It was homecoming for the Washington Blue Lions (1-6, 1-1 FAC) as they hosted the Hillsboro Indians (3-4, 1-1 FAC) on Friday night at Gardner Park.

Blue Lion sophomore Aden Osborne put on a clinic for those in attendance, scoring five touchdowns in the contest and accounted for 34 points to help the team secure a 50-30 victory over the Indians.

Washington received the opening kickoff and started at their own 15-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Osborne took a hand off on a reverse and raced 85-yards for a Blue Lion touchdown. The two-point conversion was successful on a pass to Osborne from Gavin Coffman making it 8-0 just 20 seconds into the contest.

Hillsboro drove the ball into Blue Lion territory on their opening possession, but later in the drive Blue Lion Matthew Colflesh was able to strip the ball loose and it was recovered by Washington’s Jacob Lindsey to end the scoring threat.

On second-and-sixteen during the next drive, Washington ran a flea-flicker trick play which saw Coffman hand the ball off to Andrew Young, who pitched the ball back to Coffman, who found Osborne for a leaping catch and a big play to get inside Hillsboro territory. An unsportsmanlike penalty after the play on Osborne moved the ball back near midfield. The drive would stall out from there and the Blue Lions were forced to punt.

Hillsboro moved the ball into Washington territory again on their next drive, but an intentional grounding penalty moved them back to midfield and they would later have to punt the ball away.

A three-and-out by Washington quickly gave the ball back to the Indians. On the last play of the first quarter, Hillsboro’s Tre Captain broke off a long run to get the ball near midfield. They got near the red zone, but a third down pass was picked off by Kylen Eskins to give the ball back to the Blue Lions early in the second quarter.

Another three-and-out from Washington got the ball back to the Indians with 7:49 remaining in the first half.

The first play of Hillsboro’s next drive was a long run by Captain to get the ball to the Washington 31. A few plays later, Ryan Burns would score on a three-yard run. The PAT was no good, leaving Washington in front 8-6 with 3:21 left in the half.

On the first play of Washington’s next possession, Osborne took a jet sweep over 50 yards to get inside the 10-yard line of Hillsboro. They would cap off the drive with a four-yard touchdown run from Andrew Young. The two-point try was good on a pass from Coffman to Colflesh, making it 16-6 which was the halftime score.

Hillsboro had to punt the ball away to start the third quarter, but Washington would give the ball right back to them moments later after fumbling the ball.

With the ball inside the Washington 30, Hillsboro wasted little time finding the end zone. They would score on a one-yard run by quarterback Mason Dumpert. The two point try was good on a pass from Dumpert to Captain to make it 16-14 with 6:10 to go in the third quarter.

Washington would answer with a touchdown of their own, a seven-yard run by Osborne. The two-point try was no good, making it 22-14 late in the third quarter.

A big kickoff return by Hillsboro got them just outside the red zone, and they would later fumble the ball but pick it back up and run it in for the touchdown to conclude the drive. The two point try was good on a pass from Dumpert to Ryan Burns, tying the game at 22-22.

On the last play of the third quarter, Blue Lions senior running back Isaac Hood (who was also named homecoming king prior to kickoff) took a hand off and bolted 34 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. The two point conversion was successful, giving Washington a 30-22 advantage going into the final quarter.

Another big kick return had Hillsboro at the Washington 36, and two plays later Captain found the end zone from 36 yards out. The two-point try was good to tie the game 30-30 early in the fourth quarter.

Washington would see a long kick return from Colflesh get them inside Hillsboro territory, and on third down Coffman would find Osborne for a 43-yard touchdown connection. The two point try was unsuccessful, leaving the Blue Lions with a 36-30 lead with 9:38 left in the game.

Yet another long kick return by the Indians would have had them deep in Washington territory, but the return was nullified by a penalty to move the ball back to midfield. After a long run, an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Indians brought them back behind the initial line of scrimmage. They later faced a fourth-and-twelve, and Blue Lion defensive lineman Miguel Utrera sacked Dumpert to force a turnover on downs with 5:28 left in the game.

Following the sack, Washington was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which moved them back to their own 35. An unsportsmanlike penalty on Washington head coach David Everson pushed them back even further, making it first-and-25 from their own 20. A big play down the right sideline by Young got enough to move the chains, and a long run by Coffman had Washington just outside the red zone. On Coffman’s run, he was hit late out of bounds, warranting the Hillsboro defender to be ejected from the contest. This penalty put Washington inside the red zone.

After dropping a touchdown pass, the Blue Lions faced a third-and-five from the nine yard line. The snap was high and to the right of Coffman, who had to run backwards and grab the ball off of the ground. He continued rolling to his right and found a wide open Osborne in the back of the end zone for the score. The two-point conversion was good on a run by Hood, making it 44-30 with just over four minutes to go in the contest.

On the ensuing kickoff, Hillsboro would fumble the ball and the Blue Lions would recover.

Washington would be able to run out most of the clock, capping the drive off with a three-yard touchdown run by Osborne, his fifth of the evening. The PAT was no good to leave the score at 50-30, which was the final.

Washington (2-6, 2-1 FAC) will be back at home again next Friday when they host McClain (1-7, 0-3 FAC).

Hillsboro (3-5, 1-2 FAC) will travel to Jackson (6-2, 3-0 FAC) next Friday night.