JEROMESVILLE — Holland Young’s path to Friday’s Division VII state championship game was strewn with all sorts of roadblocks and detours — and he wouldn’t change a thing.

Hillsdale will play juggernaut Marion Local for the state title at 10:30 a.m. thanks in no small part to Young, a senior receiver and defensive back. He had nine catches for 96 yards and a touchdown in last week’s come-from-behind 25-22 win over Danville in the state semifinals.

For the season, Young has a team-leading 62 receptions for 915 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s part of a record-setting receiving tandem that includes Northeast Inlands Offensive Player of the Year Hayden McFadden, who has 60 grabs for a single-season record 1,363 yards and 18 touchdowns. 

While Hillsdale coach Trevor Cline knew coming into the season what he had in McFadden — the junior had 34 catches for 660 yards and 10 TDs last year — he wasn’t sure what to expect from Young. The wiry, 6-foot-1, 165-pounder didn’t have a single reception in 2023.

“He didn’t letter for us last year,” Cline said. “He moved into the district last year, so we didn’t have a whole lot on him as to what he could and couldn’t do. He wasn’t even on special teams last year.

“Holland started to turn it on when Kael Lewis got hurt and he got thrown into being our junior varsity quarterback and he started to light it up. That gave him confidence that he was pretty good at football, but he wasn’t quite ready for varsity yet.”

His success as the junior varsity level lit a fire under Young, Cline said.

“He was playing JV and he did exactly what he needed to do, find ways to get better,” Cline said. “It’s not a punishment to be on the JV team. It’s an opportunity to go out there and show why you should be playing at the varsity level. That’s exactly what he did.”

A healthy Lewis emerged as Hillsdale’s heir apparent at quarterback after the graduation of Jack Fickes. Young moved back to his receiver spot opposite McFadden. 

“We knew he had potential, but he was still a little bit hesitant,” Cline said. “Going into this season we thought he could be a contributor, but you just never know until you get to Friday night and see how he responds.”

Cline had his answer before the end of the first half of Hillsdale’s season-opening 44-12 win over Black River. Young had three catches for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“He was a gamer,” Cline said. “He showed up ready to roll.”

Young has had at least one reception in every game. He had eight grabs for a season-best 122 yards and a touchdown in Hillsdale’s 35-31 win over Dalton in Week 5.

In five playoff games, Young has 24 catches for 278 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His biggest catch of the postseason came with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter against Danville and the Falcons trailing 22-12.

He streaked down the far sideline and out-leaped Danville cornerback Levi Furay for a 22-yard touchdown.

“I told Kael to just throw me the ball,” Young said afterward, a jewel-studded 7-11 pendant hanging from a chain around his neck.

“Our wide receiver group is 7-11 because we’re always open. It goes to the player who our wide receivers coach thought had the biggest impact on the game.”

So what has been the secret to his emergence this fall? It doesn’t hurt to have McFadden, who commands extra attention no matter where he lines up.

“Hayden has been huge for us this year,” said Young, who joined McFadden on the Northeast Inlands first team. “People have to put a safety over top of him so that opens things up for me to get single coverage.”

The Falcons will need Young and McFadden to be at their game-breaking best Friday against Marion Local. The Flyers have allowed just 49 points and less than 900 yards of total offense in 15 games.

“We know about them, but we feel like we’re ready,” Young said. “We’re going to bring everything we’ve got.”