Young Hilton Head Christian football team learning as it goes
Eagles being led by Navy commitment quarterback Reid McCollum
Bluffton – The Hilton Head Christian Academy had two games under its belt before some teams played their first contest. It was a mixed bag for the Eagles.
HHCA, consistently one of the top programs in SCISA AAA, opened the season with a 46-21 loss to SCISA AAAA Porter-Gaud on August 15 before rebounding with a 36-20 triumph over SCHSL AAA Battery Creek High School on August 22. HHCA fell to 1-2 with a 53-28 loss to Bethesda Academy.
Veteran Hilton Head Christian head coach Ron Peduzzi said his young team is still on a learning curve.
“We only have 32 guys on the team (seven seniors), but as things are going on we’re starting to learn what we need to do to rise to our legacy, the level we expect here at HHCA,” said Peduzzi, who has led the Eagles to three state championships. “Every practice is very important as I tell them you can go to the batting cage every day to work on your hitting in baseball or go to the basketball court to work on your shooting. The only way to get better in football is to practice together.
“It has to be a full, united effort, every play with max repetition, so the more repetition we get the better.”
When it comes to offense for Hilton Head Christian, it begins and ends with the quarterback. There are other tools he may use, but the football is in his hands the vast majority of the time.
For the second straight year, it’s senior Reid McCollum. While the 6-foot-4-inch, 215-pound McCollum is committed to Navy as a linebacker. He is an outstanding signal caller.
He completed 183 of 305 passes for 2,443 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 845 yards and 16 touchdowns on 154 carries.
Junior Joey Houpt returns at wide receiver after being McCollum’s favorite target. Houpt had 65 catches for 784 yards and five touchdowns.
Junior Mo Fields is the other wide receiver, while sophomore Sam Strum is the tight end.
McCollum completed 33 of 54 passes for 372 yars and four touchdowns in the two games while rushing for 123 yards and another score. Houpt had eight catches for 127 yards and three touchdowns. However, the top receiver to that point was senior wide receiver Thomas Gehm with nine catches for 66 yards and a score
Lining up at running back are junior Kres Langhals and senior Hudson Baker.
The offensive line is made up of four sophomores and one senior. They are sophomore Owen Musser (6-1, 185) at left tackle, sophomore Josh Koepke (6-2, 235) at right tackle, senior Mason Feaster (6-3, 285) at left guard, sophomore Caleb Altizer (5-10, 190) at center and sophomore Austin Marshall (6-0, 200) at right tackle.
Hilton Head Christian uses a 3-5-3 look on defense. Down front are Musser and Altizer along with sophomore Wayne Borden.
The linebackers are junior Jackson Richardson, McCollum, freshman Hudon Factor, sophomore Logan Baker and senior Finn Ussery.
Strum starts in the secondary along with sophomore Keyvon Aiken and senior Tommy Chen.
The Eagles are having to replace standout placekicker and punter Ian Kelly, who is now kicking at Charlotte. Junior Travis Pittman is the placekicker and Houpt is doing the punting.
“We need to continue to work at practice, continue to work at learning our positions, learning the game situations,” Peduzzi said. “We need to take every single person’s effort and as a team take it to a higher level.”
