First-and-Ten Football Notebook: Hillsboro wants to build from last season
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The eighth installment of the 2012 First-and-Ten Football tour takes us to the Hillsboro Indians as I had the chance to watch them practice for over an hour and speak with a couple senior captains, along with head coach Brian Spicer, who is entering his fourth season at HHS, during a break in between their two-a-day practice on Monday.
It was great to see that Hillsboro had a good amount of players on the practice field on Monday, as that is the first step toward returning to a winning record. Though the players are still young in some areas of both the offense and the defense, they have at least 10 games of varsity experience, and some players have even more than that headed into the '12 campaign.
At Monday's first practice of their two-a-day, I had the chance to see Hillsboro work on individual drills and team defense drills, along with some conditioning that incorporated some offense. The Indians look like a whole different team in terms of overall attitude and energy.
One positive for the Indians headed into the season (HHS was 2-8 one year ago) will be their offensive line. The O-line remains intact from last season, which was a season where all five starters had to learn on the fly as they all earned their first starts in varsity football. And though the team won just twice, they did end the year with a Rotary Bowl win over rival McClain. HHS also defeated Madison-Plains last season.
Another part of the Hillsboro that will be interesting to watch is seeing all the skill positions (quarterback, running back and wide receiver) being replaced with new faces this season as a majority of the offensive skill position starters in '11 graduated. More on that later.
But what I like about Coach Brian Spicer is the fact he knows last season was just that … last season. He knows they took their bumps, learned on the fly and went through a lot of growing pains, but he also knows his players are in it for the long haul, as he said to me following the aforementioned practice that his team is doing stuff in two-a-days that they weren't even doing in Week 8 last year.
This team still has a long road back to the top of the SCOL, but they are headed in the right direction and are already improved from one season ago.
3 Quick Thoughts on Hillsboro
1. This is the start of a new football program at Hillsboro. The quarterback is new to the position for the Indians, the running game is new in terms of starters from last season and new players are filling in a void left by graduation at wide receiver.
2. I'm happy to see Kordell Ford, a junior, back on the football field this season. After a one-year absence from football, it will be fun to see what he can do his junior year as he was one of the better players on the Indians team during his freshman season. More of Ford later on.
3. The overall team unity this season seems to be great. I hung around during practice and while the Indians were taking a break, and they were so relaxed and full of energy. I'm happy to see the Indians at ease this season so far, and it will be interesting to see how their season plays out and if they can build for future seasons.
Two Must-See Games
Week 4 (Sept. 14) vs. Madison-Plains — Like I said earlier in the MP notebook, this game could be a very competitive game for the fact these two teams match up pretty well. Last year, Hillsboro gained the first of their two wins against MP on the road, and this year, I know this game be a competitive game once again as it will open the '12 slate of SCOL games.
Week 10 (Oct. 26) vs. McClain — By the time this game arrives in late October, who knows where each team will be in the standings and if any of their players will be injured. But most years this game is usually very competitive and entertaining, and for the Rotary Bowl trophy, a trophy each team wants and of which Hillsboro has possession with their one-point win (28-27) one year ago at McClain.
Who to Watch
- Kordell Ford, running back, junior
Ford returns to the football field after missing his sophomore season. This year, Ford begins the football season after placing fourth in the state in Division II wrestling this past March, and as an athlete, he is even better than he was during a pretty productive freshman year on the football field. He runs tough, but possesses speed, which is a very good combo to have.
- The HHS offensive line, all returning starters
Last year, the HHS o-line had to learn in the heat of the fire, so to speak, as all five players earned their stripes in '11, but this year, I'm interested in seeing how they play and how much they've improved over the winter with their weight room work and offseason conditioning. This group has 10 games under their belts at the varsity level and know how to work as one unit … I can't wait to see how they play as a group this season.
- Logan Lesley, quarterback/wide receiver, sophomore
He's returning from a broken leg suffered in the very first game last season. I saw Lesley play in a scrimmage last preseason against Paint Valley, where on defense he returned an interception for a touchdown, and that shows me Hillsboro has themselves a football player. Being a quarterback this year also shows the confidence Coach Spicer has in Lesley and just how good of an athlete he is. Will be fun to see him progress from the start of the season to the final game.
Player Quote
"I'm looking forward to the camaraderie and atmosphere we have this year. It feels like it did our freshman year. Of course I didn't play my freshman year, but the attitude is the same. We are ready to come and ready to play to win games for Hillsboro." — Zach Brown, Hillsboro senior offensive tackle talking about what he's looking forward to before his final season at HHS.
Coach Quote
"Last year we had guys going from eighth grade football to starting at the varsity level … so that's having guys taking double and triple steps, and last year, that was rough. We knew it was going to be, and we asked them to hang tough. I tell you, we knew were were going to take our lumps, but we knew if we stuck with it, it would pay off. Here we are in camps, and we are doing stuff in July and August that we weren't doing in week eight last year. It's like night and day. This is not the same kind of team it was last year." — Brian Spicer, HHS head coach talking about how his team has improved since last season.
Final Thoughts
This Hillsboro team knows what it is like to fight through a season of adversity with injuries, losses and learning how to compete at the varsity level in a span of a football season. They've been through the worst, and now they are preparing to make that next step. More players enter this season with experience, but the Indians will still endure some more growing pains with the sophomores this season looking to continue to grow as football players. It's also good to see the Indians have depth at many positions offensively and defensively this year, and it will be another year of watching this program take a step in the right direction.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of the Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]
It was great to see that Hillsboro had a good amount of players on the practice field on Monday, as that is the first step toward returning to a winning record. Though the players are still young in some areas of both the offense and the defense, they have at least 10 games of varsity experience, and some players have even more than that headed into the '12 campaign.
At Monday's first practice of their two-a-day, I had the chance to see Hillsboro work on individual drills and team defense drills, along with some conditioning that incorporated some offense. The Indians look like a whole different team in terms of overall attitude and energy.
One positive for the Indians headed into the season (HHS was 2-8 one year ago) will be their offensive line. The O-line remains intact from last season, which was a season where all five starters had to learn on the fly as they all earned their first starts in varsity football. And though the team won just twice, they did end the year with a Rotary Bowl win over rival McClain. HHS also defeated Madison-Plains last season.
Another part of the Hillsboro that will be interesting to watch is seeing all the skill positions (quarterback, running back and wide receiver) being replaced with new faces this season as a majority of the offensive skill position starters in '11 graduated. More on that later.
But what I like about Coach Brian Spicer is the fact he knows last season was just that … last season. He knows they took their bumps, learned on the fly and went through a lot of growing pains, but he also knows his players are in it for the long haul, as he said to me following the aforementioned practice that his team is doing stuff in two-a-days that they weren't even doing in Week 8 last year.
This team still has a long road back to the top of the SCOL, but they are headed in the right direction and are already improved from one season ago.
3 Quick Thoughts on Hillsboro
1. This is the start of a new football program at Hillsboro. The quarterback is new to the position for the Indians, the running game is new in terms of starters from last season and new players are filling in a void left by graduation at wide receiver.
2. I'm happy to see Kordell Ford, a junior, back on the football field this season. After a one-year absence from football, it will be fun to see what he can do his junior year as he was one of the better players on the Indians team during his freshman season. More of Ford later on.
3. The overall team unity this season seems to be great. I hung around during practice and while the Indians were taking a break, and they were so relaxed and full of energy. I'm happy to see the Indians at ease this season so far, and it will be interesting to see how their season plays out and if they can build for future seasons.
Two Must-See Games
Week 4 (Sept. 14) vs. Madison-Plains — Like I said earlier in the MP notebook, this game could be a very competitive game for the fact these two teams match up pretty well. Last year, Hillsboro gained the first of their two wins against MP on the road, and this year, I know this game be a competitive game once again as it will open the '12 slate of SCOL games.
Week 10 (Oct. 26) vs. McClain — By the time this game arrives in late October, who knows where each team will be in the standings and if any of their players will be injured. But most years this game is usually very competitive and entertaining, and for the Rotary Bowl trophy, a trophy each team wants and of which Hillsboro has possession with their one-point win (28-27) one year ago at McClain.
Who to Watch
- Kordell Ford, running back, junior
Ford returns to the football field after missing his sophomore season. This year, Ford begins the football season after placing fourth in the state in Division II wrestling this past March, and as an athlete, he is even better than he was during a pretty productive freshman year on the football field. He runs tough, but possesses speed, which is a very good combo to have.
- The HHS offensive line, all returning starters
Last year, the HHS o-line had to learn in the heat of the fire, so to speak, as all five players earned their stripes in '11, but this year, I'm interested in seeing how they play and how much they've improved over the winter with their weight room work and offseason conditioning. This group has 10 games under their belts at the varsity level and know how to work as one unit … I can't wait to see how they play as a group this season.
- Logan Lesley, quarterback/wide receiver, sophomore
He's returning from a broken leg suffered in the very first game last season. I saw Lesley play in a scrimmage last preseason against Paint Valley, where on defense he returned an interception for a touchdown, and that shows me Hillsboro has themselves a football player. Being a quarterback this year also shows the confidence Coach Spicer has in Lesley and just how good of an athlete he is. Will be fun to see him progress from the start of the season to the final game.
Player Quote
"I'm looking forward to the camaraderie and atmosphere we have this year. It feels like it did our freshman year. Of course I didn't play my freshman year, but the attitude is the same. We are ready to come and ready to play to win games for Hillsboro." — Zach Brown, Hillsboro senior offensive tackle talking about what he's looking forward to before his final season at HHS.
Coach Quote
"Last year we had guys going from eighth grade football to starting at the varsity level … so that's having guys taking double and triple steps, and last year, that was rough. We knew it was going to be, and we asked them to hang tough. I tell you, we knew were were going to take our lumps, but we knew if we stuck with it, it would pay off. Here we are in camps, and we are doing stuff in July and August that we weren't doing in week eight last year. It's like night and day. This is not the same kind of team it was last year." — Brian Spicer, HHS head coach talking about how his team has improved since last season.
Final Thoughts
This Hillsboro team knows what it is like to fight through a season of adversity with injuries, losses and learning how to compete at the varsity level in a span of a football season. They've been through the worst, and now they are preparing to make that next step. More players enter this season with experience, but the Indians will still endure some more growing pains with the sophomores this season looking to continue to grow as football players. It's also good to see the Indians have depth at many positions offensively and defensively this year, and it will be another year of watching this program take a step in the right direction.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of the Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]