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Fall 2008 Season
Hilton Football Fall 2008 Season
Hilton Cadet Football:
http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/music/?hiltoncadetfootball
Hilton defeats Gates Chili to clinch Division I
championship Cadets stun Spartans to remain
undefeated
JAMESJ@DemocratandChronicle.com • Staff
writer October 11, 2008
www.democratandchronicle.com
GATES — Hilton football has a certain
image in the Monroe County league, but quarterback Duell
Smith says there might be more to it than most people
think. The Cadets are tough. They value a hard-nosed
running game. But, apparently, the headset that coach Rich
Lipani wears is not a prop. Lining up,
 then
trying to run over undefeated Gates Chili might not have
moved the Cadets anywhere. Instead, Lipani trusted Hilton's
quarterback and receivers to pass the Cadets over the
Spartans, 42-32, at Gates Chili on Friday night. "I'm
really not surprised at all," Smith said after he threw
three touchdown passes in the matchup of undefeated teams.
"People look at Hilton as a strictly power-running team.
"We are, but it's not like coach is not in the new era."
Adam Gruschow finished with four touchdown catches among his
nine receptions for 146 yards. Smith was 18-for-30 passing
for 227 yards for Hilton (6-0 overall, 4-0 league), now
Monroe County Division I champions after knocking off the
No. 2-ranked Class AA team in the state. Perhaps the game's
most important pass came not from Smith, a 6-foot-2 junior,
but receiver Jeffrey Stanton. The Cadets pulled off a fake
field goal when Gruschow caught Stanton's 16-yard pass with
Hilton ahead 28-25 and 4:25 remaining.
"We knew we were going to use some
trick plays because they can change the game pretty quick,"
Stanton said. The Spartans, who dominated their previous
opponents, were in an unusual state after Stanton's TD
throw: catch-up mode. "It was the first time we had to play
four quarters," Gates Chili coach Jason Benham said. Gates
Chili needed one play to score on its second possession.
Senior Rickey Stevens carried off-tackle, past tacklers and
into the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown. Both teams failed
on their first conversion attempts, so the score was 6-6.
The Spartans moved into the lead during the second quarter
when junior fullback Elijah Thomas pushed his way across the
goal line from 2 yards out, but the Spartans had to settle
for a 12-6 advantage. Gates Chili linebacker Reggie
Pressley hopped on a fumble by the Cadets to give his team
the ball back. The Spartans turned that turnover into a
60-yard possession, the last 40 covered on a heave to Chad
Dillard from quarterback Adam Wacenske. The Spartans had
more issues during the conversion kick attempt but led 18-6
with 1:19 left in the second quarter. Hilton showed off its
two-minute offense, and needed only half that amount of time
to score on a 17-yard reception by Gruschow. A squib kick
that the Spartans had to fall on at the Gates Chili 2 tilted
field position in Hilton's favor to start the second half.
When the Cadets got the ball back, Smith took the team
downfield and Justin Knorr put the ball in the end zone.
Another Smith-to-Dave Smith connection during the conversion
attempt put Hilton ahead 21-18 midway through the third
quarter. A pitch to Stevens ended up on the ground and the
Cadets jumped on the ball. Hilton then went ahead as Smith
launched a 20-yard touchdown throw to Gruschow on first
down. Hilton led 28-18 with 5:16 left in the quarter. The
Spartans answered with a 75-yard, 6 minute, 36-second drive
capped by a 10-yard run by Stevens. The Cadets marched
back, using a trick play where their quarterback slid out
for a pass in a 68-yard drive. Hilton seemed to stall at the
Gates Chili 16. "We weren't expecting it," Gruschow said of
the call for a fake field goal. "He goes 'fake.' "(The
defensive back) started to over run (the throw) and his
fingers skimmed it." Gruschow hung on to the ball. Hilton
held the lead, despite a another TD run by Stevens and an
onside kick Gates Chili recovered during the final 2:30.
Hilton
(5-0) at Gates Chili (5-0), 7 p.m., Friday, October 10 at
G-C
Staff reports Democrat & Chronicle
October 10, 2008
www.democratandchronicle.com
This could be the headliner of the
headliners. Gates Chili has not been challenged . The
Spartans average margin of victory is 35.6 points. A game
against Hilton, no matter if the Cadets are up or down, is
almost always viewed as a challenge. And the Cadets are up
this season. "This is great,'' Hilton coach Rich Lipani
said. "This is what you hope for, to get into games like
this. These kids nowadays work really hard. This is why."
Imagine the pats on the back for the Cadets if they topple
the state's second-ranked Class AA team. They could also
position themselves to become the No. 1 seed in the Section
V tournament. Forget any of that if Hilton fails to stop
Gates Chili's running game. Gates Chili senior running back
Rickey Stevens pushed his total to 1,006 yards last week. He
averages more than 10 yards a carry and has scored 14
touchdowns. The Hilton defense's list of concerns doesn't
end with Stevens and Gates Chili's usually solid offensive
line. Senior fullback Elijah Thomas has turned short passes
into long touchdown plays. And don't forget senior receiver
Chad Dillard, a 6-foot-4 inch mismatch for defenses. The
Spartans have not turned to the 2007 All-Greater Rochester
pick a great deal this season. "They are as good as any team
has been around here since the Webster powers," Lipani said.
"Great skill players and athletic linemen." Hilton senior
running back Justin Knorr is listed at 5-7, 170 pounds but
blasts into tacklers as if he was much larger. He has 800
yards and 11 touchdowns on 117 carries. Junior quarterback
Duell Smith, 45 of 70 passing for 855 yards and 7
touchdowns, seems to click with Hilton's receivers and tight
end. Jeff Stanton, Adam Gruschow and Dave Smith all are
6-feet or taller and do not need perfect passes to come up
with the ball. For more Hilton Cadet Football:
http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/music/?hiltoncadetfootball
Hilton
remains undefeated with win over Fairport
Staff reports Democrat & Chronicle
October 4, 2008
www.democratandchronicle.com
Senior running back Justin Knorr rushed
for 143 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries as host
Hilton remained undefeated with a 35-12 victory over
Fairport Friday in a Monroe County game. The Cadets (5-0)
are ranked third in the Democrat and Chronicle large schools
coaches poll and play at top-ranked Gates Chili (4-0) next
Friday night. Junior quarterback Duell Smith was 11-for-14
passing for 188 yards and one touchdown, a 1-yard pass to
his cousin, Dave Smith. Hilton had 379 yards of total
offense. Senior linebacker Matt Schickler had 10 tackles,
an interception, fumble recovery and a sack as the Cadets
limited the Red Raiders (2-3) to 218 yards of offense.
Fairport 0 6 0 6 — 12 Hilton 14 7 0 14 — 35 H—Justin Knorr 1
run (Duell Smith kick) H—Knorr 2 run (Duell Smith kick)
F—Geoff Soja 1 run (kick failed) H—Knorr 19 run (Duell Smith
kick) H—Knorr 28 run (Duell Smith kick) H—Dave Smith 1 pass
from Duell Smith (Duell Smith kick) F—Andrew Kristy 5 pass
from Soja (pass failed)
Hilton
stops Pittsford in a battle of Monroe County unbeatens in
football
Knorr's school-record 311 yards
helps the Cadets upend Pittsford James
Johnson • Staff writer • September 27, 2008
www.democratandchronicle.com PARMA – No tricks.
No gimmicks. No doubt. That's just how the Hilton Cadets
like to play football, and on Friday night they played an
undefeated Pittsford team. "The play the same style as us,"
Hilton senior defensive end/receiver Jeffrey Stanton said.
"It helps out a little. "We knew they were going to come
right at us." The Cadets not only stood tall but also
flexed their teenaged muscles to win the matchup of
undefeated Monroe County Division I teams, 37-14, at Hilton.
Hilton senior running back Justin Knorr ran for a
school-record 311 yards on 39 carries, including three
touchdowns, and junior quarterback Duell Smith threw for two
scores to push the Cadets record to 4-0 overall, 3-0 league.
About 1,300 people watched Hilton jump to a 14-0 lead,
Pittsford tied the score in a span of a minute and then the
Cadets did what they do best. "Listen to my voice," senior
linebacker/fullback John Velieri said. "I have no voice.
This is the best game I've ever played
in. "It was hard-fought. We made a couple of mistakes
early. When we came out in the second half, we pounded,
pounded, pounded and pounded." Knorr, who carried a left-ha nded
option-pitch from the right-handed Smith 71 yards for
Hilton's first touchdown, added a pair of two-yard scoring
runs with Hilton somewhat comfortably ahead. Smith, whose
older brothers Ty and Jake starred at Hilton, had a hand in
19 of the Cadets' points. "It was something else," Hilton
coach Rich Lipani said of his team's 529 yards of total
offense. "When Pittsford tied the score, I thought, 'Here we
go.' "In the second half, we just took control of the
game. Our offensive line played great. Knorr ran hard."
Lipani and others around Section V football wondered just
how strong the Cadets were. While undefeated, Hilton's first
three opponents this season were winless before this
weekend. "Chris Lopez is a heck of a runner and their
offensive linemen are giants," Lipani said. "I didn't know
if we could stand up all night against that."
Hilton's defense did a reasonable job.
Lopez, a 5-foot-9, 182-pound senior, finished with 109 yards
on 18 carries, including a 71-yarder right down the middle
of Hilton's defense in the second quarter. "At the end of
the first half they had 14 points," Velieri said. "And at
the end of the second half they still had 14 points." The
Cadets scored their first points quickly, as Knorr broke
free for his longest touchdown run during Hilton's first
possession. Pittsford plowed back downfield but was stalled
by a delay of game penalty and then stopped on an
interception by Richard Morabito. The Cadets struck again
in the second. Hilton gained yards in chunks, including a
50-yard run by Knorr, and scored when Stanton made a diving
catch for a 20-yard touchdown reception. Pittsford needed
points, and cut Hilton's 14-point lead when Lopez sprinted
through a huge hole opened by the team's big offensive line.
The Panthers also needed a defensive stop midway through the
second quarter. Junior linebacker Ryan Sullivan gave his
team more than that when he returned an interception 40
yards for a touchdown. Hilton broke the 14-14 tie before
halftime, however. Smith put up a pass that bounced off
someone's pads and into the air. While the Pittsford
defensive back lost sight of the ball, Adam Gruschow kept
track of it and made the catch in the end zone. The 35-yard
touchdown pass with 58 seconds remaining in the second
quarter helped give Hilton a 21-14 halftime lead. David
Smith took a pass in the middle of Pittsford's defense 55
yards to set up a 40-yard field goal by Duell Smith that
gave Hilton a 10-point lead late in the third quarter.
"They are absolutely outstanding," Pittsford coach Keith
Molinich said with respect. "They run the ball well. The
passing game is good. They are going to go a long way."
JAMESJ@DemocratandChronicle.com PHOTO: KRIS J.
MURANTE staff photographer
For more Hilton Cadet Football:
http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/music/?hiltoncadetfootball
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