Hillsdale stays unbeaten

“We made enough (plays),” said Hillsdale head coach Mike Parodi. “There were so many opportunities.”

While Woodside (2-1) is more than just Usher, who came into the game having rushed for nearly 500 yards after going for almost 1,800 last season. But the Hillsdale defense was unfazed. Not only did the Knights control Usher, they downright stuffed him. While Usher did end up scoring both Woodside touchdowns, he was held under 100 yards rushing for the first time since becoming a starter last year.

“We had a few little lapses (against Usher), but we predicted that,” Parodi said. “We made him earn it.”

When Usher scored Woodside’s first touchdown on a 22-yard run with just over a minute left in the second quarter, it gave him 19 yards for the half. On his six previous carries, the Hillsdale defense held him to minus-3 yards.

“That was a personal goal (of the defense to hold him under 100 yards),” Parodi said. “It’s fun to be the first to do something.”

Usher got a little loose in the second half, but by that time, Woodside was in catch-up mode. Woodside head coach Justin Andrews gave a lot of the credit to the Knights.

“They were doing things (defensively) that took us a while to figure out,” Andrews said.

With the Hillsdale defense corralling Usher, it was time for the Knights’ offense to put some points on the board — which they did, thanks in large part to quarterback Erick Waugh. The senior connected on 8 of his first 9 passes on his way to completing 19-of-31 attempts for 314 yards and all four touchdowns for Hillsdale (3-0).

Kyle King was a favored target as the junior receiver hauled in six passes for 98 yards and a 41-yard touchdown. Running back Dante Allendorf also had a strong, all-around game, finishing with 133 yards of total offense. He was the Knights’ leading rusher, finishing with 54 yards on 13 carries. He also caught two passes for 79 yards, including a screen pass that he turned into a 59-yard score.

“Tonight, [Allendorf] was hitting,” Parodi said.

Making Waugh’s performance even more spectacular was the fact that he was under constant pressure by the Woodside defense. What looked to be designed scrambles were more often than not Waugh trying to extend plays.

“He was running for his life at times,” Parodi said. “But he was creating and adding on, allowing our athletes to make plays.”

Waugh, who spent most of last season as a wide receiver before taking over under center for the final three games, showed off his legs and escapability on a number of occasions and when the Knights got in the red zone, they capitalized.

After Hillsdale forced Woodside to punt on the first drive of the game, Hillsdale needed just eight plays to go 69 yards. Waugh hit Allendorf for a 13-yard gain on first down, who then went around right end on the next play for a 16-yard scamper. Waugh hit King for 21 yards down to the Woodside 20 and three plays later, Waugh found Bennett Young with a screen pass that he turned into an 8-yard touchdown for a 7-0 Hillsdale lead.

The Wildcats punted again and again Hillsdale answered with a score. The key play was a 35-yard strike from Waugh to Jorge Hernandez. Waugh had to pump fake once and let it fly as he took the hit from a Woodside defender.

The defensive back covering Hernandez slipped to the ground and Hernandez did a good job concentrating on the ball. He avoided being tripped up and hauled in the pass for 35 yards down to the Woodside 29.

Facing fourth-and-11 at the Wildcats’ 13, Waugh hit Jack Haywood at the 2-yard line, who had a defender draped on him. But he refused to go down. Not only did Haywood pick up the first down, he broke into the end zone from 13 yards out to put Hillsdale up 14-0.

The Knights made it 21-0 with just under three minutes to play when Waugh found King on an out pattern near the sideline at the Woodside 30. But he managed to stay inbounds, picked up a downfield block from Stinson McCann and went into the end zone for a 41-yard strike.

Woodside finally got its offense going on its final possession of the half, the big play being a 38-yard, play-action pass from quarterback Kyle Cortes to Oliver Lyssand down to the Hillsdale 25. Two plays later, Usher took a handoff right, cut upfield and bolted through a hole for a 22-yard score to cut Hillsdale’s lead to 21-7.

The Wildcats kept the momentum after halftime and Usher and the offensive line started to go to work. After forcing Hillsdale to punt to start the second half, Woodside went on its best drive of the night. Starting at their own 11, the Wildcats went 89 yards on 14 plays — overcoming a holding call and taking advantage of a roughing the passer call.

What put the Wildcats in scoring position was Cortes finding Carmel Mendez Grassia for a 29-yard gain, in which he high-pointed the ball and beat the defender to the catch. Four plays later, Usher punched it in from 8 yards out and the Wildcats were down just 21-12.

But the Knights responded two plays later to put the game out of reach, needing just two plays to cover 63 yards. On the second play of the drive, Waugh threw a screen pass to Allendorf, who weaved his way through traffic before jetting upfield for a 59-yard score a 28-12 Hillsdale lead.

An interception by Hillsdale’s Trajan King, the Knights’ third takeaway of the game, sealed the win.

Disappointed by the first loss of the season, Woodside’s Andrews was satisfied with the way his team competed.

“We lost the game, but I don’t feel like we got beat,” Andrews said.