Column: 5 thoughts before high school football begins

There is no doubt that to me, football at three levels: the high school level, college level and professional level interests me. And it is also not a big secret that coming home on Friday night for high school football perhaps is one of the most enjoyable part of being a sports editor. 
 
Still, the one-month countdown to Week 1 of the 2024 high school football season was on July 23 and as I am in the process of previewing some of the area teams and schools for the new school year don’t you worry I will also be preparing previews for soccer and volleyball but as we speak today it’s football. To tell you the truth, I sit down and contemplate things for the Frontier Athletic Conference and other teams of the area. 
 
Last year, due to the expansion of the playoffs, both Hillsboro, and McClain participated in the playoffs for the first time in a season other than COVID, and for the first time in quite a long time, the Indians and the Tigers both won some FAC games. 
 
Last season was moderately successful, that made ’23 an interesting year for following high school football, and before the scrimmages begin and the games are in the frame of the standings, here are five things I think about regarding ’24 season of high school football. 
 
1. Can Hillsboro and McClain make it to playoffs again in the next season? 
 
This is due to to playoff expansion that began the previous season and the Indians and Tigers qualified for playoffs in their respective divisions. Even though the games were without winners for two Highlander County teams in Week 11 getting there was also entailing fun as the Tigers managing to secure their Week 10 game against the Indians in a bid to try and make the playoffs. Perhaps it will be the case that a great deal will be at stake in Week 10 this year too. 
 
2. As always it means Hillsboro has to replace a lot of scoring and rushing yards for this season after last season it witnessed. 
 
Rarely was a running back as dominant in a season as Austin Barrett was for the Indians in the previous year. To add on this, mentioning his plays in defense as a Line Backer, he was such an incredible running back with over 1,907 (One thousand nine hundred and seven) rushing yards, 17 (seventeen) touchdowns, 9 consecutive games (weeks 1-9), games without having less than a hundred and 303 (Three hundred and three) yards rushing in one of the games. 
 
Jeven Hochstuhl will be a junior this academic year, and she is a player to keep your eye on. He scored an average of 97. 75 yards per game the ground in eight games and managed 115 yards receiving. On special teams he contributed and compiled 12 total touchdowns as a receiver, runner, and on an interception return (3 receiving, 8 rushing, 1 pick-six). He belongs to the class of the player that I personally like much and I must watch him play next season due to the fact that the point at which he brings out his speed and other athletic abilities will make a play break open. 
 
On defense, a veteran to keep an eye on is senior defensive back Nic Burns who registered five interceptions before the season had ended in the ’23 season. Not only that, he racked up five INTs, he also recorded 51 tackles. In total, Burns secured 4 touchdowns in the ’23 season, 3 of them were received and the remaining one was a pick-six. 
 
The Indians should also keep the same quarterback for the second year in a row as Mason Dumpert is back for his junior year. It should be noted that there will be other returnees in the ’24 season and that will be discussed in detail when the schedule for the 2024 season comes out this summer. 
 
 
3. In many cases McClain will have to step into rather large shoes on the roster. 
 
The latter was marked by six wins and a winning record, Rotary Bowl win and multiple FAC wins, and the overall program advancement toward where the Tigers want to be, year in and year out as a competitive team. 
 
Indeed, in a way they play, the Tigers had a team loaded with seniors last year and like their county affiliate, the Hillsboro McClain High School, lost some sterling performers who were varsity players for at least two years. 
 
Two such players are Andrew Potts and Kaden Penwell whom scored pretty well when they had the ball with them, also the two would be sorely missed at the back. The player by name Potts was involved in the production of 1,316 in yards, 15 in rushing touchdowns and 37 in tackles. Also graduated is Penwell who in eight games scored three rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, made seventy tackles, forced two fumbles, and intercepted one pass. 
 
Others who graduated from MHS are ex footballers of Drake stapleton(QB), Cade Sponcil(ILB/OL), Jayden allison(DT/C), and Max Eikenberry(WR/DB) all are the vital players for the achievement of six wins. 
 
However, the fun of following high school sports is such that a new stringers will get to see the new players and how they succeed when it is their time to excel on the field and this new season for MHS will have many new players who are aspiring to start their success pathway in 2024. 
 
4. Beware the team from Bainbridge 
 
When looking at the previous season for Paint Valley Bearcats, they had 8 victories, among which there was a post-season victory; additionally, they were ranked third in the Scioto Valley Conference, and their overall record was 8-4. 
 
That was with a new quarterback who is his second season with PVHS and third as a starting varsity quarterback. Preston Fauber starts his junior year at PVHS and having a quarterback on the varsity team when that has only been starting for two years is a big deal. 
 
Fauber rushed for over 950 yards last season, had over ten touchdowns and threw for over 1,200 yards. Having that quarterback back with those numbers is going to be fun for PVHS this year though he was only a sophomore last year.

Paint Valley also has their running back in Braylon Robertson coming back for his senior year with over 1,400 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns and their senior in wide receiver Carson with over 1,000 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns and that is only three returns. Another thing is that PVHS returns many skilled players to their offense and defense lines; the team will have two linebackers and a defensive tackle in the season as all the three individuals are seniors (Colton Yoakum, Caleb Saunders, and Zach Tennant). 
 
One can say it with confidence that Paint Valley is definitely one of the teams that should be followed in the 2024 season as many very good players are expected to return to the field this year. 
 
5. Jackson enjoys football in the FAC very much for he is really good at it. 
 
In the five years of existence of the Frontier Athletic Conference starting in the 2017 season, only three teams have FAC Championship football trophies in their cases, Chillicothe Cavaliers twice, Hillsboro Indians once a co-champion, and Jackson Ironmen five-time FAC champions and co-champion with HHS in season 2018. 
 
The football has secured three consecutive seasons of winning the conference while FAC has also secured 15 wins in the same seasons and a goal-difference of 766:193 against their conference rivals. Thus, in those three seasons in FAC games, Jackson is outscoring their opponents 51-13 per game. 
 
The Ironmen also have a wonderful football team operated by a coach called Andy Hall and from time to time they have been the FAC leaders in football. Their last conference lost in the 2020-2021 season was against Chillicothe in a 30-27 overtime in Week 10; Oct. 2 during CHS game. 
 
This season (Weeks 6-10), Jackson will play their FAC opener on Sept. 27 at McClain, followed by the remainder of their conference schedule: as against Washington, Miami Trace, Hillsboro, and at Chillicothe. 
 
We suppose no other team of the FAC will be able be equal to Ironmen in the current season. It will not be a walk of the park because the Ironmen usually reconstruct their team to become the strongest team in the conference, only time will tell whether any of the other teams in the FAC will become the team to deny JHS of being the best team in ’24.