The last time Hilton football raised the Section V championship trophy over their heads was 1994. That all ended in 2022 as junior running back Robert Lowry and senior Jeffery Broadnax combined for 356 yards rushing as the Cadets crushed Webster-Schroeder 40-7 in the Class A Section V title game.
The Warriors were in control early with a 7-0 lead on their first possession, but Hilton returned serve with a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive capped by senior Luca Dodge connecting on a 27-yard field goal.
Two possessions later, Connor Bellanca got pressure on the Warriors quarterback, forcing an errant throw that Broadnax intercepted. Ten plays later, Lowry had his first touchdown of the game and Hilton took a lead they would never relinquish.
Broadnax finished off the first drive of the second half with a seven-yard touchdown run to make it 17-7 and the Cadets ran off a 12-play scoring drive to start the fourth quarter with Broadnax again finding the endzone.
The Cadets capped their victory as Lowry scampered for a 69-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and senior Cemel Grayson covered a Schroeder end zone fumble for the final tally.
“Before the season even started, I said we had something special,” Broadnax said. “Everybody just bought in each week and each practice; the little details all came into play tonight and we came as victors.”
“We always seemed to run into somebody who can knock us off and was a little bit better than we were, but this year we got knocked off by Schroeder early but kept working…and we did see them again tonight,” Hilton head coach Rich Lipani said.
“A lot of years, a lot of times knocking on the door and come up a little bit short so this year we finally knocked it down.”
Lowry led the way with 218 yards rushing on 18 carries and two touchdowns and was named Offensive Player of the Game. Broadnax had 138 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns and was named the Most Valuable Player.
Junior Brady Quill led the Cadets with ten tackles while senior Nick McMahon had six and senior Karl Khuns added five and was named the Lineman of the Game.
“Our coaches are great – they saw that they had a great game plan and then we switched ours up and they couldn’t adjust and we ran away with it,” junior center Anthony Letta said.
“Coach hadn’t done it for 28 years, but he still stuck with the team because he loves the program and we love him for all the hard work he does for us,” Khuns said.
Hilton was set to host Section VI champ Jamestown in the state quarterfinals.
