LUIS HILL - C/O 1971

At 5'10" 180lbs. of strength and speed, Hill terrorized Kansas high school defenses at the turn of the decade from the 60s to the 70s.

Hill was one of the most talented Braves to ever wear the Blue & Gold on a football field. He began his varsity career as a sophomore where he made an impact on the 1968 team as a halfback and defensive back. He led the team in rushing that season.

His junior campaign saw him break All-State QB Gary Osborn's rushing record at Council Grove from 1957. Hill's big-play ability on both sides of the ball led the Braves to a tie for the CVL title during the 1969 season.

The spotlight was on Hill from the beginning of the 1970 season. In week 3, he played arguably his most impressive game as he carried the Braves literally to a victory over the defending AA State Champions Sacred Heart. He went for 199 rushing yards and ripped off the game-winning touchdown run to cut down the defending champions. A spectator at the game, Keith Pickett (CG Class of '66), had this to say about Hill's game-winning TD run.

"He had several impressive runs earlier - not for the amount of yards gained but for the way in which he escaped tackles with his 'limp leg' technique or spun out of attempted tackles, especially by those big, tough defensive ends of Sacred Heart.  But I vividly remember CG being near the midfield stripe on the left side of the field (in front of the CG bench and us) and Luis running off right tackle, getting hit just past the line of scrimmage, and then suddenly exploding to his right toward the far sideline.  A couple seconds later, he turned upfield and outran the secondary to the end zone.  He was so good at bouncing off tackles and then changing direction and running against the grain."

During his senior year, he was arguably the best running back in all of the state of Kansas. That season he not only led the Braves to a CVL title, but he also led all of 11-man football in scoring (171). Against Peabody, he scored 36. He received a high volume of carries in 1970 under legendary USD 417 coach John Goff. His abilities led to him being voted Top-11 in all classes and First Team All-State in 3A. He broke his own rushing record that season with 1,505 yards. This record was kept by Hill for 41 years. At the time of his graduation, he held every single scoring, total touchdown, rushing, all-purpose, total offense, and scrimmage career and season record at Council Grove. No other Brave, at their time of graduation, has held more school records than Luis Hill. His 2-year run between 1969 and 1970 is statistically rivaled by no other Brave in school history as he had two 1,500+ yard seasons. Hill was an astonishing big play waiting to happen as he had 15 plays greater than 50 yards (a record still today) in his final 2 seasons of varsity play. In his career, he amassed four 200-yard rushing games. Hill had a trademark "dead-leg" move that was known to leave would-be tacklers reaching for air.

"Under Coach Goff, the 1969 Council Grove football squad (in my brother’s junior year) finished the regular season with a 7-2 record, winning the Cottonwood Valley League title outright for the first time in more than a decade. The next year the Braves were 8-1, grabbing the league championship again. The Braves had one of the most talented running backs I ever saw in a small high school —All-Stater Luis Hill (5-10, 180), who went on to Kansas State as a running back/receiver."

-Keith Pickett, Council Grove High School '66, St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame