Titanic Thunder: Froman’s playmaking ability headlines West Hancock offense

Published 5:59 pm Wednesday, July 29, 2026

HAMILTON, Ill. — West Hancock senior wide receiver Hunter Froman has emerged as one of the best playmakers in the Tri-States area.

Froman uses his 6′ 4″ frame to his advantage and his athleticism to spread the field for the Titans.

“I feel like I can do anything,” said Froman, who has recently committed to Western Illinois University men’s basketball. “Throw it to me in the flats. Throw it deep. He can run it with me. Just whatever they need.”

The numbers speak for itself, with Froman catching 51 passes for 916 yards and nine touchdowns, while scoring an additional three touchdowns on the ground and another on a kickoff return in 2025.

As a sophomore in 2024, Froman caught 54 passes for 849 yards and nine touchdowns.

“I think (Froman) is the best wide receiver in the area, and his play speaks for it,” said Titans head coach Coy Dorothy. “He’s just such a dynamic player that can really just do everything that you want as a wide receiver. He can play in the inside and outside. He’s fast and quick. He can make plays.”

Besides his play, Froman is also valued for his leadership.

“(Froman’s) leadership has been really outstanding for me and the coaches,” said Dorothy. “We see him kind of pick the younger kids up. It doesn’t matter the age of the younger kids, he’s always there to help them, and I just think that really speaks to Hunter as a person. He’s just a great dude that is willing to help anybody.”

Froman also opens up opportunities for other receivers with the attention being on him.

“Hunter is a great player and he’s somebody that the other team has to absolutely respect,” said Titans senior running back Chandler Dadant. “They probably have to double (cover) him. He can do whatever to anybody, it doesn’t matter who it is.”

Although West Hancock graduated Jordan Crowley, who caught 29 passes for 370 yards and three touchdowns, they have several other options to compliment Froman.

West Hancock has high hopes for senior Eli Carel, a 6′ 3″ receiver, as well as sophomore Benton Boley.

“Eli Carel came back out after playing his first two years, and he’s going to be a bigger body ,” said Dorothy. “We have a sophomore kid, Benton Boley, who’s going to play the slot position. He’s a smaller body, but he’s fast. Then, we have a collective wide receiver group of Hunter Whibley, Blake Hopp and Brenden Phillips.”

Just as important to the Titans’ offense is Dadant, who provides the punch on the ground as its No. 1 running back.
“I think it’s definitely getting between the tackles,” said Dadant on his strength as a running back. “Just whatever we need, I can get it.”
Dadant finished last season with 175 carries for 1,009 yards and 11 touchdowns, also catching four passes for 52 yards and another score.
“Chandler is the heartbeat of our football team,” said Dorothy. “He has really been that for the past two years. He’s in such an important role at running back and linebacker, and he knows that. What I love about it is that he’s not afraid and he doesn’t shy away. He wants that responsibility and takes it.”
The Titans graduated quarterback Brayden Carter, who completed 109-of-193 passes for 1,628 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions last season.
West Hancock will now turn to senior Wade Gooding behind center, who rejoins the football team after taking his junior season off.
“Wade has played golf the last three years,” said Dorothy. “He played football his freshman and sophomore years and didn’t play last year. It was kind of funny because he was a center and defensive end his freshman and sophomore years. But he can sling the ball around and he’s going to be our quarterback this year.”
Gooding’s teammates are confident he is capable of taking over as starting quarterback.
“He’s getting the hang of it,” said Dadant. “Wade didn’t play last year, but he’s got an arm on him. He can sling it. I grew up with him. We play backyard football and tackle each other all the time. He’s just one of those dudes that’s always been around it.”
Another area of turnover is the offensive line, with West Hancock graduating all five of its starters from last season, including All-Conference linemen Ryan Horn and Gage Charlton.
Senior Logan Baker got some varsity reps on the offensive line last year, and leads a new group of linemen taking over for West Hancock.
“Logan Baker saw quality time on the O-line and D-line, so I kind of count him as a returner on offense,” said Dorothy. “We had a lot of younger pieces, kids that are going to be juniors and seniors but they had some dudes in front of them that didn’t allow them to get playing time last year. So it’s going to come down to having them step up to varsity speed because that’s a lot different than JV. Their size and strength is there.”
West Hancock’s reworked offensive line has been gelling over the summer.
“Honestly, they’re seniors coming in and they’re getting the work in,” said Dadant. “They were behind the dudes that we had last year. So there’s not really too much of a difference.”