No Hillard, no problem: Phillips, dominating defense lead Galena ...

Tag : galena
Orangeville, Ill. -
The Galena football team was without star running back MatthewHillard against Orangeville on Friday so the Pirates turned toquarterback Mitchell Phillips against the Broncos.
Phillips was a workhorse, as he threw 38 times, completing 19 for187 yards and a touchdown to lead Galena (5-0, 4-0) to a 26-0 winover Orangeville (3-2, 3-2).
Phillips said he easily had the most passes he’s ever thrownin a game.
“It was nuts, it was the first time I’ve ever thrownthat many passes in three games total,” Phillips said.“It was just fun, it was a good experience.”
The Pirates passing game thrived by using short passes to receiversand relying on yards after catch.
“Their corners played soft, so we took advantage ofthat,” Phillips said.
Running back Trevor Harris filled in well for Hillard, who suffered a concussion in last week’s gameagainst East Dubuque and is expected to play in next week’sshowdown with Milledgeville. Harris had only 55 yards in his first16 carries, but he had 56 in his final two, including a 49-yardtouchdown run that capped the scoring with 11:14 to play. He alsogot the Pirates on the board with a 5-yard plunge with 1:34 to playin the first quarter.
But the biggest run of the day came from a wide receiver. AdamHocking, who was also the Pirates leading receiver with 79 yards onnine receptions, broke off a 61-yard touchdown run on a reverse.Hocking appeared to be stopped on the Galena sideline but brokefree, cut across the field and dove across the goal line to put thePirates ahead, 19-0, with 4:22 to play in the third quarter.
“We’ve always had the reverse in our playbook,”Hocking said. “I always try to find my hole and cut backbecause it’s always open.”
Phillips missed his first two throws but then com pleted five straight and seemed to get in a rhythm. He came up with his biggest pass of the night in the waning seconds ofthe first half when he lofted a jump ball to the corner of the endzone that receiver Tyler DeLoach pulled away from defensive backAlex Zimmerman to put the Pirates ahead, 13-0, with only one secondto go in the half.
Phillips made only one major mistake when he threw a pass that wasintercepted at the goal line by Orangeville defensive back/runningback Caleb Carr. Overall, Phillips’ coach was very happy withhis performance.
“They had a lot of guys in the box so we just had to takewhat they were giving us,” Galena coach Ed Freed said.“I thought we executed pretty well and made someplays.”
The Pirates slowly continued to pull away throughout the half asthe Galena defense completely shut Orangeville down.
The Pirates were able to dominate play on the lines on both sidesof the ball as Phillips had good protection throughout the game andOrangeville’s potent rushing offense never got going.
“Those guys in the middle are doing a tremendous job,”Freed said. “We did a nice job of controlling the line ofscrimmage and that’s where it starts.”
Riley Kubatzke, the Broncos’ leading rusher on the season,could manage just 23 yards on 19 carries.
Galena also four sacks of Orangeville quarterback Trace Hanson andstopped the Broncos repeatedly on fourth down. Galena will faceMilledgeville, who escaped with a four-point win against Aquin onFriday, in a showdown of top-3 teams in Class 1A next week.