JEROMESVILLE − Hillsdale senior quarterback Kael Lewis said it best during his postgame interview.
"It's been a monkey on my back these past four years."
That "monkey on my back" Lewis was referring to is the 11-game losing streak Hillsdale had suffered against Norwayne heading into Friday night's contest. Lewis and his senior class was a part of the last three losses, including two as the starting quarterback.
That streak is now officially over, as the Falcons (8-1, 5-1) handed it to Norwayne (5-4, 5-1) pretty handily 33-3 at home and beat the one team that has been a constant thorn in the side of the two-time Division VII state title runners-up.
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"This is one of the greatest feelings in football I've had," said Lewis, proudly after finally getting one against Norwayne. "We look at it as a rivalry but obviously they don't. That's my first time beating Norwayne in football. I have in other sports but not in football. I didn't have my best games against them but I thought I played pretty decent tonight and we got the job done."
Hillsdale head coach Trevor Cline alluded to beating an always strong Norwayne team as a goal that the program has been seeking for sometime now.
"We have worked for this for many years and the guys who came before this group gave themselves an opportunity to beat Norwayne but for whatever reason it didn't happen."
One of the reasons why Hillsdale was able to take down Norwayne this year was the play of the two-time All Ohioan Lewis and what he did outside the pocket. Routinely extending the offensive play when pressure came or when there was no available receiver open, Lewis took it upon himself to zip by defenders and get upfield, whether for first downs or getting in the endzone.
Lewis rushed for four touchdowns and 95 yards on the ground, while tossing one touchdown pass for 223 yards in the air.
"I think our pass blocking has slowly progressed throughout the season. Early in the season, we struggled running the ball," said Cline. "Tonight we were able to run the football well. Also, some of the plays Kael made and the plays where he just took off is the reason why he's been one of our key players."
"We knew their outside linebackers were blitzing and our wide receivers were blocking like no other," Lewis said, on what helped him be successful as a scrambler. "That opened up the run from there."
The Falcons secondary of Lewis, Porter Boreman, Davis Radcliffe, Ayden Salyer (one INT) and Kyle Turk (one INT) also did their talking in this game, as Hillsdale's pass coverage were very effective in defending against Norwayne's go and wheel routes.
"That sophomore quarterback [Bradley Lanz] is good. He's gonna be good," said Lewis. "We made sure not to let anyone get behind us. For our defense to only allow them to score three points against Norwayne is unheard of here."
"One of the things we challenged them to throughout the week was that we need to win the 1-on-1 battles, if we're going to win this game," said Cline. "It was awesome watching those guys and the number of 1-on-1 battles that went our way."
Now in a three-way tie for first place in the Wayne County Athletic League with Smithville and Norwayne and one more regular season game left, Hillsdale will aim to clinch at least a share of the title for the first time since 2014, if they defeat Chippewa in Week 10. Yet, before that, Cline talked about just how much of a relief it was to get one over Norwayne.
"It's been tough because it's one of those things that we haven't been able to achieve and get over that hump with Norwayne. Last year was a gut punch. We left that game feeling like we should have gotten a win. Also, we did it in statement fashion. Being able to put a running clock on a quality team."
jamessimpson@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Hillsdale snap 11-game losing streak to Norwayne behind Kael Lewis' four rushing TDs