Hillsborough High School is Hillsborough County’s oldest high school. A single room located on Franklin Street was the first location of the school established in 1885.
The school then grew and relocated to what we now know as D.W. Waters located on North Highland Avenue. Once Hillsborough relocated to its current location in 1927, Thomas Jefferson Junior High School moved in. The location was later renamed to Jefferson High School, which was founded in 1939 and served there until 1967.
HILLSBOROUGH FOOTBALL
10 District titles
18 playoff appearances
1 state title game, 0 titles – Prior to the Terriers playing for the 1996 class 6A title, no Hillsborough County team had reached that game since Jesuit in 1992 and first public school since Robinson in 1971.
1 Final Four
3 straight playoff appearances
3 Southeastern Conference football signees since 1997 (Don Mosley, Mississippi; Jarred Fayson and Shannon Snell, Florida)
32 Division 1 football signees since 1997 (Armwood 41, Jefferson 36, Plant 28)
Terriers have not had a season below .500 since 1990 (3-7 HC Dick O’Brien).
9 Double digit win seasons since 1992
96 total All State selections. 14 First team selections
1 Parade All American – 1999 Shannon Snell, University of Florida
10 Guy Toph winners (Believed to be the oldest continuous high school sports award in the country and often described as Hillsborough County’s equivalent to college football’s Heisman Trophy, the Guy Toph Award has been presented to senior football players who excel on the field and in the classroom): 1939 – Guy Tompkins, 1942 – Casper Vaccaro, 1944 – Ray Jackson, 1945 – Hal Griffin, 1946 – Cecile Perrette, 1954 – Jimmy Dunn, 1960 – Mac Farrington, 1968 – Danny Beltram, 1980 – Pat O’Brien, 1995 – Derrick Edmonds
PAST LEGENDS
Steve Kiner, Hillsborough, QB/LB – 1965
6’1″ 220 Was All Conference All State on both offense & Defense. Signed a scholarship with the University of Tennessee in 1966. Was named sophomore of the year by the Southeastern Conference in 1967. Led the Volunteers in tackles and was selected a first-team All-American in his junior and senior years. Was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and played in one Super Bowl during his nine-year NFL career. Was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
Maurice Crum Sr., Hillsborough, LB – 1987
6’0″ 220 All Suncoast, All County, All State…3 year starter led team in tackles each year. Scored 12 defensive TDs (6 INTs,4 blocked punts, 2 fumble returns). Attended The University of Miami where he played on two National Championship teams. Was an NCAA AP All American senior year at “The U”.
Derrick Edmonds, Hillsborough, RB – 1996
Tabbed as the #5 defensive back in the Southeast Region by Blue Chip Illustrated…Rushed for 1579 yards on 177 carries and scored 23 TDs on a team that finished the regular season unbeaten at 10-0…Earned All-State, All-District, All-Conference and All-Sun Coast honors as a senior…Garnered team and District MVP honors…Gained over 100 yards rushing in all 10 games, including three games of over 200 yards…Scored a school-record six rushing touchdowns against Countryside HS…Set a school record with a 99-yard touchdown run against Bloomingdale HS…helped lead sophomore and junior squads to 9-1 records. Signed with the University of Tennessee.
Andrew Williams, Hillsborough, OLB/TE – 1997
Class 6A First-Team All-State in 1998 as a senior. Tampa Tribune Defensive Player of the Year for Hillsborough County in 1998…rated the top linebacker/defensive end prospect in Florida in 1998. All-American by National Recruiting Advisor, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super Southern 100, Blue Chip Illustrated National Top 100, SuperPrep’s Top 24 in Florida, All-Suncoast Team by the St. Petersburg Times…rated the no. 4 prospect in the Tampa Bay Area by the St. Petersburg Times, Florida Times-Union Super 75, no. 4 inside linebacker in Florida by the Florida Times-Union, First-Team Class 6A All-State selection as a senior. Played in the Florida-Georgia All-Star Game. Totaled 99 tackles, 6.5 quarterback sacks, caused five fumbles and recovered three fumbles as a senior. Signed with the University of Miami. Drafted by the 49ers.
Shannon Snell, Hillsborough, OL – 1999
Considered one of the nation’s elite prep offensive linemen in 1999. USA Today’s first-team All-America Squad selection, A Parade All-America, PrepStar’s All-America Dream Team, SuperPrep’s All-America Team, Ranked among the nation’s top five offensive tackles by National Bluechip, among the nation’s top five offensive linemen by Prep Football Report, among the nation’s top dozen offensive linemen by Rivals.com network. A first-team all-state (6A) selection in both 1998 and 1999. A three-year starter at Hillsborough High School who allowed just one sack in four years. A three-year started at left guard while at Florida. Played in 46 games, with 36 starts. Named a first-team All-American by The Sporting News in 2003…Earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2002. Signed a free agent contract with the Denver Broncos.
Jarred Fayson, Hillsborough, QB – 2005
Rated as the No. 3 wide receiver prospect in the country according to Scout.com. Selected in the 2005 to play in the U.S. Army All-Star game. Terrier team captain and helped lead Hillsborough to an undefeated regular season and a regional semifinal appearance. As a senior, passed for 883 yards and ran for 936 yards and 22 touchdowns. A three-year starter and led Hillsborough to a 21-20 win over Armwood High School his senior year that ended the Hawks’ 29-game win streak. As a junior, Fayson threw for 900 yards with 11 touchdowns, three interceptions, rushed for 800 yards with 24 touchdowns. Giving him 35 total touchdowns as a junior. Signed with the University of Florida.
TERRIERS TODAY
The Terriers are a perfect 5-0 headed into a massive district matchup vs. hometeam Sickles. Led by sophomore QB, Dwayne Lawson, completing half of his passes for 651 yards, The Terriers will attempt to stay undefeated.
Nigel Harris and Jeremiah Green carry the mail on the ground for Hillsborough. Combined, the two seniors have 699 rushing yards and 12 rushing TDs.
Curtis Thomas is the “go to” receiver for Lawson. He will enter this game averaging 13 yards per reception and 38 yards per game; 15 catches for 192 yards and 4 receiving TDs.
Linebackers Nigel Harris and Ben George clean up most of the dirt dished by opposing offenses. Both backers have over 50 tackles on the season. Harris is averaging 11 tackles per game and George, just over 10 tackles per game. The Terrier defense will be without their leading sack master, Jordan Sherit who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Before his injury, Sherit had 6 sacks and 18 solo tackles. LB, Demetrius Hill is questionable for tonight’s contest. He is second on the team in sacks with 4.
The secondary is fast and aggressive. Lil Robert Wilson and Jeremiah Green each have 2 interceptions, while the team has 6 and 17 PBUs.