In a high school football season that will feature many teams competing in new places because of reclassification, District 12-AAA will have just one.
But it’s a big one. Hillsboro, which won two state titles and had three runner-up finishes from 2001-08, will return to play with fellow Metro schools.
The Burros were removed from that arrangement in 2009 to compete in District 11-AAA, which featured five schools in Williamson County.
“I have mixed emotions about moving back,” Burros coach Craig Clayton said. “I kind of wanted to stay over in that district because I just liked the atmosphere of the ballgames and the competition was good, as it will be here.”
Clayton is in his second season at Hillsboro after spending seven years in 11-AAA at Franklin. He said the move was necessary for better competition in other sports besides football.
“We felt like football and basketball-wise we were doing pretty well in that district,” Clayton said. “But for the rest of the sports, it was tough, especially for soccer and baseball.”
Said Cane Ridge coach Jonathan Parks: “I think it is a proper fit. Our Metro schools have got to stick together. Eventually we want to get back to being the powerhouse of Middle Tennessee.”
After struggling since the move, the Burros made the 5A playoffs last season, falling to eventual state champion Beech 35-6 in the second round.
With a win at last month’s Vanderbilt’s 7-on-7 tournament, which featured 32 teams from nine states, Clayton’s team is building confidence.
“When you get new coaches, you really don’t believe in their system and you really don’t know what they can bring to the table,” senior cornerback Logan Burns said. “But when you actually go out there and do what they tell you to do every time and see the success that you can get from it, it actually give you a feeling that we can go out here (this season) and win some games.”
The Burros feature a wide-open passing attack led by quarterback Michael Hughes and a defense led by seniors Porter Streator and Burns and college prospect Kyle Phillips at defensive end.
“It just makes the district that much tougher,” Overton coach Terry Anderson said. “With the way Cane Ridge came on last season and the addition of Hillsboro, there are five or six teams that should have a good chance of competing for our district this year.”
Cane Ridge went unbeaten in district play en route to the school’s first playoff appearance in four years of competition. Overton, Antioch and McGavock also made the playoffs last season.
Source: usatoday by. Nick Cole
