Hill's Return Aids Onsted Playoff Climb
November 22, 2019
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
ONSTED – Travis Hill only played in three games for the Onsted football team last season.
But it was those three games that helped pave the way for the senior to rush for more than 1,300 yards and help the Wildcats reach this weekend’s Division 6 Semifinals.
Hill broke his collarbone at practice the Wednesday before Onsted’s season opener in 2018.
“They told me I wouldn’t be back that season,” Hill said. “I recovered quick, I guess.”
Hill’s competitive drive put him on the fast track. He was back on the field for the final three games of the season. The Wildcats finished 3-6 on the year, but Hill’s return was important.
“It was pretty difficult (to come back),” Hill said. “But, those three games helped me be mentally prepared. … The first couple of plays, I was hesitant. But ever since then, I’ve felt good and confident in it.”
Last football season wasn’t the first time Hill had to miss time from the court or field. He broke the same collarbone during his sophomore basketball season. He was one of the key players on Brad Maska’s varsity hoops team when he went down with the injury.
“Travis is as competitive as any athlete I’ve ever coached, and I’ve coached a lot of really competitive guys,” said Maska. “He’s one of those rare athletes who could be all-state in baseball, all-state in basketball and all-state in football. He works hard and has a lot of drive.”
A healthy Hill has paid huge dividends for the Wildcats football team. Onsted started this season 2-0, slipped to 2-2 and hasn’t lost since. Two playoff wins avenged the Wildcats’ two regular-season losses – against Blissfield and Lenawee County Athletic Association champion Hillsdale.
“It’s been great and so much fun,” Hill said.
“We had a hot start, and then lost two games in a row. We could have either went up north and played really well, or we could have went south. We decided to get our stuff together and play well as a team. We’ve been playing pretty well since then.”
Hill has been a big reason why.
Through the Regional Final win over Hillsdale, Hill has 186 carries for 1,312 yards on the ground and another 23 receptions for 390 yards receiving. He has rushed for 14 touchdowns, caught four passes for touchdowns and returned a kick for a score.
On defense, he has 52 tackles, four interceptions and a forced fumble. He returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown.
He seldom takes a play off.
“He’s very talented but, more than that, it’s his competitive spirit,” Onsted coach Dan Terryberry said. “He just wants to win so bad. He’s explosive and doesn’t want to be denied.”
The Wildcats will face Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in their Division 6 Semifinal at 1 p.m. Saturday at Ypsilanti Lincoln High School. For Onsted, this has been the deepest run in the playoffs since Hill’s uncles – including one of the most prolific passers in Lenawee County history John Hutchinson – led the Wildcats to the 1993 Class CC championship game.
Hill isn’t the only 1,000-yard back in the Wildcats’ backfield. Terryberry also leans heavily on Rourke Barth (1,025 yards). Junior quarterback Dylan Terryberry has more than 1,000 yards passing.
Coach Terryberry credits the Wildcats offensive line for much of the success.
“This is the first year that line has played all together, and a couple of them are playing new positions,” said Coach Terryberry. “They have grown a lot this season. They’ve bought in and are playing well.”
Dylan Stevens is one of those linemen. He’s a senior, like Hill, and is glad to have his classmate back for this season.
“It’s made a huge difference,” Stevens said. “Travis is an outstanding athlete on both sides of the ball. Not having him last year hurt us quite a bit.”
Terryberry, in his 16th season as Onsted’s head coach, is from Charlevoix. A former high school quarterback, he walked on at Michigan State. He started teaching and coaching at Tecumseh, where he served as offensive coordinator for the varsity football team and as the junior varsity head coach.
Having Hill play in those three games at the end of the 2018 season, Terryberry said, put any fears about the injury to rest.
“He’s pretty fearless and super competitive,” Terryberry said.
Hill has had numerous big games. He had 190 yards rushing against Dundee, and more than 175 against Blissfield in the first round of the playoffs. The Onsted faithful are hoping for at least one more big game Saturday against the Falcons (10-1), who were the No. 1-ranked team in the final regular-season Associated Press poll.
“It’s been a great experience so far, and we hope we aren’t done yet,” Hill said. “… I think it’s a mindset. We’ve played well. We knew we had the opportunity; if we put the work in, we could just keep going and keep going farther.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTO: Onsted's Travis Hill (No. 5) rushed for more than 1,300 yards this season, a year after missing six games due to breaking his collarbone. (Photo courtesy of Onsted Athletics/T.J. Olsen.)
Hanover-Horton Off to Record-Setting Start, with More Program 1sts Possible
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
October 15, 2024
Hanover-Horton’s football team is in uncharted territory.
The Comets had never won a playoff game, never won an overall Cascades Conference championship and never started the season with seven straight victories before this fall.
One of those milestones was reached Friday when Hanover-Horton shut out Addison 42-0 for its seventh consecutive victory. The other two are still possible.
“There are a lot of firsts for everybody here,” third-year Comets head coach David Messer said. “Our plan is to just keep it one play at a time.”
Hanover-Horton’s best previous start to a season was 4-0.
“When we got to 5-0, the kids celebrated that,” Messer said. “We talked about getting to 5-0. But I told them we are only going to celebrate over the weekend because Monday we had to get back to work.”
Hanover-Horton went 2-7 last season and 3-6 the year before. The last time the school won seven games in a season was 2014 when they went 8-2, setting a school record for victories that the Comets can equal against Brooklyn Columbia Central on Senior Night this Friday.
“We aren’t looking past that game,” Messer said.
The Addison win also clinched a share of the league's West division title, which the Comets can claim outright Friday. The West and East divisions winners will play for the overall Cascades Conference championship in Week 9.
The Hanover-Horton seniors are on cloud nine about this football season, guaranteed to be the first winning one for the Comets since that 2014 campaign.
“They are on top of the world, but they are not strutting down the hallways or anything,” Messer said. “They are keeping everything in perspective.”
Hanover-Horton has eight seniors. Luke Soper is the quarterback and a two-way starter. Gavin Berkeypile is a physical player who has a nose for the ball. Center Bryant Hamisfar is a captain and makes the calls for the offensive line. Jackson Johnson and Jack Wooster are split ends on offense who have turned into excellent blockers, and Wyatt Ashworth has developed into a solid two-way starter.
The Comets defense is led by junior Adam Ley, a third-year starter despite being only a junior.
“We brought him up as a freshman out of necessity,” Messer said. “He’s really become a great football player. The play of our defensive front has been so strong, it has helped Adam be able to make a lot of tackles from his linebacker spot. Last year he had offensive linemen in his face every play. This year, he’s able to fill the gaps and make plays.”
Ley made 19 tackles last week against Addison during Hanover-Horton’s third consecutive shutout and fourth of the season, also a school record.
On offense, the Comets already have set the single-season school scoring record. Soper directs an offense that has been heavy on the run through the first seven games with multiple backs, including freshman Austyn Hocter.
“We are still finding our way on offense,” Messer said. “We try to be a little more balanced. Luke is a heck of a quarterback who has a really good arm. We want to find ways to be more balanced.”
The offense is averaging 43 points a game, while the defense is allowing just 8.4.
“I don’t really look at how many points we score or give up,” Messer said. “I will look at those kinds of things after the season when we have a chance to sit down and assess how things went. We are really focused on the next play, next play.”
Messer comes from a football background rooted in success.
“I’m a Hudson guy through and through,” Messer said. “I was born in Hudson, played football at Hudson and coached for 15 years at Hudson.”
He coached for several years under Hall of Fame coach Chris Luma, and coached defense with current Hudson head coach Dan Rogers.
“Every step of the way, I’ve had some great coaches to help me,” Messer said. “Chris was a tremendous mentor. I know I can still pick up the phone at any time and give him a call.”
One of the first things Messer did at Hanover-Horton was work on the physical strength of the team.
“When I first got here, it was obvious to me that we weren’t a very physical football team,” he said. “The weight room part of it did not come quickly. I’ve had old-timers here tell me they’ve never had so many kids in the weight room. That was one of the things we needed to turn around.”
There already have been several big wins this season for the Comets, but close ones over Michigan Center (21-20) and Jonesville (21-18) made Messer particularly proud.
“We’ve had some moments this year where we reverted to the Hanover-Horton of old, but I’m so proud of the guys to overcome that and stay focused,” Messer said. “That third quarter against Jonesville things weren’t going our way, but we held on. Our goal is to just keep it one play, one drive at a time and make this a historic season.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) From left, Hanover-Horton’s Luke Soper (5), Jack Wooster (11), Braden Cogan (71) and Bryan Hamisfar (77) take the field together arm-in-arm. (Middle) Comets coach David Messer talks things over with his players. (Top photo courtesy of the Hanover-Horton athletic department; middle photo courtesy of Karson Durocher/JTV.)