#HSFT16: Stop No. 48 – New Albany Bulldogs

NEW ALBANY, Miss. (WCBI) – Jake Hill is in his second year with a New Albany team that’s coming off a four-win season. After not making the playoffs the past three seasons, the Bulldogs said they’re taking steps toward improving. 19 seniors departed from a year ago but there’s experience returning.

“Last year I thought we were really young,” Hill said. “We had seniors. A lot of them were first time players. We’ll be better than we were last year. The kids have bought in. I’m excited.”

Hill said it’s about building off of last year.

“It’s something that I’ve been preaching,” he said about last season. “It was disappointing for us.”

“It was disappointing not making the playoffs,” senior Drew Welborn said. “I’m anxious to get to redeem ourselves.

“Last year we could have done better,” Kysten Fiddis said. “We worked hard, but this year we’ll do better.”

The Bulldogs’ slogan is to ‘compete, in everything.’ It involves work on and off the field.

“Every little thing that you can be first in, we’re trying to push these kids to get that mentality of winning in everything they do,” Hill said.

“His style of coaching is what we love. He knows how to relate to the players,” senior Joseph Rainey said.

Hill said he’s comfortable in year two and that his father, Johnny Hill is a big part of that. The legendary Mississippi football coach hung it up in Oxford after last season and will now join his son’s staff as the defensive coordinator.

“One thing he always did is how he treated every one of his players. Every one of him respected him,” Jake said of his father. “It’s because he treats them all like his kids.”

He said it’s hard for his players to fully understand all that his dad has done in high school football in Mississippi. Hill said Sam McMillin is back and will be a key part to the offense once again.