KALONA

With six goals on the board by the time halftime arrived it was safe to say Hillcrest was having fun on senior night and for this team, led by its eight seniors, fun is never in short supply.

“Some people wonder if they ever take anything seriously,” Hillcrest coach Marcus Miller said with a smile about his seniors after the Ravens (5-2-1) cruised to a 11-2 victory over Sigourney Keota (1-8) on April 29. 

“And yet, when business needs to be taken care of, they can be pretty serious, and they get down to business and they do it right, and then they maybe goof around a little bit. It’s a good blend.”

Earning a dominant win on senior night in their eighth straight home game of the season, the Ravens scored in the double digits in their second consecutive game to reach a new season high.

“I’d say that we all get along really well, and we play to have fun the most,” Seth Ours said about himself and his fellow senior teammates. “We all care about the sport and want to do well and want to win, but I think ultimately we just play to have fun, and that really helps with our chemistry.”

While wearing their red Liverpool FC inspired uniforms, the Ravens were led on offense by senior Mason Helmuth who scored a hat trick plus one, bringing his season total to a team leading 12. Helmuth, who plays as a defender and a forward,  also had one assist.

“I think we’re all determined to succeed, whether it’s having fun on the field or just getting a dub,” Helmuth said about his team. “You always want to succeed in doing something.”

Other seniors getting in on the scoring party were Micah Gerber, Seth Ours, and Bryce Bailey. Both Gerber and Ours tallied two goals and two assists each while Bailey scored his second goal of the season with a header off a corner kick from Ours. 

“It’s just fun to see everyone celebrate when someone scores. No one’s really playing for themselves,” Bryce Bailey said. “Anytime anyone scores, everyone’s happy. It doesn’t really need to be one person. It’s the whole team getting the job done together.”

Also contributing to the goal count were Rowan Miller and Beckett Slaubaugh. For Slaubaugh, a sophomore, it was his first goal of the season and for Miller, a junior, it was his fourth.

“These last two matches, we scored a lot of goals. I feel like we’re connecting passes,” Ours said.” We’re not just trying to boot the ball and having guys run up on it, but we’re connecting passes in the middle and doing what the coaches are wanting us to do.”

  “Offensively, it feels like we’re coming together a little bit better,” coach Miller said about his team.

Both senior goalkeepers, Andrew Kauffman and Kyle Neuschwander, spent one half each on the goal for Hillcrest with Neuschwander tallying two saves in the second half.

After the game time was taken to honor seniors Helmuth, Ours, Gerber, Neuschwander, Kauffman, Bryce Bailey, Grant Bender, and Jesse Blossom.

“They enjoy each other’s company, and that’s not always the case with high school boys,” coach Miller said about his seniors. “They’re a nice group of guys. They work well together.”

Hillcrest 7, Columbus 0

Going on the road for the first time this season did not diminish the winning ways for Hillcrest as the Ravens (6-2-1) picked up its third straight victory by shutting out Columbus (3-7) in a conference battle last Thursday.

It took two minutes for the first score of the game to emerge as Micah Gerber scored his fifth goal of the season to give the Ravens an early lead. Also scoring in the first half was Mason Bender, assisted by Mason Helmuth.

Bender shined in the second half as well, scoring two more goals to obtain his first career hat trick. Assisting on those goals were Gerber and Seth Ours.

Ours also scored twice and Jesse Blossom joined in on the scoring party by curling the ball into the goal from a corner kick.

A clean sheet for Hillcrest goalkeeper Kyle Neuschwander, the senior ended the day with seven saves. With the win the Ravens move to 3-1-1 in conference play.

Up next for Hillcrest is a road conference matchup against Mediapolis (7-2) on May 8.