Jack O’Rourke named new Hillsboro football coach
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
There is a new face of the Hillsboro Indians football program, and for newly named head coach Jack O’Rourke, he’s looking to rebuild the football program from the ground up, as he’s excited and ready to bring his enthusiasm to the football team.
HHS was last coached by Matt Hodge, who coached the Indians for the past three seasons with a 9-21 record, as he resigned earlier this year to spend more time with his family. Now with O’Rourke, he’s familiar to the South Central Ohio League and high school football in the area, as he’s coached the Blanchester Wildcats for the past seven seasons, resigning from the position this past December.
In all, O’Rourke, a Blanchester High School graduate, has coached 37 years (he began coaching in 1980), and this season will be his 31st as a head coach and the 11th program he’s coached at as either a head coach or an assistant coach. He’ll also be a physical education teacher in the Hillsboro school system.
O’Rourke spoke about what type of football team he wants to build at Hillsboro.
“I like to coach football as a team sport,” O’Rourke told The Highland County Press in a phone interview. “I like to run the option and use a shotgun formation. We’ll have a spread offense similar to Urban Meyer’s at Ohio State and a read-option like Georgia Tech uses. That’s the type of offense I used in high school as a quarterback, and it is the type of offense my dad coached when he was at Blanchester.
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“Of course, we’ll have to coach and adapt to our personnel. Defensively, we’ll be aggressive, and in all I want the team to play fundamentally sound.”
Football isn’t just a sport for the new Indians head football coach … it was a way of life for him and his family. His father, Jack O’Rourke, Sr., was a head coach at Blanchester from the early ’70s to 1980, winning two Fort Ancient Valley Conference championships with the Wildcats in the 1975 and ’76 seasons as the younger O’Rourke was the captain and quarterback of those teams.
In the past seven seasons with the Wildcats, who play in neighboring Clinton County, O’Rourke’s teams won a combined 28 games, including two winning seasons in ’11 at 7-3 and 6-4 in ’12.
Besides coaching at Blanchester, he’s also coached at six other schools in Ohio, two in Indiana and one in South Carolina, as some of his other Ohio stops include Vinton County for six seasons (1988-93), Springfield Shawnee (nine seasons) and Danville (two seasons).
O’Rourke has a plan to rebuild a Hillsboro program that has seen its share of struggles over a number of seasons, as last year they finished with an overall record of 3-7 with wins over Clermont Northeastern, East Clinton and Miami Trace.
The rebuild begins now for the HHS football program, and O’Rourke spoke about why, after all of these years coaching, he’s excited about rebuilding a team and program.
“I like working with kids, and the great thing about football is it teaches you life lessons because when you get knocked down, football teaches you to get back up,” O’Rourke said. “Eleven guys working as one intrigues me. I’ve learned so much from football as a player and as a coach, and I hope my players do the same.
“The newness of it (becoming the new head coach) is exciting. Getting to know the kids and the community is something I’m really looking forward to because I’m a people person. Right now, it is about getting the kids excited, getting enthusiasm going and getting ready for the season. I’m very thankful for this opportunity to coach football at Hillsboro.”
As for coaching at Hillsboro, O’Rourke likes the feel of the town and the school, while also being familiar with the league.
“Hillsboro isn’t too big or too small of an area, and it is full of hard-working people with great kids,” he said. “I want to come here, and we’ll have great community support for the team. I’ve coached at (Richards Memorial Field) before, and it is a great place to play a football game.
“Also, it does help me that I’m familiar with some of the teams and coaches in the SCOL, having coached against some of them before. The league has some great coaches and teams, and it is an honor to coach against team.”
HHS was last coached by Matt Hodge, who coached the Indians for the past three seasons with a 9-21 record, as he resigned earlier this year to spend more time with his family. Now with O’Rourke, he’s familiar to the South Central Ohio League and high school football in the area, as he’s coached the Blanchester Wildcats for the past seven seasons, resigning from the position this past December.
In all, O’Rourke, a Blanchester High School graduate, has coached 37 years (he began coaching in 1980), and this season will be his 31st as a head coach and the 11th program he’s coached at as either a head coach or an assistant coach. He’ll also be a physical education teacher in the Hillsboro school system.
O’Rourke spoke about what type of football team he wants to build at Hillsboro.
“I like to coach football as a team sport,” O’Rourke told The Highland County Press in a phone interview. “I like to run the option and use a shotgun formation. We’ll have a spread offense similar to Urban Meyer’s at Ohio State and a read-option like Georgia Tech uses. That’s the type of offense I used in high school as a quarterback, and it is the type of offense my dad coached when he was at Blanchester.
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“Of course, we’ll have to coach and adapt to our personnel. Defensively, we’ll be aggressive, and in all I want the team to play fundamentally sound.”
Football isn’t just a sport for the new Indians head football coach … it was a way of life for him and his family. His father, Jack O’Rourke, Sr., was a head coach at Blanchester from the early ’70s to 1980, winning two Fort Ancient Valley Conference championships with the Wildcats in the 1975 and ’76 seasons as the younger O’Rourke was the captain and quarterback of those teams.
In the past seven seasons with the Wildcats, who play in neighboring Clinton County, O’Rourke’s teams won a combined 28 games, including two winning seasons in ’11 at 7-3 and 6-4 in ’12.
Besides coaching at Blanchester, he’s also coached at six other schools in Ohio, two in Indiana and one in South Carolina, as some of his other Ohio stops include Vinton County for six seasons (1988-93), Springfield Shawnee (nine seasons) and Danville (two seasons).
O’Rourke has a plan to rebuild a Hillsboro program that has seen its share of struggles over a number of seasons, as last year they finished with an overall record of 3-7 with wins over Clermont Northeastern, East Clinton and Miami Trace.
The rebuild begins now for the HHS football program, and O’Rourke spoke about why, after all of these years coaching, he’s excited about rebuilding a team and program.
“I like working with kids, and the great thing about football is it teaches you life lessons because when you get knocked down, football teaches you to get back up,” O’Rourke said. “Eleven guys working as one intrigues me. I’ve learned so much from football as a player and as a coach, and I hope my players do the same.
“The newness of it (becoming the new head coach) is exciting. Getting to know the kids and the community is something I’m really looking forward to because I’m a people person. Right now, it is about getting the kids excited, getting enthusiasm going and getting ready for the season. I’m very thankful for this opportunity to coach football at Hillsboro.”
As for coaching at Hillsboro, O’Rourke likes the feel of the town and the school, while also being familiar with the league.
“Hillsboro isn’t too big or too small of an area, and it is full of hard-working people with great kids,” he said. “I want to come here, and we’ll have great community support for the team. I’ve coached at (Richards Memorial Field) before, and it is a great place to play a football game.
“Also, it does help me that I’m familiar with some of the teams and coaches in the SCOL, having coached against some of them before. The league has some great coaches and teams, and it is an honor to coach against team.”