Auburn Journal Athlete of the Week: Brandon Hill wins games in the trenches for Del Oro

Skill positions get all of the love, but any football player, coach or fan knows where the game is really decided: in the trenches. That was evident Friday night as Del Oro High School defeated Rocklin 33-20 to improve to 7-0 for the first time since 2018. Del Oro has had a long line of standouts in the trenches with names like Bill Sherman, Jack Reynoso, Tanner Woods and current head coach Mike Maben. One of the newest names to that list is senior Brandon Hill, a two-way lineman who helped pave the way to Friday's win with two sacks. Even when he wasn't recording a sack, Hill's pressure on Rocklin quarterback Joey Roberts helped force several bad throws. "I just played a physical game and kept fighting out there," Hill said after Friday's game. "Rocklin has a great team and their line was really good, but I just had to keep fighting and making plays where I could." Alongside Hill is another lineman causing headaches to opposing offensive coordinators: Akio Martinson. The duo account for 41 tackles and are just getting started. "Brandon Hill and Akio are really a great tag team to have in there," Maben said. "When one's getting double teamed, the other one kind of gets broken free a little bit. Having both of them on the line this year has been amazing, and it was no different against Rocklin." Hill's efforts on both sides of the ball have helped lead the Golden Eagles to their hot start, but he knows Del Oro's job is far from finished. "Our record gives us fuel and for other teams like tells them to watch out for us because we come in strong so we have to make sure we keep fighting and keep it going," Hill said. Del Oro puts its perfect record on the line Friday night at Folsom.