Before Hillsboro plays its four conference opponents – De Soto, Festus, North County, Windsor – in successive weeks from Sept. 18 to Oct. 9, the Hawks begin with two schools they’ve never met, and one it’s been decades since they went against.
Kennett visits Hillsboro for the season opener on Friday. The Indians will travel north about 180 miles out of the Bootheel. They are part of the Southeast Missouri Conference (SEMO). Two years ago, Kennett finished with a record of 0-10. In 2025, playing as a Class 3 school, the Indians were 4-2 before losing their last four games. Hillsboro will make the trip to Kennett to start the 2027 season.
In week two, Hillsboro, which is annually in Class 4, travels to North St. Louis County to play Hazelwood East for the first time. East was 7-3 playing as a Class 5 squad last season. The Spartans have won three state championships, the last one in 2008. Former head coach Rick Gorzynski led the Spartans from 1974-2001 and in 2024 was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
Week 3’s home game against Holt kicks off at 7:30 p.m., a half hour later than most Friday night games. That’s to allow Holt (also the Indians) to navigate through rush hour traffic from Wentzville, which is at the far western end of St. Charles County. The last time Holt and Hillsboro played was in the 1990s when the Indians had one of the best prep running backs – Dan Alexander – this state’s ever produced, and Bill Sucharski was playing for the Hawks.
Sucharski has been Hillsboro’s head coach since 2020. He likes the new competition.
“Kennett lost (its) starting QB. They had quarterback-designed run stuff like we had with (2025 graduate Preston Brown),” Sucharski said. “Hazelwood East had a good season last year.”
Since losing to Kearney in the state championship game in 2023, the Hawks lost a series of college football talent (including Brown) and have a record of 10-12. After the first two weeks of practice, Hillsboro has a battle for the starting quarterback job, but lots of skill position talent to take the ball from whomever is under center against Kennett.
Whether taking a handoff or catching a pass out of the backfield last year, senior Trey Zimmerly combined for more than 900 yards of offense and scored five touchdowns. Zimmerly was rewarded with a first-team all-Mississippi Area Football Conference selection. On defense, Zimmerly will play the “bandit” position, which is a hybrid linebacker/safety.
There will be a pair of sophomores in the backfield with Zimmerly. Jadyn Rice is another starter at RB. His total offense last year was more than 300 yards, and he caught and rushed for a TD. He also started at safety. Sucharski said Nathan Bulback is “electric with the ball in his hands.”
Preston Brown is a hard act to follow. Brown and his brother, Payton, are both playing college football. Payton is a junior at Southeast Missouri State University and has played RB both years. Preston is a sophomore at North Dakota State University, where as a freshman he appeared in eight games in the special teams. The brothers were on the same field last season when the two teams met. Payton scored his only TD of the season.
Braxton Chazelle was MAFC honorable mention his senior season as Hillsboro’s QB. Sucharski said choosing this year’s starter could come right down to the wire before the first game. Senior Aidan Fleming and sophomore Cody Reese are neck-and-neck.
“Both have done well enough to deserve to play,” Sucharski said.
The winner of the QB derby has some excellent targets at wide receiver in seniors Auston Ross and Landon Gonzales and junior Alec Fleming, who is Aidan’s brother. Ross averaged almost 20 yards per carry. Senior three-year starter Landon Gonzales can line up out wide, or at tight end and H-back.
With four all-conference players returning, and one coming back from an injury in 2025, the offensive line is the strength of the team. Seniors Eli Phillips (first team), Grant Sucharski (HM), Logan Jarvis (HM) and Jackson Naeger (HM) are rejoined by junior Kyryn Miller, who was lost for the season in Week 2 against SLUH.
“He moves well and strikes you hard when he gets there,” said Sucharski of Miller. Grant is the coach’s son.
The injury bug hit Hillsboro hard on the defensive line the last couple of years. Phillips will be at nose tackle. Jarvis, Sucharski and seniors Dylan Dickemann and Kawika Wagner and junior Cole Huskey will take a turn on the DL.
Gonzales and junior Tripp Lambrich return as starting linebackers. Senior Mason Reiter and sophomores Levi Pitts, Max Herron, Landon Jennings and Tristan Short are challenging for the other LB jobs.
Auston Ross and his brother, Preston, a junior, start in the secondary, as does senior Andrew Akridge.
A 2026 graduate, Caleb Arnold kicked his way to the first team in the MAFC for the Hawks. Senior Brayden Maibes will be a kicker when he’s not playing for the school’s soccer team. Sophomore Noah Lauterwasser could play significant time in the secondary, as well as assist with the kicking duties.
Of the five teams in the MAFC, only Hillsboro and Festus have won the championship. The Tigers have won the last two titles.
“They’ve got talented players,” Sucharski said. “Our goal is to compete for conference and district, and that doesn’t change. Staying healthy is a key part of that. If our young talented kids mature, we can put together a game plan to play with anybody. This is tough as our conference has been in years.”