2018 FAC Football Preview: Hillsboro Indians
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Coming off their best season in nearly a decade, the Hillsboro Indians enter the 2018 season with momentum from a seven-win campaign and a third-place finish in the inaugural season of the Frontier Athletic Conference.
Hillsboro has a solid starting roster intact from the team that finished with an overall mark of 7-3, but one issue that could hurt the Indians is their overall number of players with a total of 38 from all four high school grade levels.
Last season was Hillsboro’s first winning season since 2009, as HHS in 2017 finished 4-1 in non-conference games and 3-2 in the FAC.
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“Our offseason could have been better,” Hillsboro head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “We wanted more kids to come out, but that is OK. It was also frustrating we lost one of our scrimmages to the weather.”
The Indians this season return senior quarterback Mason Swayne, who was a big part of the Hillsboro offense a season ago. Also returning are running backs in seniors Josh Keets, Deon Burns and junior Mark Gallimore. They all were a part of an HHS offense that scored 416 points in ’17. During last season’s opener, Swayne went 90 yards for a touchdown.
Keets led the Indians’ offense a season ago with a bruising style of football, but one where he also showcased speed as he rushed for 1,163 yards and 13 touchdowns in 10 games, leading to him being selected to the Division III All-Ohio team.
In the final two weeks of the regular season of ’17, Keets dominated with a Week 9 performance of 212 yards and five total touchdowns against Miami Trace (while also having two 2-point conversions and an 85-yard kickoff return). That was followed in Week 10 with a 10-carry game, leading to 172 yards rushing and three touchdowns against Highland County rival McClain.
“Josh Keets makes our offense go, and it is great having a player like him in our backfield,” O’Rourke said. “We will need another big year out of him for our team to be successful.”
Another part of the offense that O’Rourke is confident in is the offensive line, even with the loss of some strong players from last season. The Indians at times battled injuries on the offensive line in ’17, and that meant others had to step in and take over. This year, those players are beginning the season in the front five as starters.
The offensive line this season consists of senior center Lane Cluff, who was a tackle last season, along with junior Silas Simmons, who was injured in ’17. There is also senior Max Conover at tackle and senior Mark Rose at left guard. Others on the offensive line in ’18 who will make a mark up front are sophomore Zach Burns, senior guard Michael Adkins and junior Draven Stodgel.
Two of the players lost from last season’s offensive line were All-District selections in Jared Conn and R.J. Swackhamer, as Conn was also an All-Ohio selection for his play on the offensive and defensive line. Conn and Swackhamer were also selected All-FAC a season ago.
The tight end in 2018 is Reece Bloomfield, who was also a starter at the spot in ’17.
“Our offensive line has been pretty good, and we have quite a few kids who played last season, so we are in good shape there,” O’Rourke said.
Wide receiver is where the Indians are going to have to make some changes, as they lost All-Ohio selection Britton Haines to graduation. Haines was solid not just at wide receiver, but he also was strong defensively with three interceptions, and he also totaled eight touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams.
“We are still searching at wide receiver because we are inexperienced there,” O’Rourke said.
Looking back to the ’17 season, the Indians — who are playing the same teams in ’18 — began with a 55-34 win over Western Brown, followed by a 39-15 loss to Goshen. Then came two straight wins as they Indians defeated East Clinton 48-7 and Williamsburg 57-7. HHS wrapped up their non-conference schedule with a 37-6 win over CNE before they began their FAC slate.
In the FAC games, HHS lost 42-20 to Chillicothe, but came back the following week with a 41-34 victory over the Washington Blue Lions. That game was followed with a 28-6 loss to Jackson in Week 8, but the Indians rallied with two wins to end the regular season by defeating Miami Trace 76-48 and McClain 61-13.
Defensively in ’17, the Indians allowed 258 points, and that style of play led to the Indians being 11-9 in two seasons under O’Rourke and 6-6 in conference games since the veteran head coach arrived at Hillsboro, with this season being the third year at the helm of Hillsboro for O’Rourke and his 33rd season overall as a head coach.
“Our defense is getting better each day, and we have experience there, especially at linebacker,” O’Rourke said. “Having the experience we have at linebacker will be to our advantage defensively.”
The linebackers for the Indians include Deon Burns, Keets, Bloomfield, junior Logan Hester, senior Luke Middleton and senior James Coday. Stodgel and Cluff lettered for the Indians last season as they return to the defensive line, along with Simmons.
At defensive back, the Indians have Gallimore and Swayne returning, plus others working their way into the lineup.
“We have a few kids competing for defensive back spots, but our defensive backs are getting better. We are making progress,” O’Rourke said.
For the special teams, Keets will also be the punter for the Indians again this season, and Burns will return as the kicker. But for the Indians, as the season nears, it is about them staying healthy and keeping their starters on the field.
“The biggest thing for us is to stay healthy,” O’Rourke said. “We were fortunate last year where most of our guys stayed healthy and we had just a few injuries. That will have to happen again for us to have a successful season.”
The Indians open the 2018 season on the road as they are scheduled to face Western Brown. Hillsboro’s first home game of the season will be Week 3 when they host the East Clinton Astros of the Southern Buckeye Athletic & Academic Conference.
Hillsboro has a solid starting roster intact from the team that finished with an overall mark of 7-3, but one issue that could hurt the Indians is their overall number of players with a total of 38 from all four high school grade levels.
Last season was Hillsboro’s first winning season since 2009, as HHS in 2017 finished 4-1 in non-conference games and 3-2 in the FAC.
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“Our offseason could have been better,” Hillsboro head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “We wanted more kids to come out, but that is OK. It was also frustrating we lost one of our scrimmages to the weather.”
The Indians this season return senior quarterback Mason Swayne, who was a big part of the Hillsboro offense a season ago. Also returning are running backs in seniors Josh Keets, Deon Burns and junior Mark Gallimore. They all were a part of an HHS offense that scored 416 points in ’17. During last season’s opener, Swayne went 90 yards for a touchdown.
Keets led the Indians’ offense a season ago with a bruising style of football, but one where he also showcased speed as he rushed for 1,163 yards and 13 touchdowns in 10 games, leading to him being selected to the Division III All-Ohio team.
In the final two weeks of the regular season of ’17, Keets dominated with a Week 9 performance of 212 yards and five total touchdowns against Miami Trace (while also having two 2-point conversions and an 85-yard kickoff return). That was followed in Week 10 with a 10-carry game, leading to 172 yards rushing and three touchdowns against Highland County rival McClain.
“Josh Keets makes our offense go, and it is great having a player like him in our backfield,” O’Rourke said. “We will need another big year out of him for our team to be successful.”
Another part of the offense that O’Rourke is confident in is the offensive line, even with the loss of some strong players from last season. The Indians at times battled injuries on the offensive line in ’17, and that meant others had to step in and take over. This year, those players are beginning the season in the front five as starters.
The offensive line this season consists of senior center Lane Cluff, who was a tackle last season, along with junior Silas Simmons, who was injured in ’17. There is also senior Max Conover at tackle and senior Mark Rose at left guard. Others on the offensive line in ’18 who will make a mark up front are sophomore Zach Burns, senior guard Michael Adkins and junior Draven Stodgel.
Two of the players lost from last season’s offensive line were All-District selections in Jared Conn and R.J. Swackhamer, as Conn was also an All-Ohio selection for his play on the offensive and defensive line. Conn and Swackhamer were also selected All-FAC a season ago.
The tight end in 2018 is Reece Bloomfield, who was also a starter at the spot in ’17.
“Our offensive line has been pretty good, and we have quite a few kids who played last season, so we are in good shape there,” O’Rourke said.
Wide receiver is where the Indians are going to have to make some changes, as they lost All-Ohio selection Britton Haines to graduation. Haines was solid not just at wide receiver, but he also was strong defensively with three interceptions, and he also totaled eight touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams.
“We are still searching at wide receiver because we are inexperienced there,” O’Rourke said.
Looking back to the ’17 season, the Indians — who are playing the same teams in ’18 — began with a 55-34 win over Western Brown, followed by a 39-15 loss to Goshen. Then came two straight wins as they Indians defeated East Clinton 48-7 and Williamsburg 57-7. HHS wrapped up their non-conference schedule with a 37-6 win over CNE before they began their FAC slate.
In the FAC games, HHS lost 42-20 to Chillicothe, but came back the following week with a 41-34 victory over the Washington Blue Lions. That game was followed with a 28-6 loss to Jackson in Week 8, but the Indians rallied with two wins to end the regular season by defeating Miami Trace 76-48 and McClain 61-13.
Defensively in ’17, the Indians allowed 258 points, and that style of play led to the Indians being 11-9 in two seasons under O’Rourke and 6-6 in conference games since the veteran head coach arrived at Hillsboro, with this season being the third year at the helm of Hillsboro for O’Rourke and his 33rd season overall as a head coach.
“Our defense is getting better each day, and we have experience there, especially at linebacker,” O’Rourke said. “Having the experience we have at linebacker will be to our advantage defensively.”
The linebackers for the Indians include Deon Burns, Keets, Bloomfield, junior Logan Hester, senior Luke Middleton and senior James Coday. Stodgel and Cluff lettered for the Indians last season as they return to the defensive line, along with Simmons.
At defensive back, the Indians have Gallimore and Swayne returning, plus others working their way into the lineup.
“We have a few kids competing for defensive back spots, but our defensive backs are getting better. We are making progress,” O’Rourke said.
For the special teams, Keets will also be the punter for the Indians again this season, and Burns will return as the kicker. But for the Indians, as the season nears, it is about them staying healthy and keeping their starters on the field.
“The biggest thing for us is to stay healthy,” O’Rourke said. “We were fortunate last year where most of our guys stayed healthy and we had just a few injuries. That will have to happen again for us to have a successful season.”
The Indians open the 2018 season on the road as they are scheduled to face Western Brown. Hillsboro’s first home game of the season will be Week 3 when they host the East Clinton Astros of the Southern Buckeye Athletic & Academic Conference.