Fingers crossed

Dynamic Woodstown running back looking forward to a positive report from doctor for return to practice from offseason knee injury

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN — James Hill is looking forward to Monday as much as any Opening Day he’s ever had before.

That’s the day he, his coaches and the South Jersey football world should learn whether the dynamic Woodstown running back gets to return to the field for his senior football season — six months after a devastating knee injury that threatened his high school playing career.

If he gets the positive report, the 3,000-yard career rusher could be back on the field as soon as the Wolverines’ Monday afternoon practice — 10 days before their season opener against Haddon Heights.

The options are return to football with no restrictions, return to football with no contact, or wait a while longer. He anticipates a good report and is eager to return.

“Monday will be my return back to sports,” Hill said. “I knew I had a great sophomore year, junior year, and I knew my senior year would be my breakout year, my time to go rush for 2,000 yards, go break more records than I’ve already broken.

“I broke the record I set last year but that wasn’t good enough for me. I knew my senior year was a make or break year, especially recruiting. People were skittish (after the injury) but now I have to prove to them I’m the same James Hill you were recruiting my junior year. I’m actually better than I was.”

He was pretty good then, rushing for 1,636 yards and 16 touchdowns. Then a few months later it all changed.

Hill tore an ACL jumping around in the wrestling room. Conventional wisdom suggests a recovery time of six to nine months. He was in therapy the day after his surgery and has continued an aggressive rehab for a return in an amazing six months.

Coaches and teammates have marveled at his commitment to rehab, which often has included three- and four-times-a-week therapy sessions. “Crazy recovery,” quarterback Max Webb told Riverview Sports News in July. “There’s not too many guys, even at the professional level, who are recovering in six (months).”

Hill’s most recent testing indicates only a three-percent difference in strength between his two knees and if the surgically repaired knee matches or exceeds the other in Monday’s test, he should be good to go.

He got around pretty good at Thursday’s scrimmage, where he was on the sidelines serving in a support role. Shortly before the start of the exercise, he checked something on his phone, then ran as naturally as ever down the path, over the pedestrian bridge and back to the school building before returning with two racks of water bottles. 

“Right after surpery I had PT the next day and that day I knew I could make it to come back,” he said. “I knew that being James, I’m a kid of perseverance, I’ll battle through anything to get back to high school football because I love playing high school football. I love playing football in general.

“When I got told recovery time is between six and nine months I knew I’d be that type of athlete who’s gonna be making it back in six because I have trust in everybody around me. I knew it was going to be tough. It’s all a mental battle and if you’re mentally strong you’ll be able to do it and I was able to do it because I was mentally strong.

“I’ve had tons of people tell me you’re going to be able to do it James and I believed them because they believed in me.”

The plan for his return to the lineup will be a measured one. It likely will involve starting out on defense only to work back into in the game before subjecting his knee to the pounding that goes with being an elite back.

They won’t be giving him 28 carriers in each of the first two games like they did last year, when he rushed for 540 yards and five touchdowns. Saying he’s “1000 percent confident” in his knee, he’s OK with that, just as he’s confident in the other guys in the running backs room to keep the offense on track until his full return.

“We’ve got to take it day by day,” Wolverines coach John Adams said. “We’re gonna make sure he’s there by the end of it.”

“I’m fine with that; as long as I’m playing high school football,” said Hill. “Sometimes you’ve got to go slow to win the race. You can’t go speeding because if you go speeding you might blow a tire.

“I’ve got eight games. I know we’re going to make the playoffs as a good team, so there’s no reason to rush and go rush for 312 yards a game (like he did in last year’s season opener) where I know that the rest of my running back crew is going to be able to just handle it just as well.”

And just in case you’re wondering about wrestling, where he was undefeated at the time of the injury, he’ll be back on the mat this winter as well.

Photo: Woodstown running back James Hill works the Wolverines’ sideline in a support role during a recent scrimmage as he awaits his return to practice.

The James Hill File

YEAR	RUN	YDS	TD	REC	YDS	TD
2020	41	183	1	9	60	0
2021	166	1374	15	5	110	2
2022	237	1636	16	7	110	3
TOTAL	444	3193	32	21	280	5