After a season that saw the Hilldale Hornets advance to the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs, things are in a state of flux for the Hornets and for their standout free safety Aidyn Lindquist as the 2025 season approaches. Hilldale lost some key players to graduation and some more to transfers so exactly how things will shake out this year is unclear, but Lindquist takes an optimistic view of how the team will respond. “I know they’ll be some challenges this year, but I think the approach we have to take is just to keep our heads for each other and maintain the hard work ethic that has been a trait of Hilldale football.”  Aidyn is a jack-of-all trades for the Hornets playing some wide receiver, safety and handling the punting chores where he led Class 4A in punting last year with a 41.8 yard per kick average and this coming season may handle the kicking duties as well. “Aidyn is not only a good, versatile player for us but also a good student who will earn his associate’s college degree in addition to his high school diploma next spring,” said head coach David Blevins. “He’ll be the leader of our defensive backend and receiving corps and is a great leader by example.” Lindquist started playing football in the fourth grade but got hurt and didn’t take the field again until he transferred from Muskogee to Hilldale in eighth grade. “I love the game night atmosphere and the fans and the teamwork in football a lot better than in other sports I’ve played,” said Lindquist who also played soccer early in his high school career and still runs track where he participates in the 100- and 200-meter dash and the 4X100, 4X200 and 4X400 relays. Aidyn would like to move on to play college football somewhere next year but if that doesn’t work out, he plans to go to college and get a degree in business where his academic prowess will help him. “I take pride in my academics because I know I’ll need to have that knowledge if I want to study business,” he said.