-2

Penalties-yards 7-50 7-57

Punts-Ave. 3-33.3 2-40

Time of Possession 31:45 16:15

Individual Leaders

RUSHING —West: Mason Parker 47-311 4TD, Anthony Bishop 11-41, Bo Wroten 4-31, Braden Adkins 1-(-5), Brody Hall 1-(-1); Hillsboro: Dom Smart 15-64 2TD, Jevon Hochstuhl 7-19, Mason Dumpert 4-37, Tre Captain 4-1, Nic Burns 1-14

PASSING —West: Brody Hall 0-1-0-0; Hillsboro: Mason Dumpert 4-6-0-89 TD

RECEIVING—West: none; Hillsboro: Jevon Hochstuhl 2-69 TD, Nic Burns 1-16, name not available 1-4

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