Ron Deabenderfer

The Oct. 7 Hillsboro City council meeting didn’t draw as large a crowd as one might have expected, given the rhetoric around town, when the council met Tuesday night, Oct. 7, but the seats were …

When the Litchfield Purple Panthers came to Hillsboro Friday evening, Oct. 10, to compete against the Toppers’ football team, they walked into a festive atmosphere; a large crowd came to see …

If I were a betting man (I’m not - I admired Pete Rose as a baseball player, not for his lifestyle), I’d have a hard time picking the winner of Friday’s football game in …

When the Hillsboro High School football team visited Carlinville Friday night, Oct 17, they knew what they were facing; the Cavaliers, much like the Toppers, want the ball in their possession as much …

One of the longest road trips Hillsboro faces athletically each season is west on Rt. 16 to the home of the Piasa Southwestern Birds; this season it’s potentially the last of 2025 for the …

Hillsboro’s City Council was asked to take a step into the Artificial Intelligence (AI) world for help at their meeting Tuesday evening, Oct. 21, in their second meeting of the month at city …

This bonus “Ramblings” is my response to discussions at the local Oct. 14 school board meeting as reported by The Journal-News editor Isaiah Atkins. I felt motivated by the realization …

The Hillsboro fans who followed the Toppers’ football team to Piasa Friday night, Oct. 24, outnumbered the Piasa Southwestern Birds fans and were rewarded with a 56-14 win over the outmanned but spirited Macoupin County team. The Topper backs put up big numbers individually and as a group in the first half when both teams combined for 70 total points, making the second half game clock run constantly. As a result, most of the reserve Toppers saw action, some for the first time in a varsity game. The overwhelming offensive output (495 yards in the first half were all on the ground;,so much credit goes to the cohesive offensive line: center Daniel Kenny, guards Liam Blackburn and Carson Huber, tacklers Matthew Currie and Colby Wilkinson, and tight ends Eli Zaidi and Kamdin Civitate. Putting up impressive numbers for the game were Amony Claybrook Anderson (three touchdowns, 149 yards on only four carries, all in the first quarter); Tytin Wells (two touchdowns, 135 yards on 13 carries, 3 conversion PAT runs); and quarterback Elijah Patton (55 yards on three carries, a conversion pass to Chase Spangler); Sawyer Hindle (his first varsity td on a 58 yard run); and Noah Satterlee (53 yards on three carries in the second half). Not only did the line block well, but the backs flaring out to clear Bird defenders from the sideline also aided the attack. Piasa seemed hindered by a lack of experience (only three seniors were introduced during Senior Night pre-game ceremonies) and a lack of numbers (31 players were on their varsity roster, and five of them were freshmen). By contrast, the Toppers had 35 players in pads, and the 14 sophomores have contributed enough this year to have junior-like experience.The hosts weren’t weaponless, however; quarterback Blake Rimbey is a 6’2’’ senior who runs and throws well; Jerion Holoman is a 6’3’’, 185 pound running back who has some shiftiness about him. Rimbey passed for their first touchdown and ran for a two-point conversion; Holoman scored the second td on a 34 yard run. Hillsboro’s line play, though, both offensively and defensively (senior lineman Olan Lentz and junior Gavin Shomaker; senior linebacker Rheece Malloy and sophomore Joel Malloy; defensive ends Civitate and Zaidi; and secondary defenders Hindle and Satterlee also had impressive games. The points came early and often. The Toppers overcame a holding call and recovered their own fumble to go ahead 6-0 when Anderson used a sharp cut through the line before he headed for the sideline and scored from 31 yards out. That td completed a six-play, 28 yard drive; Patton completed that two-point PAT by passing to sophomore Chase Spangler. The drive took less than three minutes. Rimbey and Holoman helped a Bird drive after the Toppers scored; Evan Brooks even reached the Topper end zone, but a penalty negated his score. Following that, two Toppers had a chance to intercept a pass and Satterlee knocked another pass away from the receiver. Trickery followed — a double handoff led to a pass that was intercepted by Devin Hartman and the drive ended on the Topper 9. Much of the competitive nature of the game disappeared on the next play as Anderson sprinted 91 yards. This time Wells rushed for the extra points. It was 16-0 with half of the first period to play. Two plays later Hindle recovered a Bird fumble on the Topper 36; three plays later Anderson raced to a 69 yard touchdown. No Bird defenders could catch him after he cleared the line of scrimmage. Wells again added the extra points. Before fans could relax, the hosts scored as a Rimbey nine yard pass was caught by Cason Robinson for their first score; Rimbey ran right for the extra points that ended the six play drive (four were runs by Rimbey). Hillsboro retaliated quickly, though Anderson was on the sideline with a bag of ice to nurse an injury. Patton kept for a 48 yard gain to the Bird 15 as the first …

For the fourth time since the IHSA initiated their playoff system for football, Hillsboro will invade the home field of the Williamsville Bullets to begin both teams’ hunt for a state title in …

If one enjoys brief meetings, the place to be on Tuesday evening, Jan. 6, was at Hillsboro’s City Hall for the twice-a-month city council meeting. If records are set for brevity, this one, called …