Photos of the home coming game on Friday, Oct. 16th. Photos by John Hinkel

By Johanna Berton
The Hopkinton Hillers football team suffered a tough defeat Friday, October 16th, against rival Holliston Panthers, falling to a 2-4 overall record. The Panthers displayed their outstanding offense, beating the Hillers 50-14.

After the first quarter, the score was 6-0, but the Hillers battled back, cutting the lead in half. The Hillers continued fighting hard, but after a fumble the Panther’s offense broke loose. Sophomore quarterback Mike Decina tried to keep the Hillers in the game but a Panthers 51-yard run increased the lead 21-7.

Going into the second half of the game, the Hillers were down 35-7. The Panthers struck again, increasing their lead again in the third quarter, and the Hillers finally put more points on the board. Decina scored a touchdown late in the third quarter on a five-yard run. The Hillers battled the whole game, but it was not enough to stop the Panthers from scoring 50 points.

In addition to it being Hopkinton’s homecoming game, there was field naming ceremony before kickoff, honoring coach David M. Hughes. Coach Hughes was involved with Hillers football for 50 years on the field that no bears his name. In his acceptance speech, Hughes thanked everyone involved with the Hopkinton football program and the youth Raiders even came out on the field and cheerfully honored him.

The Hillers next game is at Millis High School on Friday, October 23rd. Next home game is the following week, Friday, October 30th, against Medway.