HILLSBORO — From 1994 through 2009, Hillsboro High School was routinely in the football playoffs.
The Hiltoppers were in the Illinois High School Association postseason 13 times. In that span, Hillsboro missed out on a berth just three times: 1996-98.
Times have been tougher for the Hiltoppers since 2010, however, as they’ve appeared in the playoffs just five times and only once in back-to-back seasons (2016-17).
Now, just two seasons removed from a 0-9 season in 2024, Hillsboro looks to get back to its winning ways with a team that punched its ticket to the Class 3A playoffs last year and finished 5-5.
With a squad filled with experienced upperclassmen who were instrumental in that renewed push — minus the 10 seniors who graduated — just making the playoffs isn’t the only goal. Instead, the Hiltoppers see 2026 as a chance to compete against the top teams in the South Central Conference and put themselves in position to win games in the postseason.
Hillsboro will have answers quickly, opening the season with perennial playoff teams Pana and Vandalia before hosting Greenville in Week 4. That opening gauntlet will establish Hillsboro’s ceiling.
The Hiltoppers say they are ready.
“I’ve got six guys that this will be the third year starting,” said Hillsboro coach Joe Reed, in his sixth season at the helm. “We’ve got two guards up front that have been playing for a long time. I got these tight ends (Eli Zaidi and Kamdin Civitate), my quarterback (Elijah Patton) has been doing it for a year.
“We got juniors that played a little bit last year that are ready as seniors. It just feels like it’s different. The whole schedule this summer has been different, with (the IHSA) moving it up a week, and I’ve actually really enjoyed it. I really feel like it’s been better to get around our guys a little more often late in July. It’s been good for us to kind of mesh as a team.”
Ready for next step
Hillsboro did much of its offensive work on the ground a year ago, and despite the graduation loss of 1,000-yard rusher Amony Anderson (132 carries, 1,345 yards, 16 TDs), Tytin Wells (228-1,179-15 TDs as a junior running back) keeps the Hiltoppers’ run game formidable.
Patton also has two senior tight ends who look the part — Civitate and Zaidi — who will allow the team to open the pass game more often after completing 14 of 30 passes for 102 yards and three TDs a year ago.
On the team’s first day of practice Wednesday, Aug. 5, Patton pointed to what the team has, it’s potential for better balance this season and experience as reasons he stepped on the practice field eager and optimistic.
“I think honestly the success that we had last year coming from 0-9 to 5-4 (finished 5-5) and then leading into this year and having the returnees we have this year and the seniors that are dedicated and just putting the work in, I feel like that the energy has carried over from last year going into this year, and it’s just kind of contagious to the whole team,” Patton said.
The Hiltoppers’ strength should be its offensive line with Zaidi and Civitate capable of blocking and with other returners from a year ago.
“Each year we get better working with each other,” Patton said. “We learn things with each other as we go along as well, and I think just having most of our o-line back and having the two tight ends, Zaidi and Civvy, I think will be good.”
Growth despite winless season
Injuries were devastating to the Hiltoppers in that 0-9 2024 season, so Reed was forced to turn to players who probably weren’t ready to be competitive that year.
“We were in a bad spot with injuries, and there were some other issues, but what I did know is that we were getting a lot of experience,” Reed said, who came to Hillsboro after being an assistant at Athens under Ryan Knox.
“I always say that playing young guys isn’t great in the short term, but you’re hoping in the long term that it pays off. I think we have a group that it’s hopefully going to pay off for us — and we got a lot to prove still. Making the playoffs here last year was great, but these guys got big goals, and we’re just excited to get going this year.”
By making the playoffs a year ago, Civitate knows the SCC opponents won’t let their guard down preparing for the Hiltoppers.
“There were probably a lot of teams that were not thinking we were going to be as good as we were, and we definitely did surprise a lot of teams,” Civitate said. “I would even say like Carlinville, even though they ended up beating us (35-27 in Week 8), we only lost by one touchdown.
“I would say a lot of teams were surprised by that. I think a lot of teams were probably surprised we even made it to the playoffs.”
Opponents might’ve been surprised, but Civitate said when the team got together for last summer’s workouts, he knew one year had made a big difference.
“I saw how big we were, how much size and talent we had, how much dedication everybody had, and everybody on the team wanted to win,” Civitate said. “Everybody wanted playoffs, and everybody was coming to football practice ready to work, ready to win.”
Zaidi said now the team has taken those lessons and the confidence gained from the season and are determined to be even better in 2026.
“I think the overall goal is just come in every game, put in the work throughout every week, and just see where it takes us one step at a time,” Zaidi said.
“Just coming back after my sophomore season, you could feel this sense of urgency to turn the whole program around, really. And it was a lot of the same group of guys just coming in, wanting to work, and turn everything around.”
If this is the beginning of another run where the Hiltoppers are a regular playoff staple, they’ll have many of these seniors to thank.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Hillsboro looks to ‘Topper out with more than just playoff berth
Reporting by Ryan Mahan, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ryan Mahan, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
