ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — The best football rivalry in the NIC-10 played out once again Friday night. This time it was the Hononegah Indians visiting Titan Stadium. Would it be another nail-biter like we’ve seen in years past?
Indeed, it would. But Hononegah came out with the fourth quarter victory 24-21.
A slow first quarter meant we would see some fireworks in the second. The Indians settled for a field goal to make it 3-0. Boylan’s Rasheed Johnson answered right away with a monster touchdown to give the Titans the lead 7-3.
That’s when the back-and-forth began. Cole Warren got his number one guy Isaiah Houi into the endzone to regain the lead, but the Titans would go into the half up 14-10.
Hononegah came out on a mission. Their first drive of the second half ended in a touchdown run from Luke Poppe to make it 17-14 Indians.
You have to give a shout out to the guys on the lines, and especially the Hono defense for coming up with some big stops in the fourth quarter. Cole Schmall added a big touchdown run halfway through the fourth to make it 24-14 Hono.
But the Titans responded right away with another bomb to Rasheed Johnson, his second touchdown on the night. That cut the deficit to three, 24-21.
The Indians’ defense pulled through once more to set Cole Warren and the boys up for victory formation. This rivalry is one of the best in the area for a reason, and it didn’t disappoint in 2023.
Hononegah stays undefeated at 6-0. They have a big matchup upcoming with Belvidere North next week. Boylan falls to 5-1.
For highlights, post-game reaction, and analysis from NIC-10 analyst Tim Bailey watch the media player above.
