Last year, the Hiram Terriers’ football team flirted with a .500 record near the end of the season, ultimately finishing with three victories. Now, the Terriers are ready to push forward and build upon reaching their highest win total since the 2016 campaign.
“The big thing for us is just continuing to improve,” said Coach Xavier Dupree. “Last year was last year and I think it was a good foundational year just to see where we were at. We left some games on the table this past season and we got to a point in the season where we were .500 and we lost our last four games. We want to start faster but we also want to end the year on a better note as well.”
The Terriers will enter their second year in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, after recording a 2-6 record in their debut in the PAC last season.
The first-year coach acknowledged that the Terriers capitalized on being an unknown commodity by being newcomers to the PAC but added that it will not be the same for the 2026 season as the rest of the league has a better idea of Hiram’s system.
Dupree noted that the Terriers are ready to end a 10-year stretch of finishing a season below .500 and set a new standard of success.
The Terriers will return with a well-versed offense, returning all but one starter from last year’s team.
Senior quarterback Sean Tejada will return, after completing 217 passes out of 357 attempts for 2911 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while rushing for 93 yards and two touchdowns on 67 carries.
“He has taken a step up in his leadership,” Dupree said of the 5-foot-10 senior. “He has taken a step up in his play. He has done a good job and everything leading the young guys and getting them together and making sure they understand what we are doing on offense, so he has just been continuing to improve.”
The Terriers’ rushing game will be paced by junior tailback R.J. Johnson, who tallied 220 yards and two touchdowns on 70 rushing attempts, and sophomore running back Isaiah Livingstone, who collected 162 yards and one touchdown on 42 hand-offs last year.
They have taken a step up understanding the offense and what we are doing,” Dupree said of the 5-foot-10 Johnson and the 5-foot-6 Livingstone. “Last year was their first time doing some of the things, just doing certain things that we will ask the running backs to do when it comes to protection and all that type of stuff, so those guys are back and they have done a good job.
Hiram’s receiving corps will consist of junior tight end Dylan Hargas, who caught two touchdown passes and tallied 310 receiving yards on 41 receptions, sophomore Devin Tufts, who recorded 530 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 33 receptions, junior wideout Jamal Van Ervin, who hauled in 16 receptions for 184 yards and one touchdown, and senior wide receiver Kevin Dycks, who caught 38 passes for 763 yards and seven touchdowns.
Hiram’s offensive line will return four starters, with senior Talon Frick returning tohis center position, sophomores Michael Wise and Michail Leoutsacos will return as guards and sophomore Jesse Zinnerman will once again be the starting right tackle. Dupree said that Hiram’s left tackle position is still an ongoing battle in camp.
The defensive line will consist of seniors Ayden Smith and Elijah Southern, juniors Kenta Poole, Timarius Mickens and Darius Cofield-Washington.
The 5-foot-11 Mickens recorded nine tackles and one sack, the 6-foot Cofield-Washington tallied 21 tackles and one sack, the 5-foot-11 Southern made seven tackles, the 6-foot-4 Poole collected eight tackles and 0.5 sacks, and the 6-foot Smith made seven tackles last year.
Senior linebacker Malique Wilson is the only returning player at the second level, coming off a season where he made 15 tackles and two sacks.
In the secondary, the Terriers will return senior safety Brice Criggal, who made 10 tackles and had three interceptions, sophomore safety Kendal Owens who recorded 7 tackles, and senior safety Keinan Markell-Newsone who made 10 tackles last year.
“For right now, they have shown that they can handle going out there and playing ball so I am excited to see what we look like on defense because I think we will be bigger on defense and faster,” said Dupree.
The Terriers will open their season when they hit the road to face Oberlin at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex’ Dick Bailey Field on Sept. 5 at 1 p.m.
