Hinton’s return paid immediate dividends for Aces

AMANDA – Amanda-Clearcreek coach Scott Hinton understands the rich tradition at Amanda-Clearcreek. He was the starting quarterback on the Aces’ 2000 state championship team.

After consecutive 3-7 seasons, Hinton returned to his Alma mater as head coach in 2014 with hopes of jump-starting a program that is used to having success, including eight playoff appearances and two state titles.

Hinton did exactly that, but it wasn’t easy. The Aces were 4-4 and their playoffs chances looked dim heading into Week 9. However, the Aces had a come-from-behind win at Logan Elm and then cruised past Circleville.

“Sometimes, the kids just need a reset button and I think we were refreshed a little bit,” Hinton said. “Me coming back here, I think it helped. We changed the way we practiced, we were up-tempo and there was new energy.

“I don’t have an off switch. When we practice, I’m ready to rock and I expect our players to be the same way. I also don’t dwell on negatives. We are always in a moving forward type situation and onto the next week. The kids responded to that well.”

The fact the Aces finished the season with two must-win games was pleasing to Hinton because it was something he and his coaching staff preach every day.

“It is always important to finish strong because if you finish well that means the kids buy into everything you preach every day,” Hinton said. “We talk about finishing drills all the time. That’s the No. 1 thing we talk about every day. If you do that in everything you do, that will lead to finishing games off and seasons off.

“To me, that was more Amanda of old. That is something we used to do here very well. All those years we had success, we finished well. I give our kids a lot of credit. We really could have folded after the tough Bloom-Carroll loss (12-10 in Week 8). It showed a lot of guts by our kids to beat a good Logan Elm team and then beat a good Circleville team.”

The Aces lost a lot of talent from last year’s playoff team, and while they will be young, especially on the offensive end, they do return one of the top running backs in the Central District in senior Jordan Leasure.

Leasure rushed for 1,860 yards and 18 touchdowns and broke a single-game rushing record with 284 yards in the regular-season finale against Circleville. Leasure was first team all-district and second team All-Ohio.

The key for Leasure and the Aces’ running game will be how fast the offensive line, consisting of all underclassmen, develops.

“We knew we were going to be young, especially on the offensive line,” Hinton said. “But all of those young kids have worked very hard and they are all very dedicated. The good thing is Jordan can make up for some of our inexperience, and that’s the good thing for having a great running back like him.

“We have also really worked hard in improving our passing game. We need to be able to stretch teams because we know a lot of eyes are going to be on Jordan. We are going to try to be more balanced.”

Hinton said Senior Landon Roberts and sophomore Brayden Neff are fighting it out for the starting quarterback spot.

Defensively, the Aces will be led by a solid linebacker corps, led by Leasure, Michael Sites and Keaton Baldwin.

“All three of those guys are very physical, and in my opinion, are three of the best in the area,” Hinton said. “We also have a lot of speed in the secondary.”

The Aces also return one of the best kickers in the area in senior Christian Meadows, who made three field goals in the Aces’ 20-16 playoff loss to Marion-Franklin.

“It still hurts losing the playoff game against Marion-Franklin,” Hinton said. “We felt like we outplayed them and played well enough to win, but you have to take care of the little things. You can’t be 3 of 7 in the red zone and expect to win.

“We know those last three weeks of the season our kids laid their hearts on the line. If we can do that, we will be OK. We are younger and we have to get our young kids to understand that it takes that kind of effort to be successful.”

twilson@lancastereaglegazette.com

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Twitter: @twil2323

At a Glance

AMANDA-CLEARCREEK

•Coach: Scott Hinton, second season.

•Assistant coaches: Tom Hinton, Ken Hinton, Nate Saum, Chet Saum, Rick Johnson, Eddie Johnson, Mike Brosovich, Austin Smith, Tyler Kratzenberg.

•League: Mid-State League-Buckeye Division

•2014 Record: 6-4, lost in first round of playoffs.

•Key Returners: RB/LB Jordan Leasure, Sr. K Christian Meadows, Sr.; LB Michael Sites, Jr.; LB Keaton Baldwin, Jr.

•Outlook: The Aces won’t start a senior on the offensive line, but as long as they give Leasure just a little bit of room, he will make teams pay. He is one of the best running backs in the Central District. The Aces should make another strong push for the playoffs.