- April 26, 2024
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The yard sign reads, “A state champ lives here.” It is stuck in the ground next to the entrance to the Matanzas High School weight room.
Cole Hash, the 2023 Class 2A boys state weightlifting champ at 199 pounds, decided to stick the sign there and not in his front yard. The message is not wrong. Hash virtually lives in the weight room.
Hash is a coach’s dream. The senior’s hard work and leadership on the football field and in the weight room have paid dividends for Hash and the Pirates.
“He's done a lot for the school,” said Matt Forrest, Matanzas’ head football and boys weightlifting coach. “He's been a great ambassador.”
Hash was seeded second heading into last spring’s state weightlifting championships, but his successful 360-pound bench press propelled him to the title. He had never attempted a 360-pound bench press before, even in practice.
A four-year football starter, the linebacker not only led the Pirates this season in tackles with 100, he also led the offense with 697 all-purpose yards (417 rushing and 243 receiving).
He helped lead Matanzas to a 7-4 record and its first playoff appearance in three years. But Hash and his teammates played that regional quarterfinal with heavy hearts. Hash’s biggest fan, his sister Abby, 22, lost her battle with cancer three days before the game at Tallahassee Lincoln.
“She passed that Tuesday at 5 o’clock in the morning,” he said. “It was an emotional day, obviously. She battled till the end. She didn't want to give up as much as her body was shutting down.”
We are very proud of his development. It hasn’t been easy for him. He’s been through a lot on and off the field. But he comes through every time.
— MATT FORREST, Matanzas football and boys weightlifting coach
Hash went to practice that day. His family wanted him to be there. He knew Abby would too. She never missed a game or a weightlifting meet, he said.
“Every coach texted me, called me, made sure I was OK,” Hash said. “We're a big family. All the guys on the team texted me, made sure I was all right.”
Abby was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer when Cole was a sophomore. Last February, her cancer had spread and she no longer could attend and record the Pirates’ games in person. Instead, she’d listen on the radio or watch if the games were being streamed.
The Pirates honored Abby in the Lincoln game with blue stickers containing her initials, AH, on the back of their helmets.
“I knew I had to go out and play to the best of my ability for her, because I know that she'd want me to go out and she'd want me to play. No matter what happened, she would be the one that would push me to go play,” Hash said.
I don't think that we could have done anything else that could make her more proud than go to the playoffs. As much as we didn't win, I know she's proud up there watching all of us.”
— COLE HASH on his sister Abby who lost her battle with cancer.
“She was always the biggest, number one supporter, the number one fan, of not just me but of all these guys. And I don't think that we could have done anything else that could make her more proud than go to the playoffs. As much as we didn't win, I know she's proud up there watching all of us,” he added.
Losing was tough, Hash said, as the realization came that it was his final high school football game.
“I had so much fun these past four years. It was a great ride with those guys. High school football is something that you truly need to cherish while you're there, cherish all those memories,” Hash said.
As Hash prepares for his senior weightlifting season and his quest to defend his state championship, he is looking for an opportunity to continue his football career in college. He posted on “X”, formerly Twitter, on Dec. 27 that he has received an offer from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, an NAIA football program. He has had conversations with Husson University in Maine and Centre College in Kentucky, both Division III programs.
“I don't want to give up on my dream just yet,” he said. “I’m just trying to find somewhere to call home to play football, whether that's Division III, NAIA, anywhere. I'll go play anywhere in the country, as long as I get to go play ball.”
Hash wants to major in either business or sports medicine. He said he has developed a close relationship with Matanzas athletic trainer Michael Doersch.
“He helps me with everything, just making sure I can stay healthy,” Hash said. “(After college,) I want to be around the game of football, whether that's coaching or athletic training at some point. I don't see myself going through life without being around sports.”
Hash is not only involved with sports as an athlete, he is also president of the Pirate Athletic Committee, which creates themes for the student sections at Matanzas athletic events and organizes concession stands.
“Being a state champion in weightlifting and a four-year starter for the football team, Cole’s accomplished a lot,” Forrest said. “It hasn’t been easy for him. He’s been through a lot on and off the field. But he comes through every time. We’re just proud of him, and we know he's going to represent not only our school, but our community, very well when he walks out of our doors.”
