Hill prepares for final season

Hill prepares for final season

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Canton High School senior offensive guard Ephraim Hill said he not only wants to play on the offensive line in college football but he would like to make playing on the offensive line a career, too.

Hill said he has been playing football since the seventh grade and transferred to Canton High School from Canton Academy last year. He used to play as a defensive lineman but changed to the offense when he arrived at Canton High. He said playing for the Tigers is much different than playing for a private school.

“It was difficult at first, but I’ve caught on,” Hill said. “I’m improving myself every day and I’m much faster and stronger than last year. My favorite part of playing for Canton High is that it’s a great stress reliever for me and it makes me part of a family with my teammates. I can fight alongside them on the field on Friday nights. It’s exciting that in doing this, I can take something I love and get paid for it in the future.”

Hill said that while he would attend any college that offers him a scholarship, he will attend Louisiana State University or Jackson State University if he does not receive an offer.

“I plan on majoring in physical therapy,” Hill said. “My backup plan is to be a physical therapist, but I am also minoring in computer science so I can work as an IT. Football, however, is my No. 1 priority right now.”

Outside of school and football, Hill said he enjoys helping his parents around the house with chores such as cleaning and mowing the lawn and taking care of his grandmother each week. He also enjoys playing baseball, discus, and hanging out with friends.

His favorites:

• Hobby: Training and working out

• Food: Ribs

• Vacation spot: Destin, Florida

• Movie: “Avengers: Endgame”

• Video game: “Assassin’s Creed”

“Canton High has a great football program, great coaches and great environment,” Hill said. “It’s preparing me for the next level.”

Canton High Head Football Coach Calvin Bolton said Hill has had a stellar season and done great things for the team.

“This year is by far his best year, much better than last year,” Bolton said. “His attitude is great, and he’s very smart. He wants to be knowledgeable about what he does. He’s gotten very aggressive about his passion for being an offensive lineman, and he wants to continue that in college.”

Bolton said the Tigers are 3-3 overall, 3-2 in district play, and tied for third in their division.

“We’ve got Jim Hill this week, and we’ll try our best to run the tables and get ourselves a 3 seed,” Bolton said. “Our biggest challenge is the pandemic. We’ve been trying to be careful handling it and following protocols, but you’ll never know what will happen. We had to deal with COVID twice this season, and we missed our game against Germantown this season due to it.”

Bolton said he hopes to see Hill continue to grow and earn a college scholarship.

“Ephraim is a smart kid, and he’s grown into his position of offensive guard, especially since he used to see himself as a defensive lineman,” Bolton said. “However, after playing the position for a bit, he’s taken off. I hope he continues to grow and continue getting better.”






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