Aug 12, 2018 6 min read

The competitive edge Brian Hilk used to his advantage throughout his athletic career at Trinity High School, the University of Akron and professional football career in Canada went away for a period of time.

Since it has returned, Hilk uses it when he makes his frequent runs, competes in marathons and races and plays hockey in adult leagues.

Hilk, 49, relishes that edge and competing.

“I don’t enjoy watching football or going to games too much,” said Hilk, who played four years in the Canadian Football League. “I play hockey now and I run a lot. It’s my passion. It’s not about speed. It’s about getting out there, getting the adrenaline going and clearing my mind when I run.

“I have run a couple of marathons and that takes about eight weeks of training. I love to run. I want to feel that adrenaline rush.”

Hilk was a standout football player and solid wrestler at Trinity.

He was part of a Hillers’ football team in 1986 that won a conference championship, went 9-1 in the regular season and won a WPIAL quarterfinal playoff game over Derry Area, 10-7, at Washington and Jefferson College’s College Field – Trinity’s former home field.

Trinity saw its season end the following week in a semifinal loss to Kiski Area.

It was a tough defeat to take for Hilk to take as he felt the Hillers were “as good as any team that season.”

“It was a wonderful season, no doubt,” Hilk said. “It just didn’t go our way at the end. It was a very memorable season and year. We came a long way from my sophomore season when we were 0-10. We made a lot of progress.”

Hilk said it was the work put in that really helped Trinity enjoy winning seasons in 1986 and 1987.

“From a personal standpoint, I worked really hard and I had that opportunity because of what the coaches put into place,” he said. “We had really good weight room and running programs. The organization of both were outstanding and the coaches worked hard to make sure had someone with knowledge of weight training and running present for us. We had serious running workouts. The team came together through all that. We had a bunch of guys willing to put in the time and do the work. It was a serious group.”

The 1986 team, coached by Bob Johnson, was the only Trinity football team in school history to win a conference championship. The playoff victory over Derry was also the first in program history.

“Beyond the work and commitment, we were made to be a good team,” Hilk said about preseason camp. “We spent two weeks at Trinity Middle School. No outside distractions. Not much access to our parents. We only had one another and just became a family. We became a good football team there.”

Hilk, a fullback and linebacker, was recruited by a number of colleges, including Syracuse, until choosing Akron, which was taking the step up from NCAA Division I-AA to Division I.

Andy Urbanic, a former coach at Penn Hills, recruited him to the Zips’ program.

“I was offered a full scholarship to play at Syracuse,” Hilk recalled. “But they wanted me to play fullback. I wanted to play defense. I didn’t appreciate Pitt or West Virginia enough back then. Had Syracuse’s offer came earlier, I might have went there. But I felt slighted.

“I looked forward to the challenge at Akron. I was impressed the things they did in recruiting me and the things they said they were going to do. The whole process was intriguing to me. It was close to home. I know I could have been successful at the other places. I wouldn’t change a thing, though.”

Hilk said the decision he made to not wrestle during his senior year may have cost him some opportunities in football. He heard rumors that some colleges backed away from him.

He remains steadfast that he made the right choice.

“I was told by some people that some of the college coaches thought I as a quitter,” Hilk said. “I had wrestling coaches and other people call me about the decision. They wanted to make sure I was really comfortable with what I was going to do. I know it ruffled some feathers. I don’t regret it.”

Hilk said he did miss out on not being on the same wrestling team with his brother, Drew, who was an outstanding heavyweight for the Hillers.

Hilk left his mark at Akron and on the CFL.

He was a special teams player as a freshmen for the Zips, then moved into the starting lineup and was a team captain his junior and senior seasons.

Hilk signed with the Hamilton Tiger Cats in 1991 as a linebacker and played before suffering a knee injury. It allowed him to comeback to Akron to earn his bachelor’s degree in industrial management and also help coach Trinity football. He then returned to the CFL, signing with the Toronto Argonaugts and playing two seasons before being selected by the expansion Shreveport Pirates, where he was coached by NFL great, Forest Gregg.

He still ranks second all-time with four tackles for a loss in one game, during the 1991 season.

“When I was healthy, I did pretty well,” he said. “There was a learning curve and it wasn’t easy being from the United States to make a CFL roster. They had a 37-man roster and they had to keep 20 Canadians and three quarterbacks. Everyone else was fighting for one of 14 spots.

“The first half of my rookie season we went 0-8. The coach got fired. We got better and it was an incredible experience for me. The game is different. It was all good until I broke my leg in the 16th and final game of the season. The injury was a tough one.”

Hilk didn’t pass the team physical before his second season and ended up having surgery. He worked his way back before walking away from the game in 1994.

“I think I could have played 10 years in the CFL, but I decided to retire,” Hilk said.

He currently resides Washington with his wife, Tina, and he has two son, Thorne, 27, and Dawson, 21. Hilk works a North American applications engineer manager for Saint-Gobain, a French multinational corporation.

“I enjoy playing hockey now,” he said. “It’s a lot of late-night games. I’m pretty active with it all year long. I love the competition.”