SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Football

Improvement is goal for Hilltop Lancers

By Markus Berzen

Posted Sept. 12, 2002

The Hilltop Lancers come into the 2002 season with one central goal: to improve last year’s 2-8 record. Hilltop enters South Bay league play with a young team that has been forced to replace most of its top players from last year. Despite the turnover, Hilltop has a team that certainly has the potential to win quite a few games and considerably improve on last year’s record.

Brian Hay enters his second year as head coach at Hilltop and a significant difference from last year is that, by now, most players will be used to his style of play. Hay explains that the players seem hungrier this season and they have the intensity that is needed to do well.

“They want to do better. They are more intense, and that should equal more wins,” Hay said.

Quarterback B.J. Hunt will be one of the most interesting players to look out for on offense together with running backs Eric Aguilar and Anthony Aguilar and wide receiver Roudy Pauu.

Just like last season, the defense will be the strongest link for Hilltop, however. The ability to win games will depend on the strength of the defense, according to Hay. Tyler Bospflug, Jammin Jackson and Gabe Tovar are considered the standout defensive players on a Hilltop team that has a good measure of strength and size.

Tovar is the team’s returning All-South Bay League First Team linebacker while Bospflug earned selection to last year’s All-South Bay League Second Team. Jackson is a returning all-league honorable mention.

Hay said that the Lancers have focused a lot of time on physical training throughout the off-season and when it comes to tactics, the team has focused on learning just a few plays, making sure that the players will learn these plays and become experts in executing them.

“What we need to do is to believe in ourselves and rely on our strengths. That will be the key to success for us this year,” Hay said.

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