Litchfield/Mt. Olive will venture away from home to challenge the Hillsboro Hiltoppers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Litchfield/Mt. Olive comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
Litchfield/Mt. Olive is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They fell 48-35 to Carlinville on Friday. While losing is never fun, Litchfield/Mt. Olive can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 430th, while Carlinville is ranked 154th).
Despite the loss, Litchfield/Mt. Olive got top-tier performance from Ethan Saathoff, who rushed for 123 yards and one TD, and also threw for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Max Leitschuh was in the mix as well, providing Litchfield/Mt. Olive with one score.
Meanwhile, Hillsboro's game on Friday was all tied up 20-20 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They blew past North Mac 43-20. That looming 43-20 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Hiltoppers yet this season.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Tytin Wells and Amony Anderson. Wells rushed for 185 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Anderson rushed for 110 yards and two TDs on only 15 carries. Those 185 rushing yards gave Wells a new career-high.
Hillsboro was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 315 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 185 rushing yards in ten consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Hillsboro didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Rheece Malloy and Jaden Loskot.
Hillsboro has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 3-3 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 39.5 points over those games. As for Litchfield/Mt. Olive, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-6.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Litchfield/Mt. Olive has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 161.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hillsboro struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 333.2 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Litchfield/Mt. Olive against Hillsboro in their previous meeting back in September of 2024, as the squad secured a 28-0 win. Will Litchfield/Mt. Olive repeat their success, or does Hillsboro has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
