By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
HILTON, N.Y. — It was perhaps the longest delayed-reaction celebration ever for a waning-seconds, game-winning touchdown.
Even though McQuaid Knights senior running back Zach Couch – buried somewhere beneath a pile of bodies at the goal line – knew he had scored, it took a good seven or eight seconds for the officials to determine the football did indeed reach the end zone.
The delay was so long, in fact, that McQuaid coach Bobby Bates was yelling for a time out so the Knights could plot strategy for the next play.
But then the touchdown was confirmed and, with 18 seconds remaining, visiting McQuaid had turned a 24-21 deficit into a 28-24 victory over the Hilton Cadets at LeBeau Field.
In this Friday night midseason battle of Section V Class AA unbeatens, the Knights (4-0) again bent several times but refused to be broken.
“We knew it was going to be a brawl coming in,” Couch said. “It’s two physical teams with power, run-style offenses.”
And two teams that were able to demonstrate big-play ability time and time again. Twice Hilton scored fourth-quarter touchdowns to take the lead. Twice the Knights retaliated on their next possession, which is why they prevailed in the showdown between two of the premier teams in Section V.
“I think every game is a statement,” Couch said, “especially when we show how resilient we are.”
If that’s the case, then it’s been four weeks of loud-and-clear statements. In the season opener at Lancaster, the Knights erased a 14-0 deficit and then battled their way to a 27-26 victory in double overtime.
In Week 2 against Rush-Henrietta, they trailed 37-34 with 1:55 remaining and the ball at their own 22. All they did was march down the field to score – with 17 seconds to spare – to win 40-37.
And then last week against Penfield they had no difficulty scoring – but neither did Penfield. McQuaid survived the last-possession-wins offensive showcase 36-28.
“Talk about the word resiliency defining these kids,” Bates said. “I thought the Lancaster game had a season’s worth of adversity, and then we play Rush-Henrietta and it’s a last-minute touchdown. And then we go back-and-forth with Penfield in Week 3.”
Somehow they found a way to produce an encore on Friday night, twice falling behind in the fourth quarter, then twice rallying to regain the lead.
John DiBattisto’s 12-yard burst into the end zone with 11:11 remaining in the game gave the Cadets (3-1) a 17-14 lead. McQuaid, however, responded with a 58-yard drive, capped by Couch’s 2-yard TD run for a 21-17 lead with 6:11 to play.
Not to be outdone, Hilton drove 54 yards in eight plays, ending when sophomore quarterback Matthew Kosiorek fired a bullet over the middle to senior flanker Nolan Tydings. The 17-yard TD strike put the Cadets ahead 24-21 lead with just 1:26 remaining.
“Our kids played great, we made some big plays,” Cadets coach Rich Lipani said.
So, too, did McQuaid. And that 1:26 left on the clock was more than enough time for the Knights’ no-panic offense, even starting from its own 40.
“We do this in practice all the time so we’re ready for these situations,” McQuaid junior wide receiver Xavier Cox said. “Just stay calm, do your 1/11th and make plays.”
Cox made perhaps the biggest play. On third-and-four from the Knights 46, he caught a pass from quarterback Will DiMarco and turned it into a 27-yard gain for a first down at the Hilton 27.
Three plays later, Couch scored the winning touchdown.
“What’s good is that nobody on this team cares who gets the credit,” Bates said. “We talked all week about team, team, team. Nothing is bigger than the team.”
For Hilton, the loss was crushing. They had built a 10-0 lead in the first 22 minutes with a 24-yard field goal by Tyler Reger late in the first quarter and a 17-yard strike from Kosiorek to Reger with 2:10 left in the second quarter. Then they took 17-14 and 24-21 leads in the fourth quarter, only to lose.
“We weren’t able to stop them since the last drive of the second quarter,” Lipani said. “They’ve got a great quarterback (DiMarco), they’ve got good receivers, good running backs. They’re a very good team.”
I think McQuaid has proven time and time again they have “no quit in them“. This was the game between two teams that just didn’t stop right down to the last whistle. Tremendous display of determination and talent on both sides of the ball.