Josh Crissler wants to make the 2008 high school football season a distant memory.

It was a forgettable year. He injured his left knee in the third quarter of Hilldale’s opening game and missed three weeks. He returned to the starting lineup and only to hurt the same knee again and miss another two games.

Neither injury was serious, but they hampered his play — and season.

“It was really a downer,” the Hornets’ defensive end/tight end said. “You’re doing what you love, out here practicing, you get in the game and get hurt. It was bad for my morale.”

But Crissler’s knee and morale can’t be any better these days.

He’s been participating in Hilldale’s weekly passing camp on Tuesdays and had a solid camp at Claremore earlier this spring. Crissler now figures prominently in the Hornets’ plans — on both sides of the ball — for 2009.

Crissler’s impressed Hilldale coach Don Hendrix.

“Josh isn’t a flamboyant kid like some others,” Hendrix said. “He’s not a holler, holler or rah, rah type of guy. It’s good to see him doing things right. He doesn’t get excited about it. He’s very business-like and he’s steady.”

Crissler goes into this season an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier, making him 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds. That will go a long way for him this season as he looks to replace the graduated Tanner Mullens.

“It really helps at defensive end and even a little at tight end,” he said. “It’ll really help in my blocking, too. I’m trying to get stronger for the season.

“I’ve also been working out my knee. It’s easier to run than last year and I can go on it longer. I’ve done squats, leg extensions and a lot of running.”

A knee brace is the only indication of what Crissler had to go through last season. But that hasn’t slowed him down this spring.

Hendrix also sees another factor that’s going to help Crissler this season.

“The 10 pounds makes him a bigger, stronger kid, but his maturity is a good thing,” the Hilldale coach said. “He went through a season last year, even though it wasn’t a great season, but he practiced and played when he could. I look for his maturity to being the difference for him this season.”