GREEN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Oak Hills football coach Justin Roden can't help but smile thinking about the potential for the Highlanders' offense the second half of this season and into the future.
There is no doubt sophomore quarterback Wil Kraus is a significant reason for Roden's optimistic outlook.
Kraus, named the WCPO 9 Player of the Week, was 18 of 27 passing for 183 yards and a touchdown in a 27-21 win at Sycamore Sept. 15. The 5-foot-11, 171-pound quarterback also rushed for two touchdowns.
The Highlanders' victory was significant in the Greater Miami Conference and the playoff picture. Oak Hills is tied for No. 11 in the Division I, Region 4 computer points standings, according to Joe Eitel (The top eight teams in each region host a first round playoff game Oct. 27).
"The last couple of weeks the more reps he gets the more confident he is," Roden said of Kraus. "He has a fantastic arm. He runs well. He's doing a good job. For us, he gives us a chance to win every week."
Kraus has thrown for 872 yards and nine touchdowns this season. He's also rushed for three touchdowns for Oak Hills (2-3, 2-2 Greater Miami Conference), which plays host to Princeton (5-0, 4-0) this Friday night during homecoming weekend.
"Every week my confidence just grows and grows learning so much every game and every practice," Kraus said. "Being a sophomore has made me realize how much extra work is needed to be put in to excel on Friday nights. All that extra work I have put in has just made me better and better."
Kraus is a three-sport athlete who also participates in basketball and baseball at Oak Hills.
As a middle infielder, Kraus was called up to the varsity baseball team midway through the season this past spring and hit .349 with five doubles, three triples, one home run, 13 runs batted in and five stolen bases. He's also being considered this month for the USA Baseball 16U National Team Development Program.
Tim Kraus, Wil's father, said his son is proud to be a three-sport athlete at Oak Hills. Tim, a 1994 Colerain graduate, was a kicker and punter in high school and was Roden's football teammate.
Tim likes seeing how his son continues to improve as a quarterback with his timing and connections with his teammates in games.
Beyond wins and losses, Tim knows how Kraus has persevered through a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis a few years ago. Kraus wears a glucose pump in practice and at halftime of games. He also has a continuous glucose monitor system that can check his blood sugar during a game.
"He has not let the Type 1 diagnosis slow him down in any way," Tim said. "I'm especially proud since I live with Type 1 and know what a burden this is."
Kraus doesn't mind discussing his diabetes and will sometimes introduce himself to others as a diabetic.
"Managing diabetes is always a struggle because you never know what is going to happen when," Kraus said.
Kraus credited Oak Hills athletic trainer Katie Miller with helping him monitor his sugar level before a game and throughout the contest, including at halftime.
"I don't ever wear the insulin pump when playing because I have shattered it once," Kraus said. "So that is always an issue with me not getting enough insulin. But, I always just think of being a diabetic as another way of life."
