Inside a game-winning drive: What we learned in Section V football's Week 5

One similarity stood out between Hilton's recent wins over Webster Schroeder in Week 5 and last year's Section V Class A1 championship game.

Hilton's line is good again.

After Robert Lowry scored Hilton's game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left Friday night, the senior lauded linemen like Anthony Letta for plowing the road during a 22-19 comeback win. Letta played on another strong line last year, guiding the Cadets to over 350 rushing yards during a downpour throughout last year's title game and their 33-point win ended a 28-year title drought.

In Week 5, linemen Letta, Hunter Tracy, Giovanni Mattioli, Matthew Lemmon and Kyle Serow — who forced a safety on defense — were catalysts of both Hilton fourth quarter touchdown drives. Tight ends Conner Bellanca and Brydon Pike also proved to be crucial blockers, particularly amid the final drive as Schroeder coach Mike Stumpf presented heavy boxes with nine-man defensive fronts.

"The line is excellent," Lowry said. "Without them I'm not going to be able to do all the stuff that I'm doing. With them blocking, I can do anything."

Hilton's game-winning drive

Lowry's game-winning touchdown was poetry in motion.

At the one-yard line with 12 seconds left, a clear path developed for Lowry on the right side thanks to pristine blocking. Running back Drew O'Buck blocked far-side outside linebacker Casey Berns, who appeared to be Lowry's mark. Lemmon and Serow doubled end Noah Wittmer. Bellanca cracked the nearside outside linebacker. Running back John DiBattisto engaged with the nearby middle linebacker. Lowry was barely touched on the game-winning score.

"(Lowry) ran great and our offensive line picked him up," Hilton coach Rich Lipani said.

Lipani called for the same off-tackle play throughout Hilton's game-winning 13-play, 76-yard drive that lasted an exhausting six-plus minutes. Quarterback Colton Thorp commanded a wishbone backfield that included Lowry, DiBattisto and O'Buck. One holding penalty brought Hilton back, but the Cadets gained positive yardage every other play. Lowry ran 11 times for 76 yards on runs to the right. DiBattisto gained 10 yards on two carries to the left side.

Lowry's first game-winning touchdown this season came in an overtime win over Fairport in Week 2. He's registered four games with three touchdowns, and has 13 total through the Cadets' 5-0 start. One of the fastest players in Section V, Lowry is capable of scoring on long runs, like the 78-yarder he scored against Rush-Henrietta. But on Friday, Lowry nickel-and-dimed his way down to a 131-yard performance.

"He's a great back. He's got great vision. He's a great breakaway back," Lipani said about the 5-foot-8, 165-pound Lowry. "He's a little kid but he runs hard. I told him from the start that there will be games like this where you're not breaking any long ones, and you're going to have to get those three and four-yard carries. And he did that."

More: Section V football scores for 2023 season

Schroeder defensive stars 'trouble' for Cadets

Noah Wittmer may have been the best defensive player on the field.

The Schroeder senior was a menacing end who recorded a sack and broke into Hilton's backfield constantly. However, Wittmer suffered an apparent leg injured during Hilton's game-winning drive and appeared hampered much of the possession.

A double team forced Wittmer into a player on the first play of the drive. The game stopped to tend to his injury. The senior missed one play before re-entering the game but was seen hobbling. Wittmer was tough and played through it. He even assisted on a few tackles.

Schroeder seniors Brady Miller and Anthony DeRosa were "trouble" at linebacker, forcing holding penalties whenever they couldn't penetrate the backfield when blitzing inside gaps for the 3-2 Warriors. DeRosa made some tackles for losses during the contest from his inside blitz, but found himself out of the play when he crashed the A gap on the Lowry's game-winning score.

"(Wittmer) is fantastic. He gave me a lot of trouble," Lipani said. "Those two linebackers were also giving us trouble. We made a few adjustments and they still gave us trouble. But we found a way to punch it in."

More: 2023 Section V football schedule

Record-breaking duo at Honeoye Falls-Lima

Quarterback Matt Meacham and receiver Andrew Wanzenried each entered the record books at Honeoye Falls-Lima on Saturday.

Meacham's three-touchdown outing gave him 37 for his career. The new mark surpassed Dan Hart's previous total of 36 set in 2015. Wanzenried's two touchdown receptions made him the Cougars' new career leader with 17, eclipsing Paul Schirmers' previous standard of 16 set in 2007.

HF-L is now 3-2 overall after a 46-13 win over Geneva. Coach John Russ has guided his Cougars to three straight wins.

Monroe's margin of victory

How about a plus-200 point differential?

Monroe coach Terrell Cunningham's Red Jackets have outscored teams 218-6 during a 4-0 start. Saturday's 76-0 win over Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton was Monroe's third shutout of the season behind the strong play of Messiah Hampton, Nazhier Wilson and Khaya Moses, to name a few.

Section V football notes

Don't look now but Trent Buttles and Aquinas (3-2) are climbing up the Class AA standings after a 35-point win over Rush-Henrietta. The Irish has a ways to catch up with McQuaid, UPrep and Hilton, which each boasts a 5-0 mark. ... Pittsford kicker Sophia Leitner became the first female in program history to score when she made a PAT during a 42-0 win over Edison Tech. ...Tony Piazza's four touchdowns helped LeRoy become Class C's last unbeaten team with a 17-point win over previously unbeaten Attica/Alexander. ... Clyde-Savannah running back Zymere Smith's third touchdown was the winner of a 48-40 quadruple overtime win over Marcus Whitman/Bloomfield. Smith has over 1,200 rushing yards and is about 500 away from breaking the program's 30-year-old single season rushing record.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V football Week 5 notes: Hilton's line powers a winning drive