GALENA — For Galena it was the best of times. For Aquin, it was the worst.
Galena’s Matt Hillard took the opening kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown giving the Pirates a 7-0 lead with just 13 seconds off the clock. Galena never looked back in a 49-13 victory, dominating Aquin in all aspects of the game.
The Pirates totally controlled the first quarter, putting 28 points on the board. Hillard, who gained 160 yards in the first half, accounted for three of the four touchdowns, including an 85-yard thriller down the Aquin sideline.
GALENA — It wasn’t pretty, but for Galena, it was good enough.
At times Friday night, the Pirates (8-1, 7-1 in the NUIC-Upstate) were their own worst enemy, incurring killer penalties and committing a big turnover in the red zone.
But in the end, Galena was good enough, topping Polo 21-7.
“I thought we shot themselves in the foot a couple times,” Galena coach Ed Freed said. “But Polo’s a good team, and they’re going to do that to teams.”
STOCKTON - Matt Hillard gained 104 yards on 15 carries to help Galena jump to leads of 21-0 and 35-0 at the first two quarter stops and won 49-14 over Stockton.
Josh Yaeger led Stockton’s defense with 16 tackles. The Blackhawks were held to 105 yards of total offense.
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GALENA - The Pirates outscored Durand 28-0 in the first quarter and led 38-7 at halftime. Matt Hillard led Galena with 117 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries, and Trevor Harris followed with 110 yards and one TD on 12 rushes.
Jake Pelley led the Bulldogs with 66 yards on 16 carries.
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GALENA — The Pirates easily handled East Dubuque, sending them back home on the short end of a 34-8 game.
Galena had a fourth-and-one at its own 41 on its initial drive of the game, and coach Ed Freed decided to keep the offense in. Matt Hillard (17 carries 112 yards and one touchdown) burst up the middle for three to keep Galena rolling. He then finished the 11-play drive with a 10-yard run to open the scoring.
FREEPORT — Galena expected Freeport Aquin to compete Friday night, but it probably didn’t expect the Bulldogs to be the first to score within the first six minutes of the game.
But after a Cody Gallagher (108 yards on 21 carries) 61-yard touchdown run, the Bulldogs did just that.
“That was definitely a wake up call for us tonight,” Galena running back Matt Hillard said. “But Aquin is a good team and they were going to come at us hard tonight.”
GALENA — Matt Hillard had 210 yards and three touchdowns on seven carries to lead the defending state champion Pirates to a 47-0 victory over Ashton-Franklin Center. Hillard scored on runs of 32, 81 and 61 yards in the first half, and Galena led 34-0 at halftime. Ben Pluemer added 106 yards on three carries for Galena, which outrushed A-FC 347-157. Kris Bridgeman led the Raiders with 75 yards on 18 carries.
