High School Football Preview: Hillcrest Knights
AMMON, Idaho (KIFI) - The Hillcrest Knights are hoping to repeat the success of the 2023/24 season despite a seriously depleted senior class.
"This is the most exciting time of year for football coaches and football players,” said head coach Brennon Mossholder.
It’s especially true for a team like Hillcrest, which is coming off a season to remember.
“It was a really special year,” Mossholder admitted. “First undefeated Hillcrest team in school history. Making it all the way to the state title game - coming up a couple points short.”
The Knights went 12-1 in 2023, falling 29-26 to Bishop Kelly in the 4A title game. Now in 5A following Idaho’s reclassification, Mossholder said they can’t dwell on the past.
“Every year is new players, new challenges, new opponents,” he said.
Local News 8 asked how many seniors the team lost following last season.
“We lost 32 seniors off of last year’s team - a majority of our starters,” Mossholder admitted. “I think we only returned five true starters - three on defense and two on offense. So it’s gonna be a brand-new cast out there when we take the field.”
But once they do, Mossholder believes there won’t be cause for alarm.
“Our JV team was very successful last year,” he explained. “They went 8-1 in the regular season. So it’s just that they haven’t done it on Friday nights before. It’s all been on Thursday nights.”
And Fridays will be played under new lights. [Westmark Stadium is finally ready.](https://localnews8.com/news/2024/05/03/hillcrest-high-school-previews-first-ever-stadium/)
“For the history of Hillcrest, we’ve shared a stadium over at Bonneville High School,” Mossholder said. “And so to not have to bus five miles to our biggest rival to play all of our home games, it’s just gonna be an amazing experience for all of our guys.”
The Knights will look to prioritize air attacks and blitzes on the field this year - football’s most high-octane combination.
"I really feel confident in our size and our speed,” Mossholder said. “We have good players all over the place - we just really lack experience.”
The only way to get experience, though, is through trial by fire.
“I think this is a team that is really going to peak at the right time,” Mossholder asserted, “and that’s hopefully when we get into late November football.”
Hillcrest’s first game at its new stadium will be the ‘Civil War’ against Bonneville, its biggest rivalry game of the year, on September 6th.
