By Tom Bragg, For Lootpress.com
CHARLESTON – Herbert Hoover had high expectations coming into the 2022 high school football season, but after consecutive losses to Scott and Winfield in the first two games it appeared as if perhaps the Huskies were not up to the task.
Fast forward two months and Hoover has rattled off seven consecutive wins and comes into the Class AA state playoffs and the Huskies (7-2) are playing about as well as anyone in the field.
Hoover, the No. 9 seed, travels to play at No. 8 Clay County (8-1) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday looking to erase some of the sour memories from the 2021 postseason. Last year the Huskies were the top seed in Class AA but were knocked off by No. 16 Fairmont Senior – the eventual state champion.
Huskies coach Joey Fields said while there were some very good players back this season, he was tasked with filling some gaps with inexperienced players who would have to learn on the job. That, combined with injuries, made life hard for Hoover early in the season. Once those players began to get healthy and comfortable, however, things started to click.
“We lost eight guys on defense from last year and seven guys on offense,” Fields said. “So as far as experience on our team, we had some core guys back but as a whole experience was lacking. Especially game time experience. Our guys battled the injury bug there early, and our biggest improvement this season has been just getting guys back healthy. They get some consistency in practice [now].
“I think we’ve got a good football team if we’ve got everybody. [Last week against] Logan was the first time that we had everybody that should be playing since play No. 2 against Scott [in Week 1]. I think we’re playing our best football right now, and it’s a good time to do so.”
Since that Sept. 9 loss at home to Winfield, which went on to land the No. 1 seed in the Class AA playoffs, Hoover has outscored opponents 354-117. The author of the majority of that offense has been quarterback Dane Hatfield.
The sophomore completed 68 of 110 pass attempts during the regular season for 1,155 yards with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also led the Huskies with 1,087 rushing yards and 16 more touchdowns on 148 carries. Hatfield also plays a significant role on defense and special teams as a cornerback and punt returner.
“Dane can do a lot, but he’s had to do a lot more for us on the other side of the ball – all three phases really,” Fields said. “He’s having to do a lot of things that he didn’t prepare for in the offseason, things he didn’t think he had to do. So many of our guys are like that.”
Fields said he has seen Hatfield blossom as not just a player but also as a leader this season.
“As the season went on, Dane became a better leader,” Field said. “ When you have nine turnovers in the first two games as a quarterback, it’s tough but I don’t know if anybody else mentally could have handled that and come back to have the season he had these last seven games.”
Hoover also has a significant threat on special teams in kicker Levi Paxton, a Marshall commit. Paxton is more than just a kicker though, as the senior is also Hoover’s leading receiver with 27 receptions for 494 yards with seven touchdowns as well as playing in every game on defense.
“We thought maybe he would have to play wide receiver, now he’s our leading receiver,” Fields said. “We thought maybe he would play defense and he has played every game defensively. Levi is a football player and he is a tough kid.”
Clay presents a tough test for Hoover, albeit a somewhat familiar one. Geographically speaking, Herbert Hoover and Clay are not that far apart. The players know each other, their families know each other and their communities knock each other. Add to that the fact that Thursday’s game will mark the first time in the 100-year history of the school that Clay has hosted a playoff game, and a big, intense crowd is expected.
“I have so many kids on my team that their parents went to Clay or their grandparents went to Clay or brother or sister maybe,” Fields said. “There is a lot of that, so it’s exciting and we’re excited to be going down there.”
Clay has had its fair share of injuries to deal with this season, but has handled itself well. The Panthers, who haven’t lost since Sept. 9 against a Roane County team that went unbeaten this season, were without quarterback Noah Collins for multiple games this season, but he expected to play Thursday at Bradley Field.
Collins led the Panthers’s passing attack completing 97 of 154 attempts for 1,391 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. B.J. Williams leads a group of good receivers with 64 catches for 764 yards and eight touchdowns while also running the ball 86 times for 485 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“They spread you,” Fields said of Clay’s offense. “They have some good receivers. They just find ways to catch the football and keep plays alive. They battled the injury bug as well, and I think they still are, but every quarterback they put back there keeps the offense moving forward.”
The Panthers will be missing the services of defensive standout Jacob “Salty” Morton, who was badly injured in a car crash last week. Morton, who set the program’s all-time sack record, was a first team Class AA All-State selection last season as a defensive lineman.