The Hilbert Hawks football program will host its first ever Division III game this Saturday.

The school announced the expansion of its athletic programs last year to much fanfare, with the new football team being the marquee addition, bringing the extremely popular sport to campus. The upcoming game against Denison University at 12 p.m. on the St. Francis High School field.

Head Coach Jim Kubiak said this first season the focus will be on helping the new players adjust from high school to a college athletics schedule and responsibility.

“That’s a big task,” he said. “We don’t have seniors and juniors who have been through it, so it’s creating these good work habits that’s been the crux of our work so far.”

Kubiak said that Hilbert has attracted many talented players. The task at hand remains getting them to buy in and develop the work habits that will make them successful student athletes.

“I’ve seen great effort go into that,” Kubiak said. “We’re not as proficient as we need to be, but we are moving in the right direction.”

The Hawks won their first exhibition game defeating St. John Fisher College’s junior varsity team 17 – 14 late last month.

Tim Siel, the school’s athletic director, said his department is very excited to be hosting the college’s first football game this weekend.

“The first game is culmination of a lot hard work, by our players, coaches, support staff and campus community,” Siel said. “Seeing our student-athletes compete on the field, in front our their friends and families, will be rewarding for everyone. The growth of our department over the past 10+ months has been remarkable, and we look forward to continuing the that growth through all of our athletic programs.”

Siel said his department understands it will take time to build success in the program, but that they have already seen significant progress.

“Our coaching staff is looking for steady improvement and effort throughout the season,” he said. “We are competing against teams and students-athletes with more experience than us, but if we can continue to improve throughout the season our program will be fine. We have already seen great improvement since the start of training camp. Continuing that growth will be the measure of a successful season.”