Things become different when a team knows it can win.
Just ask the Hamilton Heights football team. Last year’s Huskies squad won the Hoosier Conference East Division. Heights coach Jon Kirschner said that an accomplishment like that makes people get excited about football, and it makes the players want to get out and do the extra running, the extra lifting – so they can win again, and get another T-shirt that says “Division Champion.”
“That changes your mentality,” said Kirschner. “Getting those conference division patches and T-shirts made. When you start wearing that extra hardware, that begins to set a new tone.”
The Huskies want to keep going in the direction of that new tone, and they will do that in 2021 with a veteran group of players.
The experience begins with the quarterbacks. Senior Guy Griffey threw for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior last season, while junior Vincent Harley totaled 318 yards.
“He’s going to start somewhere,” Kirschner said of Harley. “He may be going both ways.”
A key returner is junior Trey Ehman, who rushed for 898 yards last season. Another running back, Nate Hulen, is a senior. He totaled 221 yards. Both Ehman and Hulen scored six touchdowns last year.
The Huskies also have their top two receivers back, and they are both seniors this year. Isaac Tuma caught 21 passes and Gavin Bramel had 13 catches. Tuma had five TD catches last year, while Bramel collected three touchdown throws.
The offensive line has several key players back, including CJ Fettig and Dean Mason. Defensive linemen returning include Alex Petty, Mason Moran and Trevor Tuma. Kickers Michael Lecher and Jonathan Glenn are also back.
On defense, senior Harrison Hochstedler returns after making 96 tackles last year. Hulen also played a fair amount of defense, with 72 stops.
Kirschner said that on Tuesday, the Heights had some of its best practices of the season. The coach wanted to make sure things were getting fixed before the Huskies’ first game Friday with Monroe Central, and the players answered the call.
“When they get challenged, they answer,” said Kirschner. And the players agreed that they got something out of the practice as well.
“Not only did they respond to the challenge yesterday (Tuesday), but they saw the benefit of the challenge,” said Kirschner.
After Heights’ opener with Monroe Central, the Huskies will play another home game on Aug. 27, welcoming North Montgomery. Heights makes its first road trip on Sept. 3 to take on Rensselaer Central; both are Hoosier Conference teams, but in different divisions. The Huskies’ first division game is Sept. 10 when they host Northwestern.
