Ithaca picks up conference football win

ITHACA, WIS (WRCO / WRCE) – The Ithaca football team won the Scenic Bluffs Conference opener 26-21 over Hillsboro. It was a well played game in which neither team turned the ball over.

The Tigers were trying to avenge an 18-0 loss to the Bulldogs a year ago scored first when Quarterback Miles Ravenscroft ran for a one yard touchdown. Malekai Simpson kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.  After a long drive, Ithacas’ Hewston Boland barreled across from a yard out. Caden Keller tied the score at 7.

Boland scored 4 rushing touchdowns on the night including another one yarder before intermission.  Hillsboro stopped the Bulldogs on the Tigers 11 yard line at the end of the first half and Ithaca led 14-7.

Hewston Boland scored his 3^rd of th night on an 11 yard run to make it 20-7 with just over 7 minutes left in the 3^rd. The Tigers than mounted a long drive that began at their own 11 yard line and capped it with a Mathew Huffman 3-yard score.  Simpson’s kick made it 20-14 with 1:32 left in the 3^rd quarter.

The Bulldogs mounted a late game drive which included a key 4^th down conversion inside the Tigers 10 yard line when Senior quarterback Keegan Jones threw a pass to freshman Spencer Nelson. Ithaca than got the eventual game winning score with Boland’s 4^th td, a 6 yard run to make it 26-14.  The Tigers than put together a 70 yard drive that was capped with a 15 yard run by Huffman. 

The Malekai Simpson kick brought the Tigers within 5 with 3:53 left.  Ithaca was able to keep the ball and force the Tigers to use all of their timeouts with the Bulldogs running out the clock for the 5-point win.

With the 26-21 victory, the Bulldogs are 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the league with a road game at Bangor next week.  It was the first loss for Hillsboro.  They will play host to Necedah next week.

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