By Tom Bragg, For Lootpress.com
If there was a big question mark for the Herbert Hoover football team coming into the 2024 season, it was about the offensive line.
The Huskies had to fill several holes left by departing veterans, and if the new guys couldn’t cut it then it would be hard to get guys like senior quarterback Dane Hatfield and junior Blake Fisher going.
Well, as it turns out, the road to practice on Thanksgiving – even if things are a little different this season with the postseason pushed back a week – was paved by the big boys up front for Hoover as the Class AAA No. 4 Huskies (11-0) prepare to host No. 5 Oak Hill (10-1) in Friday’s quarterfinal round of the state playoffs.
Hoover has been a run-first team this season, amassing more than 3,000 yards on the ground as a team with 56 rushing touchdowns through last week’s 49-7 demolition of No. 13 Elkins. None of that is possible without consistent, solid play from the offensive line.
“Coming into the season we had lost four guys [on the offensive line],” Hoover head coach Joey Fields said. “We only had [center] Mighty [Lopez] returning. You’ve got Ethan Patrick, who moved positions. He’d be much better at tight end but he’s a team player – he came into our program as a quarterback and now he’s an offensive lineman and defensive lineman.
“Tristan Shaffer, a freshman guard – there have only been five freshmen in 16 years who have started for me and he’s one of them because he’s a tough kid. Caleb Bowman is a four-year player in our program who has continued to grow and grow and got his opportunity and never let go of it. And of course [Connor] Facemire and Mighty Lopez – those guys are such a joy to coach. They just continue to get better and we have stayed healthy.”
For all the running the Huskies have done this season, they leaned on a pass-heavy attack to knock off visiting Elkins last week. Hatfield threw the ball 22 times, completing 18 passes for 342 yards and a touchdown.
“We’ve gotten better at that as the season went on and that’s a credit to Dane but also a credit to our protection and our receivers,” Fields said. “He’s very capable of doing that. I hear all the time that he’s a “Wildcat” quarterback. No, he’s a winning quarterback. Whatever it takes to win. If he’s got to pack it 30 times, he’ll do it. If he’s got to throw it 25-plus times, he can do that as well. That’s what makes him so good.”
Hoover’s quarterfinal opponent, Oak Hill, has somewhat quietly been among the state’s best in Class AAA this season. The Red Devils’ only loss this season came against unbeaten Class AAA No. 1 Princeton, and that was way back on Sept. 13. Since then Oak Hill has won nine straight, including a 34-28 win on the road at Class AAAA University after trailing 20-0 late in the first half and 27-6 win last week to open the postseason against Lewis County in a game that was 0-0 at halftime.
The Red Devils may not light up the scoreboard the way some of the other top teams in the state do, but Oak Hill is certainly capable on offense and has a standout defense, allowing just 15.4 points per game, which has them in the hunt in Class AAA this season.
Senior quarterback Devin Richardson threw for 1,467 yards during the regular season, and was part of a one-two punch from the Oak Hill backfield along with J.D. Mauritz. Richardson ran for a team-high 731 yards with Mauritz not far behind at 613 yards.
“They’re 10-1 this season, they were 8-2 last season,” Fields said. “They’ve got the formula to be really good. They’ve got great size. They’ve got an athletic quarterback that can make plays in the air and with his feet. They’re physical and they’ve got a good defensive line. They’ve got some skill guys who can get in the end zone. They’re a good football team and they find ways to win.”
Last week’s win was the first postseason victory for Oak Hill since 2001, while Herbert Hoover is back in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
