High school football: Highland beats Hudson for league title, top playoff seed

HUDSON — Led by four combined turnovers by seniors Evan Foust and Chatham Phillips, the Highland football team turned in a clutch performance for the ages Friday night. The Hornets wrapped up sole possession of the Suburban League National Conference championship and the top seed in the Division II, Region 5 playoffs with a 13-10 victory over Hudson. "It's huge," Foust said. "We came into the National Conference this year, and we set a tone. I'm really proud of the team and how far we came this season." Foust recovered a fumble by Explorers running back Reno Ferri (29 carries, 157 yards, TD) in the third quarter and forced another against Hudson receiver Anthony Paolucci that was recovered by Ben Radigan in the fourth. Foust also hurried Explorers quarterback Hayden Lipinski (8-for-19, 121 yards, 2 INTs) on a fourth-and-7 from the Highland 31-yard line in the second quarter to force an incompletion. That led to a 69-yard, 3:59 drive for a touchdown with 38 seconds left in the half when quarterback Colton Wadle hit Foust over the middle for a 13-yard score and a 13-0 lead. "(The touchdown) was huge, but it wouldn't have happened without the O-line being able to push us down the field like that," Foust said. "Props to them. Us being able to get into the end zone was huge." Getting that touchdown proved pivotal, as Hudson limited the Hornets to just 85 of their 251 yards in the second half. Levi Clark (7 carries, 55 yards), Wadle (9, 53) and Anthony DePompei (15, 51) led a balanced running attack for Highland, though 21 of Clark's yards came on a run in which the Explorers recovered a fumble in the first quarter. Wadle finished 5-for-15 for 67 yards and an interception. Hudson rallied in the second half, getting a 26-yard field goal from Xavier Pallo with 4:31 left in the third before Ferri cut the Hornets' lead to 13-10 with a 7-yard touchdown following Keswick Ritley recovering a muffed punt on the Highland 29. Foust's forced fumble followed on the ensuing drive Hudson got one last chance when it forced Highland's fifth punt and started on the Explorers 35. On third-and-10, Lipinski found Gavin Hitchcock for a 40-yard diving catch along the sideline that set up a 42-yard field goal attempt by Xavier Pallo, but he missed wide left for the second time on the evening. That set up Highland's fourth win of the season by four points or fewer. "In those games, we're always prepared for when the situation comes," Phillips said. "It helps us all build trust in one another." After Clark's fumble, Phillips intercepted Lipinski for the first time to stop that drive. His second interception set up a 38-yard field goal by Jonah Kowza for a 6-0 lead. "We stress every week, staying in the right position at safety," Phillips said. "It felt amazing to do my job and be in the right spot. "I've got to give props to our scout team. I'm going against the best receivers, Anthony DePompei, Jake Weber, Ben Radigan, so they always get me prepared." Kowza hit from 32 yards earlier in the second quarter. With 10:48 left and a chance to expand the lead to 16-3, Kowza's 46-yard attempt was blocked off the edge by William Sutton. Hudson moved into Highland territory 10 times, but only came away with 10 points due to the Hornets' propensity to make big plays. The Explorers threw an interception, missed two field goals, turned the ball over on downs, fumbled twice, punted once and had a drive end by halftime on the Highland side of the field. "Words can't even explain it," Hornets defensive end Lukas Grillis said. "Starting the season, we're in a new league and hearing every talk that we're going to go 6-4, which I thought was B.S. Going 9-1 and winning the Suburban League is probably the best thing we did all year." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Highland 13, Hudson 10 HIGHLAND 0 13 0 0 — 13 HUDSON 0 0 3 7 — 10 Second Hi — Jonah Kowza 32 field goal, 4:49. Hi — Kowza 38 field goal, 7:43. Hi — Evan Foust 13 pass from Colton Wadle (Kowza kick), 0:38. Third Hu — Xavier Pallo 26 field goal, 4:31. Fourth Hu — Reno Ferri 7 run (Pallo kick), 7:21. &emsp;&emsp;Hi &emsp;&emsp;Hu First downs &emsp;&emsp;16 &emsp;&emsp;17 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;41/184 43/194 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;4.5 &emsp;&emsp;4.5 Passing &emsp;&emsp;5/15 &emsp;&emsp;8/20 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;67 &emsp;&emsp;121 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;56/251 63/315 Punting &emsp;&emsp;5/32.8 3/42.0 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;6/55 &emsp;&emsp;4/40 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;2/1 &emsp;&emsp;2/2 RUSHING: Highland — Levi Clark 7-55, Wadle 9-53, Anthony DePompei 15-51, Colton Winston 8-20, Frankie Iannaggi 1-6, Team 1-(-1). Hudson — Reno Ferri 29-157, Hayden Lipinski 12-30, Anthony Paolucci 2-7. PASSING: Highland — Wadle 5-15-67-1. Hudson — Lipinski 8-19-121-2, Team 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING: Highland — Jake Weber 2-26, Iannaggi 1-21, Foust 1-13, DePompei 1-7. Hudson — Gavin Hitchcock 2-61, Mark Salem 1-25, Paolucci 2-21, Benjamin Hegedish 1-8, Ferri 1-4, Keswick Ritley 1-2. MISSED FIELD GOALS: Highland — Kowza 46 (BLK). Hudson — Pallo 24 (WL), 42 (WL).