ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — For the first time since 2012 we are this deep into a football season and the Mt. Hebron Vikings are still undefeated.
Hebron is 3-0 so far with victories over Wilde Lake, Marriott’s Ridge and Glenelg. There is no secret to their winning formula: run the ball.
Senior running back/safety Aidan Hauf has 54 carries for 381 yards and seven touchdowns. He is on pace to rush for over 1,100 yards in the regular season. The Vikings have only completed nine passes this year but they know the air attack doesn’t matter when you can play smashmouth with Hauf and company.
"I love the offense. I would like to be able to point to where we are running and tell the team that we are running it there and they are not going to be able to stop it," said Hauf, who described the Vikings' running style as 'vicious intent'. "I have some moves but I like to just lower the shoulder and get the yards and ground and pound just like our offense. Just run it down their throat."
"Always be the hammer not the nail. That’s what we always say. You always have to be the person enforcing it. Never be the person absorbing it. That’s always how it’s been," said senior running back/linebacker Brett Barron. "Just run it straight. They know we’re going to run. But I kind of like it at that point. You can’t stop us."
Nothing could stop Hauf from getting back on the field or his senior year. The 5-foot-9, 185 lbs. bruiser is having this monster season after recovering from knee surgery.
"[I] dislocated my kneecap playing lacrosse my sophomore year and then junior year of football season I dislocated it again," he said. "I had to get surgery. I was pretty upset I had to miss my junior year of football. So, this year has been very personal for me."
"He is super resilient," said Vikings head coach Shawn Frederick. "He is a competitor and he is just a high-character kid. That is one of the big things that we do push in this program, is that yeah we want to win football games. Yes, we want to play this game because we love it. But at the end of the day we are teaching boys to become young men."
Hauf and Hebron look to stay perfect as they host Oakland Mills (0-3) on Friday. Kickoff between the Vikings and Scorpions is set for 7:00 p.m.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
