This season there have been a lot of feel good stories across the landscape of high school football. Lambert and Allatoona both made the playoffs in their first season playing a region schedule. With the success of all these up and coming schools, the Hillgrove Hawks have been somewhat flying under the radar for most of the season. However, after knocking off Stephenson last Saturday on the road, Hillgrove is now getting the spotlight that it deserved all season. “It’s big,” Hillgrove head coach Phil Ironside said of the win. “It’s good for the kids, community; it gives confidence to the coaches. It’s more publicity and notoriety for our program and it’s always good to build.”
And building is what Ironside has done at Hillgrove.
IN THE BEGINNING …
The first year of existence for Hillgrove was 2006 when they played just three games that year and lost all three. Just one year later, still not playing a region schedule, but playing a full 10-game schedule the Hawks won eight games. Their first season playing a region schedule was 2008 and they went 7-3 and not only went to the playoffs, but managed to go on the road in the first round and knockoff Loganville 27-21 before being defeated by powerhouse Tucker in the second round.
Just making the playoffs in the first year of eligibility is difficult enough, but to go on the road and win a game speaks to not only the quality of football that is being played at Hillgrove, but to the quality throughout all of Cobb County that this team was able to be so successful so early on. Ironside has his notions for why Hillgrove was able to have success so early on and it is the great coaches that have been in Cobb County that allow for the success of others.
“I think Bruce Cobleigh and Jimmy Dorsey are a big part of why Cobb County football is good,” said Ironside about the quality of football in the county. “I was at Campbell at the time [that they were still coaching] and everyone was chasing those programs and trying to do the things they did.”
Cobleigh was the coach at Harrison for 16 years, while Dorsey led McEachern for an astonishing 24 years. The groundwork that these two men laid for the county is apparent when Ironside begins to talk about how he got his program off the ground.
“You talk in the offseason,” continued Ironside, “you try to do the things they do with your strength program and do the things they do and I think those people are more of a credit to success in Cobb County than anything we’ve done.”
THE PRESENT DAY …
After having a ‘down year’ in 2009 when Hillgrove went 7-3 (The Hawks started the year 6-0 before being derailed by a three-game losing streak) and failed to make the playoffs, they came back this year with a chip on their shoulder and started the season strong, winning their first three games, including a 42-28 thumping of North Forsyth. After that game the Hawks stumbled against South Cobb, losing a 20-19 heartbreaker. They only lost one other game, falling to region champion McEachern, en route to an 8-2 regular season record and a No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
The ability to make the playoffs in two out of the first three seasons of playoff eligibility is not something to be overlooked. It shows that this staff had the right members in place and had a clear message of the style of football they wanted to play. Consistency at the coaching level isn’t enough if there isn’t a high level of dedication from the players to buy into the system. That was what Ironside pointed to as the biggest positive for his team.
“Good leadership, and good attitude amongst the kids,” Ironside went on to say that. “We’ve got a lot of seniors on defense and they’ve stepped up and played tremendous.”
Having strong senior leadership is essential to every team, but having the same message delivered to them throughout their four years breeds a familiarity that allows this team to play far beyond their years.
“It’s just a senior led group and the same coaches have been there coaching the defense for the five years that we’ve been here and I think those things are paying off,” Ironside said regarding the reasons for his defense’s success.
The Hawks’ defense is lead by defensive coordinator John Moson, who came over to be the defensive coordinator at Hillgrove when the school opened after being a head coach for the previous five seasons. Having a coordinator with that much leadership experience only adds to the cumulative experience of the team and is another factor as to how this team has been able to accomplish the things it has in its short history.
“Our kids love him and play hard for him,” Ironside said about the respect that Moson has garnered from his players. And it is showing on the field. This year the defense has held opponents to 20 points or less seven times. That has been more than enough for the offense. Led by quarterback Gage Henry, the Hawks have put up huge numbers, averaging 29.7 points per game. Ironside had much praise for his offensive leader.
“Gage Henry has played outstanding. He’s got a chance this week to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for over a thousand,” Ironside said. “That leadership that he’s provided has been really big.”
STILL DREAMING …
Now, Hillgrove has to travel down to South Georgia and take on No. 1 Camden County. “You don’t know until you get into the ballgame,” Ironside said regarding how his team stacks up. “I think our kids realized they could play with [Stephenson] last week and hopefully we’ll go down to Camden and hang in.”
Ironside has only one message to his team going into the game: “Just have fun.” Win or lose, this team has accomplished more in three years than anyone could have dreamed. A win this week could be the biggest high school upset in recent memory, but even with a loss this team should be looked at as a blueprint as to how to start a football program.