Creating the brand at Oak Hills
- Updated: August 13, 2015
Evan Dreyer takes over as the head coach at Oak Hills. The program is in need of an infusion of life and an identity. Dreyer is just the man do that after the team hit rock bottom going 2-8 in 2014. His teams at Western Brown lit up the scoreboards with an offensive attack that put up massive numbers especially through the air.
“Oak Hills Football needs to have a brand of football. We are changing the culture at Oak Hills. We believe we can be highly successful. Our seniors are excited to start a new tradition of excellence for Highlanders Football,” Dreyer states about the new era at Oak Hills.
It’s the west side, if you play an exciting “brand of football” the fans and community will come out and support it. Dreyer gets that and has already instilled it into his players. “This is a blue collar work ethic, physicality driven team that is on board with the mindset of how we are changing the culture of Oak Hills football,” he said.
Dreyer’s fresh approach couldn’t come at a better time. Oak Hills was shutout three times and scored 13 or fewer points on three more occasions in ’14. They got beat by 22 points or more five times. Add in eight consecutive years without a winning record and as change will be welcomed by the Highlanders faithful.
Division I, Region 2
2014 RECORD: 2-8, 2-5 GMC
COACH: Evan Dreyer (0-0 at Oak Hills, first year, 43-19 overall, six years
TOP RETURNEES
Caleb Hutson, DB, Sr – Pound for pound Hutson might just be the best defensive player in the GMC. The 150 pound Hutson registered 45 total tackles, had seven pass break ups, two fumble recoveries and three interceptions as a junior. Don’t be surprised if he lines up in the slot on offense.
Sawyer Klingelhoffer, QB/TE – All signs point to Klingelhoffer having a breakout senior campaign. He will get a look at quarterback and at tight end for the Highlanders.
Kevin Wirfel, LB, Sr – Wirfel tallied 27 total tackles with 2.5 sacks in ’14.
Ben McGinnis, DL, Sr – One of the few established Highlanders on the d-line McGinnis was in on 23 total tackles with 2.5 sacks as a junior.
Cooper Scholz, QB, Jr – The incumbent at quarterback Scholz threw for 864 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore. It is not a given that Scholz will be back under center in ’15.
Kevin Rockwood, K, Jr – Only a junior Rockwood has already earned two letters. He will be used a whole lot more as Oak Hills will put more points on the board over his next two years.
Matthew Christopfel, OL, Sr – This returning starter is the leader of the o-line.
NEWCOMERS
David Reddington, RB, Sr – Reddington will be the biggest benefactor of Dreyer’s wide open offense. He will be all-conference worthy when the season ends.
Brandon Stephens, OL, Sr – back after being injured on the first series of the year versus Elder last fall.
On defense seniors DL Brendan Marchetti, LB Jarod Francis along with juniors LB Tyler Parrish, RB/DB Cameron Naber, QB/DB Tony Trame and DB Drew Jostworth will add depth on this side of the ball. Naber ran for 134 yards and four touchdowns over the last five games of ’14. Trame will compete for the starting quarterback job with Scholz and Klingelhofer.
Juniors WR Jason Smith and RB Kyle Montag will play pivotal roles at the skill positions on offense. A trio of sophomores have huge upsides in WR/S Griffin Kain, ATH Dashawn Lewis and ATH Jacob Woycke.
PLAYOFF HISTORY
(one appearance, 0-1) – 1999
2015 SCHEDULE
Non-conference affairs at Elder and Harrison then Loveland comes into Betz Memorial Stadium to start the season off. Stealing a win or two here would be huge. The GMC portion of the schedule starts with at Middletown then home versus Lakota West and on the road at Hamilton. Those six affairs give the Highlanders an opportunity to build some confidence before ending with Sycamore, Mason, Fairfield and Colerain. Those four teams were a combined 27-15 a year ago.
A CALL TO ARMS
Over the last nine years Oak Hills has only had one quarterback throw for more than 1,000 yards in a season. Matt Elliott did it in ’13 throwing for 1,393 yards. Ben Hunterman was the last quarterback before Elliott to reach the mark doing it back in ’06.
MIRED IN MEDIOCRITY
Oak Hills hasn’t finished above .500 since ’06 when they went 6-4. The Highlanders went 5-5 in ’13 and ’12 but had losing seasons in the six other campaigns since ’06.
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