By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
The Hilton Cadets had just completed another methodical domination of a Section V opponent, this time a 28-0 whitewash of Victor, and head coach Rich Lipani gathered his team for the traditional post-game chat near the end zone.
He immediately mentioned the defense for the shutout, followed by a tip of the cap to quarterback Matt Kosiorek and the receiving corps, which accounted for all four touchdowns.
Then the long-time Hilton coach singled out a play he believed deserved real adulation. But it wasn’t one of four TD passes thrown by Kosiorek, though each was a thing of beauty in their own right, including:
>> The 63-yard strike to senior running back Tyler Reger down the right sideline just 4:27 into the game.
>> The 72-yard on-the-money bomb to Jared Wade that gave the undefeated Cadets a 14-0 lead 69 seconds before the end of the first quarter.
>> Reger laying out while in a full sprint to the back right corner of the end zone to snare Kosiorek’s 26-yard pass for a 21-0 lead 3:52 into the second quarter.
>> Gianluca Auriuso’s ability to come back to the front left corner of the end zone before diving to grab Kosiorek’s 10-yard pass just inches above the turf for the 28-0 lead with 7:31 elapsed in the third quarter.
Instead, Lipani chose to sing the praises of a play that didn’t result in a touchdown and wasn’t part of any scoring drive by the Cadets offense.
Still, that rather innocuous block by senior wide receiver Jared Wade on a screen play – springing senior fullback Calvin Starwald for a 21-yard gain – epitomized what winning teams do.
“That’s what it’s all about, the little things, playing for your teammates,” Lipani said after career coaching victory No. 229, leaving him one shy of Dave Whitcomb’s all-time Section V record.
“Here’s this little guy (Wade is 5-8, 155 pounds) throwing a block that nobody but the coaches even saw. He didn’t have to do that but those are the things that win games.”
Wade didn’t necessarily think it was that big of deal; to him, it was simply Hilton football.
“It’s everyone just doing their job,” he said. “It just shows how much heart we have and how much we deserve what we get.”
What they’ve gotten so far has been quite impressive. Three lopsided victories – 59-34 over Fairport and 41-14 over Penfield before Friday’s blanking of Victor (which fell to 2-1). Much of it has been due to a mostly unstoppable offense.
The Cadets’ first-string offense hadn’t failed to produce points on any drive this season until a minute remained in the first half on Friday, when Reger was stopped on fourth-and-two by Victor senior linebacker Caleb Kelley.
“We have so many different weapons,” Kosiorek said.
Said Starwald: “The O-line has been crushing it.”
That was certainly the case against Victor. After the Cadets defense forced a three-and-out punt on the game’s first drive, with defensive back Jayden Marker breaking up the third-down pass, the offense went to work.
They started with six consecutive runs for gains of 8, 12, 14, 11, 10 and 3 before Reger took off down the right sideline on a pass pattern, caught Kosiorek’s perfect pass in stride around the 20 and sped untouched into the end zone.
“We’d been running it and pounding it in their face and then caught them by surprise with that fade down the sideline,” Reger said.
Wade used his track-star speed to break free for and score on the 72-yard catch-and-sprint TD on the Cadets second possession.
The third scoring drive began near midfield, after Reger’s interception gave Hilton the ball with seven seconds left in the quarter. The Cadets needed only eight plays to go 55 yards, with the final 26 coming on the Kosiorek strike to Reger in the back left corner of the end zone.
“He put it in a spot where the defensive back couldn’t make a play,” Reger said.
Now in his third season as the starter, Kosiorek has developed into multi-weapon threat. He’ll hand it, he’ll run or he’ll throw a perfect tight-spiral laser to one of his many receiving threats.
“He puts a lot of time and effort into it and whatever he gets, he deserves,” Lipani said. “He wants it, he really wants it.”
While Hilton has looked powerful in outscoring three opponents by a combined 128-48, there’s a whole lot of football yet to be played, Lipani said.
“So far we look pretty good but we have to keep getting better,” he said.
Leave a Reply