Sophomore running back Dillon Philmon ran for 308 yards on a school record 47 carries and scored all four Hilton touchdowns and the seventh-seeded Cadets defense held Webster-Schroeder to just one touchdown in the second half in a 30-20 win over the number two seed in a Class AA quarterfinal football contest.
The Cadets used a ball-control offense throughout to keep the Warriors offense off the field and the strategy worked, thanks largely to the Hilton offensive line consistently opening up holes.
Hilton took advantage of a ten-yard punt on their second offensive possession of the game that started at the Schroeder 31-yard line. Philmon ran the ball all five plays of the drive including a two-yarder into the end zone. Tom Ryan’s extra point made it 7-0 Cadets.
Ted Lawson intercepted a Warrior pass on second down and returned it 14 yards to the Schroeder 25 yard line to again set up a short field for the Hilton offense.
Three handoffs to Philmon – the last a 13-yard scamper – made it 14-0 Hilton.
After Schroeder scored on a 67-yard catch and run on a slant to close the Cadets lead to just a touchdown, the Hilton defense took over for the rest of the first half.
After a Hilton turnover on a muffed punt at their own 30 yard line, the Warriors were knocked back on third-and-two on a tackle in the backfield by Jack Anten, and, when they decided to go for it on fourth-and-four, Reide Metzger came up with the quarterback sack to turn the ball over on downs.
Hilton’s offense then ran off an 18-play drive culminating in a 22-yard field goal by Ryan with just six seconds remaining in the first half to stake the Cadets to a 17-7 lead.
Schroeder missed wide on a field goal attempt on their first drive of the second half, and another field goal attempt was blocked by Hilton junior Nate DelValle on the next possession.
The Warriors scored their second touchdown with 9:06 remaining in the contest to make it 17-14 Hilton, but the Cadets roared back with a 65-yard drive capped by a 44-yard Philmon touchdown run through the line on fourth and three.
The Hilton defense stopped the next two Warrior drives on a fumble recovery by DelValle and an interception by Ricky Lipani before Philmon struck again with a 72-yard score to make it 30-14. Schroeder scored a late touchdown with 31 seconds left, but the two-point conversion attempt failed and Hilton recovered the onside kick to secure the upset.
“Our coaches are the best scouters in the league and they figure what we have to do and when we have to do it,” said Philmon. “They set it up perfectly and stick to the game plan.
“Our offensive line is huge and I really didn’t have to do much and our fullback, Ted Lawson, picking off the linebacker every play. I think this game we had more heart and knew what was on the line and we stuck to it and kept going.”
“He’s (Philmon) been carrying the load for us for most of the year,” said Hilton head coach Rich Lipani. “We had a game plan wanting to control the ball and keep it out of their hands. But more so, it was our defense and played unbelievable—a great team effort.”
In addition to Philmon, quarterback Anten was 3-of-7 for 39 yards passing. Defensively, Lipani and Lawson led with nine tackles each.
Hilton moves on to play third-seeded Rush-Henrietta at Sahlen’s Stadium where they are 0-4 overall.
“We’ve never won at that place, so hopefully we can get our first next week.”
11/3/13
