ST. BERNARD, Ohio — St. Bernard-Elmwood Place senior defensive end/edge rusher James Hall has a nation-leading 25 sacks as the Titans prepare for the postseason.
Hall, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound defensive end/edge rusher, is No. 1 in sacks this season, according to the MaxPreps statistical leaders.
“It’s crazy to see all the hard work he’s put in come to fruition,” St. Bernard-Elmwood Place football coach Kyle Hogan said. “The kid has an incredible story that is his to tell, and while maintaining straight A’s he also works a full-time job.”
St. Bernard-Elmwood Place (9-1) clinched a bye as the No. 4 seed in Division VI, Region 24. The Titans, which have a program-record nine-game win streak, play host to Coldwater (6-4) or Covington (5-5) in a regional quarterfinal Nov. 7.
St. Bernard-Elmwood Place earned the Miami Valley Conference White division. It is the first league title in program history, according to Hogan.
“We are going to treat this bye week as a normal week for us,” Hogan said on Saturday. “We are going to watch some film on Monday and practice throughout the week. We will do something light on Friday with it being Halloween and then prepare for our round two game over the weekend and as a team come together on Monday and get ready to go.”
St. Bernard-Elmwood Place earned the advantage of Lockland’s forfeit in Week 10, so it’s essentially two weeks off before the playoffs.
“It’s a lot more mental preparation on our end than physical, but I’ve got some resilient kids and I look forward to seeing who we (play) in round two,” Hogan said.
Hall is certainly one of the team's leaders. He is also starting to receive some college interest, Hogan said. Hall had six sacks against Finneytown, four-and-a-half sacks against Norwood and five against Gamble Montessori.
“He put in a ton of work in the offseason to add some weight and muscle to his frame to help him be ready for a big senior year,” Hogan said. “He is the ideal player to coach. He’s what you look for in a kid when building a program, especially a defense, because he is respected by his teammates as a leader.”
