Young Vikings Present Different Test for Hannon

In some ways, Mount Hebron head football coach Ross Hannon sees this year's team as a bigger challenge than the 0-10 squad he inherited two years ago.

Hannon was the school's golf coach in 2007 and was able to watch all the varsity football games. So when he took over the next year, he was familiar with the players.

Now, after losing 22 seniors from last year's team, Hannon is dealing with a lot of inexperience and is just getting to know his Vikings. "We're just trying to get the deer-in-the-headlights syndrome out of the way," he said.

With a smaller team with a steeper learning curve,  Mount Hebron might be hard pressed to match last year's 4-6 record. In their season opener Friday night, the Vikings were pounded by visiting Atholton, 40-0.

While Hannon, 43, tries to figure out the Vikings, he admits it took awhile to figure out himself. Hannon, who is partially deaf, graduated from Mount Hebron in 1985. He was 27 before he attended Gallaudet, a university for the deaf and hard of hearing in Washington, D.C., for which he played running back and strong safety.

Now a physical education teacher at Mount Hebron, he had a landscaping business and held various assistant coaching positions. He was also an assistant coach at Salisbury, and was Centennnial's head football coach in 2002 and 2003 before becoming Mount Hebron's head golf coach.

Hannon, who is single, recently spoke with Ellicott City Patch about himself and the Vikings football program.

Ellicott City Patch: Do you have a certain coaching philosophy?

Ross Hannon: I coached under Ed Holshue. No one is more prepared as far as being organized and scouting. College gave me the opportunity to be very diverse. It gave me an understanding of the entire game. I enjoyed the fact we could spread the field at Salisbury with  the Wing-T spread passing game. We try to move as much as we can defensively. Last year we had a no-huddle, spread offense. We had 4,200 yards of total offense and threw for 2,700. We had a lot of things going on.

Patch: You coached in the 2008 U.S. Army High School Game in San Antonio. How did that come about and how did you feel about it?

Hannon: It was an eye-opening experience go to Texas and see what Texas football is about. Coach Terry Smith of Gateway High in western Pennsylvania asked me to attend after we had a seven-on-seven tournament here. He asked me to be the passing game coordinator. It's more than just a football game. It's the top 44 players from the East against the top 44 from the West. It's the Super Bowl of high school all-star games. There are 5,000 to 6,000 people at practice. There were 34,000 people at the Alamodome. It was on NBC and was phenomenal. I didn't know what to expect. I had over 50 messages from guys who I played with in high school and college saying, 'I think I just saw you on TV.'

Patch: What are your thoughts on Mt. Hebron 's 2009 season?

Hannon: Karma is everything. We lost in Week 1 to Long Reach in overtime (31-28). We had 480 yards in offense. They returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. We missed a field goal opportunity in overtime. We've beaten Long Reach only once in 14 or 15 years, and we're always been manhandled by them....We lost our nose tackle for the year and a defensive end for four or five weeks. Against Hammond we lost 13 players. We couldn't get healthy. We also won some close games. We could have easily been 2-8. Or we could have been 7-3.

Patch: Who will be missed the most and why?

Hannon: We're certainly going to miss our quarterback, Clint Huber, who was the third leading passer in the state. And the Howard County Offensive Player of the Year,  split end Spencer Wilkins. I got a transfer quarterback who came in -- sophomore Malik Gilmore (St. Frances Academy). He's an athletic kid who can do a lot of things for us.

Patch: Were there any notable revelations from summer practice?

Hannon: Our junior running back (Donnell Smith) is the most electric back that I've had. It will be a matter of giving him a place to run. Junior (defensive line, tight end) Eddie Humphries (6 feet 3, 297) -- I think he can go 4.9 in the 40. He's just learning how to play football. We don't have a kid who can stop him. He's got a man's body. Against Calvert Hall he was pushing kids all over the place. Once he gets the feel of the game, don't be surprised if we line up with the biggest fullback the county has seen. The kids love him.

Patch: What are your goals and expectations for this season?

Hannon: Last year we had the expectation to run the table. But 4-6 is what it was. We moved the ball; other times we looked like winless Mount Hebron teams. This year we have no expectations. We're taking baby steps. We're at a different level mentally than last year. It's not the kids' fault. They're just young. We have a good group of freshmen -- a good JV group.

Patch: How do you see the Howard County  standings shaping up?

Hannon: If I hear one more time that River Hill is down -- they're the big dog. I saw Wilde Lake in a scrimmage. They're probably one of the fastest defenses I've seen in the county. Glenelg -- anytime you got (running back/defensive back) Colin Osborne you've got something. And Atholton, (Kyle) Schmitt is a phenomenal coach. They have speed and size. Those kids go.

Mount Hebron High