Looking very much like a well-oiled machine, the Hilton Cadets scored 23 points on their first seven offensive plays on their way to a 44-0 halftime lead and a 58-7 victory over Irondequoit, giving football head coach Rich Lipani his 230th career coaching win.
That ties him with Dave Whitcomb (Fairport, Geneva, Midlakes) for the most football wins in Section V history.
“It means I’ve been doing this a long time and if I didn’t have a lot of wins, I’d be doing a crappy job,” Lipani said. “It means we’re 4-0 and…have to keep rolling here.”
“It means a lot for us because that’s his goal and that’s our main goal to give him that and obviously keep our winning record going, so it’s definitely great,” senior running back/safety Tyler Reger said.
“It (the record) means everyone is working hard,” senior lineman Zachary DeMarte said. “I think it means more to the players because helping out the coaches is the best feeling.”
Whitcomb actually hired Lipani for his first coaching job as a junior varsity coach at Aquinas in 1985. And Lipani used to attend Whitcomb’s football camps while in high school.
“I’ve known him for years – great guy, great coach, and I think the only guy to lead three schools to Section titles,” Lipani said. “It’s an honor to be mentioned in the same breath as him.”
Seniors Calvin Starwald, Gianluca Auriuso, Tyler Reger (2), Jared Wade, and Matthew Kosiorek and junior Kiernan Murphy scored first-half touchdowns for the 44-point half as the Hilton starters played fewer than two full quarters.
Junior Carlos Castillo scored both second-half touchdowns on 11- and 81-yard runs, respectively.
The Cadets ended week four outscoring their opponents 186-55 and entered week four ranked 11th in Class A by the New York State Sportswriters Association.
Some say that this could be the best starting 11 players on offense in the school’s history.
“I think it looks like it right now,” Lipani said. “I’ve been here so long that I can’t remember some of them…but this is a helluva group, and hopefully we can keep it going.”
“I definitely think we’re one of the best around here because we have so many weapons, and our line has been playing amazing lately, and it’s great to run behind them and give our quarterback time to throw, and when he has time to throw, it’s really scary,” Reger summarized.
