Hilton Head Christian football team has unusual start to season
Inexperienced Eagles open season with a 2-5 record
Bluffton – The Hilton Head Christian Academy football team finds itself in an unfamiliar position so far this season: struggling.
Having won three state titles in the past five seasons, the Eagles are off to a 2-5 overall start and are 0-1 in SCISA Region 1-AAA. Not only are the wins hard to come by, but making stops on defense has been an issue as well.
Hilton Head Christian has allowed 321 points, an average of almost 45 points a contest. Eagles head coach Ron Peduzzi said there are several factors involved in the defensive issues.
“We are young and small and we have had many injuries,” Peduzzi said. “We are starting just one senior on defense with our very tough schedule. It has been a learning experience.”
Sophomore defensive end Hayne Burden is the leading tackler with 45 to go with three tackles for loss. Junior defensive back Kres Langhals has 30 tackles and a team high four tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks. Langhals also has two interceptions with 56 return yards.
Senior Finn Ussery has 36 tackles. Senior Reid McCollum, an outside linebacker who is committed to play football at Navy, has 27 tackles and one TFL. Junior cornerback Jackson Richardson has a team high three interceptions to go with 26 tackles.
The offense has been more than effective. Hilton Head Christian has scored 197 points, an average of over 26 points a contest.
“The offense is good,” Peduzzi said. “Wide receiver Joey Houpt has had a very good season. We have a sophomore offensive line. They continue to work and get better.”
Houpt, a junior wide receiver, is the favorite target of quarterback McCollum. Houpt has 44 receptions for 736 yards and six touchdowns.
McCollum has completed 99 of 179 passes for 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns against eight interceptions in the Eagles’ quarterback-centric offense. McCollum is the leading rusher with 231 yards and five touchdowns on 73 carries.
The offensive line is made up of four sophomores and one senior. They are sophomore Owen Musser at left tackle, sophomore Josh Koepke at right tackle, senior Mason Feaster at left guard, sophomore Caleb Altizer at center and sophomore Austin Marshall at right tackle.
Other key pass catchers are sophomore Sam Strum, senior Thomas Gehm and Richardson. Strum has 23 catches for 328 yards and four touchdown, Gehm has 20 catches for 294 yards and two touchdowns, and Richardson has 11 catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior running back Hudson Baker has rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries to go with seven catches for 71 yards. Langhals has 120 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries and has six receptions for 58 yards.
Houpt is having a tremendous season punting the football. He is averaging 40.7 yards per punt on 14 attempts.
Hilton Head Christian has an 11-game regular season schedule so it has four games remaining. The Eagles play host to First Baptist on October 10, travel to Beaufort Academy on October 17, play at John Paul II on October 24 and close out the regular season on October 31 on the road against archrival Hilton Head Prep.
So what is the key to Hilton Head Christian turning its season around?
“We will need to get better in all three phases,” Peduzzi said.
