Hill ready for his shot with Eagles

Noah Hill has waited for this chance for some time, and now that it’s here, he can’t stop thinking about it.

No matter how hard he tries.

Hill, a senior, takes over as the starting quarterback for Stratford on Friday as the Eagles open their season at home against Savannah Country Day.

“I’ve gotta ease down and not think about it too much, but I’m very excited,” Hill said with a big smile. “Sometimes it’s kind of hard when you’re at school and you try not to think about it as much as you can. It’s in the back of my mind, but I’m trying not to worry about it. It’s hard because it’s really exciting.”

Stratford head coach Mark Farriba believes in Hill and the other seniors leading the Eagles. Farriba also pointed to the leadership of center David Matlock, linebacker/offensive lineman Justin Griffin and offensive lineman Jonathan Barron and said, “I could just go on down the list of the seniors. They’ve all stepped up and accepted their role. They’ve been great.”

The seniors, Hill said, are ready for their chance to lead the program.

“I think the fact that especially all the seniors, we’ve been playing together since the little league out here, since first grade and finally getting the chance and being together for one last year, I think it should be really special,” Hill said.

That group leads the team into a season opener against a familiar opponent. The Eagles have opened their season against the Hornets the past two seasons and won both games, 61-31 and 41-33.

The Hornets have finished 3-7 the past two years while Stratford finished 9-4 last year and reached the GHSA Class 1A private school semifinals.

“There’s always a lot of anticipation for the first game, and even our scrimmage, we scrimmaged each other, so we haven’t seen another opponent in four weeks,” Farriba said. “So I think everybody is looking forward to being on the same sideline and being on the same team and having an opponent who’s different from us.

“We’re a little familiar with them, and of course, they are with us, too, but it’s a good opening game for us.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 6:37 PM.