After a high school loses an outgoing senior who played a big role within the team, the headline seems to always be the same.

“Star football player leaves big spot to be filled at XXX high school”

But the H-F varsity football team begs to differ. Regardless of losing All-American running back Justin Hall, the Vikings still expect to have a stellar season.

Senior Leon Tanna talks about taking over the job of starting running back for this upcoming season.

“He was definitely a big part of the football team, but as Coach Buz says, ‘It’s always the next man up’…I waited my turn and now it’s my turn to shine,” Tanna said.

When looking to replace a star, the shoes will always seem hard to fill. Senior safety Kellen Williams spoke highly of Tanna when talking about his impact this season.

“It’s a lot of people who are saying that he won’t be able to replace J-Hall and I feel like he’s using that as motivation to help lead our team to something really big this season,” Williams said.

Last year, the boys practically ran their offense through J-Hall and he was utilized as their primary weapon on offense. For this upcoming season, the team has a variety of versatile weapons.

Instead of opposing defenses focusing strictly on Hall, they will have to attempt to contain multiple players on the team.

Junior quarterback Dominick Jones started 11 games last year as a sophomore in place of the injured quarterback Kellyn Gerenstein. Jones expands on how the offense will differ this year.

“We lost a big player, but we make up for it because now, a lot of people don’t know who to stop,” Jones said. “They have to account for everybody on the field and everybody is going to step up because we know we lost a big piece of talent in this program.”

On the defense, senior Isaiah Coe was ranked second in the preseason rankings by Daily Southtown. Between Coe and fellow seniors Charlie Brooks and Caveon Harris, the defensive line is looking to wreak havoc on the other side of the football.

“We are probably more of a defensive team right now than we are offense and that’s because those three guys are back and returning. They’re a destructive force up front,” Varsity head coach Craig Buzea said.

For the past couple of years, they have been traveled out of state to play in places like North Carolina and East St. Louis.

During the game at Michigan City on Aug.24, the Vikings barely managed to squeak by the Wolves 33-30.

Senior wide receiver Isaiah Stanback recorded three receptions, 66 yards and two touchdowns to help lead the Vikings to a victory.

The boys have continued their dominance as they beat their next two teams, Lutheran North and Stagg, 34-14 and 46-0, respectively.

Their next game is tonight at Bolingbrook at 7:30 p.m. so make sure you go out and support the Vikings!