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2016 Snapshot: Oak Hills
- Updated: July 19, 2016
Native son Kyle Prosser returns to lead his alma mater Oak Hills. He becomes the programs third head coach in as many seasons. Prosser has his work cut out. The Highlanders are just 2-14 in their last 16 games. They have been over matched on the field. Now fate is in the hands of the first-year head coach to change the culture and psyche of the program.
Oak Hills WR/TE Jason Smith (photo by Mike Noyes/TriStateFootball.com)
Priority number one for Prosser’s crew is to take care of the football. Oak Hills had 34 turnovers in 2015. They were -23 in turnover margin. That led to a tired defense. Bad things happened for that unit playing on so many more possessions and short fields. The Highlanders allowed 49.2 points per contest.
That’s not the only concern for Prosser. “We need to prove we can establish the run. We also must be sound on special teams and capitalize when given the opportunity,” he says.
Oak Hills did move the ball on offense last year under the fast-paced run-and-shoot offense that former coach Evan Dreyer installed. The Highlanders threw for 2,982 yards behind the arm of record setting sophomore, Jacob Woycke. This where Oak Hills can build. This fall the team will run the spread offense under the command of offensive coordinator George Kontsis, the former head coach at Hughes and Walnut Hills.
The Oak Hills ground game was abysmal with just 64.6 yards/game, an average of 3.1/carry and just four scores on the ground last season. The line play has to improve to help the talent that is trying to churn out the yards behind it. “This is an athletic senior class with a lot to prove. The skill positions have depth and we have a ton of guys with varsity experience,” Prosser says.
The record will be better and the Highlanders will put a vastly improved product on the field. That doesn’t mean that the ride still isn’t going to be bumpy. Judge Prosser and his boys on how they handle adversity it was something that Oak Hills did not respond to last season.
Division I, Region 4
2015 RECORD: 1-9, 0-7 GMC
COACH: Kyle Prosser (0-0 at Oak Hills, first year; 0-0 overall)
HONOR ROLL
Oak Hills QB Jake Woycke (photo by Mike Noyes/TriStateFootball.com)
Jake Woycke, Jr, QB – Threw for a school record 2,947 yards, had 23 touchdown passes, ran for 293 yards and two more scores as a sophomore. Woycke was named Second Team All-GMC for his work.
Brandon Wieck, Sr, WR – Wieck earned Second Team All-GMC honors after catching 39 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns in ‘15. He had at least two receptions in every contest.
TOP RETURNEES
Kyle Montag, Sr, RB/WR – Seven times Montag had at least five catches in a games last fall. He finished with 54 receptions for 621 yards and two touchdowns.
Cameron Naber, Sr, RB/WR – Naber is expect to be a big part of the Highlanders offensive plans after injuries curtailed his junior campaign.
Tyler Parrish, Sr, LB – A returning starter Parrish will be asked to step up his game as a leader on and off the field.
Wade Stenger, Sr, OL/TE – The 6-foot-3, 283 pound Stenger is a beast and will cause matchup problems for opposing defenses on the outside of the o-line.
Jason Smith, Sr, WR/TE – Smith tallied at least three receptions in all nine games he played as a junior. He finished with 39 catches for 300 yards and three touchdowns.
Cooper Scholz, Sr, FB/WR/LB – Could be the Greater Miami Conference Comeback Player of the Year. Scholz is a real wild card in this offense for Prosser as he switches positions to fullback and receiver.
Sam Bepler, Sr, OL – More beef up front for Oak Hills, Bepler will be called upon to step up his blocking in the rushing attack.
Tony Trame, Sr, CB – One of the Highlanders top secondary players Trame should see more opportunities to make plays with improvement from the front seven.
Nick Goldfuss, Sr, DL – Getting more productivity out of Goldfuss is a must if this defense wants to succeed.
Kenyon Hairston, Sr, DL – Hairston has all-league potential, The defense as a whole will have to play better for him to earn those accolades. He had three-and-a-half sacks a year ago.
Griffin Kain, Jr, WR/DB – Showed flashes of brilliance as a sophomore. Kain could emerge as one of the GMC’s rising stars in the Class of ’18.
NEWCOMERS
Oak Hills DB Nick Malone (photo by Mike Noyes/TriStateFootball.com)
A trio of juniors will be called upon to produce for the Highlanders LB Eli Harris, DB Nick Malone and OL
Jacob Bush. This is their time to make a splash at the varsity level.
PLAYOFF HISTORY
(one appearance, 0-1) – 1999
2016 SCHEDULE
First and foremost the Highlanders want to get out of the gate fast. They could steal a win in Week 1 versus Covington Catholic then with confidence oozing they will face and an Elder team loaded with questions following that. The opportunity is there to change things in a real hurry for Oak Hills. The Highlanders get a break as there is no Mason or Fairfield on the GMC portion of the schedule. Both those squads made the playoffs a year ago and appear destined for November again. Winning all three league home games against Princeton, Middletown and Hamilton will be a big boost for the program.
PROSSER AND THE PEDIGREE TREE
Prosser becomes the latest member of the area high school coaches to have played and coached at Mount St. Joseph for head coach, Rod Huber. Prosser should be well equipped for success at this level. Greg Conwell (Taft), Evan Dreyer (Anderson), Aaron Hancock (Wyoming), Justin Roden (East Central) and Gerald Warmack (Shroder) all have branches on Huber’s coaching tree. The quintet is a combined 188-116 (61.8%) and all are 10 games or more above .500 as high school head coaches.
TURNOVER TURMOIL
Last season was rough for the Highlanders. Oak Hills turned the ball over at least four times in five of its first six games. They had 26 miscues in that span and 34 on the year. It led to some big halftime totals by opponents who averaged a whopping 29.6 points before intermission in ’15.
IN A FUNK
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 seven other campaigns since their last taste of prosperity. The past two years the team is a combined 3-17.
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