Hinsdale South rolls past Addison Trail
Even at 0-3, Hinsdale South's football team knew its season goals were still attainable.
Three weeks and three wins later, those goals are looking more realistic.
The Hornets rolled to Friday's 38-13 West Suburban Gold victory at Addison Trail, keeping themselves very much alive for the Gold championship and another playoff berth.
"We played as a unit," said Hornets defensive lineman Aaron Woods. "We came out on defense and offensively and got the job done. We set the tone, we win the game."
After a scoreless first quarter Hinsdale South (3-3, 3-1) seized command with 21 straight second-quarter points to build a 3-touchdown halftime lead. Quarterback Brian Rudolph bulled in from a yard out, then fellow quarterback Justin Kolzow threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Colton Kotecki.
Set up by a D.J. Anderson interception, Rudolph hit Kotecki for a 52-yard scoring pass. With a two-quarterback system, and with big-play receiver Destin Talbert out on Friday, the Hornets still found a way to be effective with the signalcallers combining for 244 passing yards.
"Both guys we have back there are great," said Kotecki, who had 5 catches for 112 yards. "They've both done the work in the off-season. If we just can execute our assignments, we can run it and we can throw it. There's really nothing we can't do."
Addison Trail (2-4, 1-3) tried to rally in the second half. Bobby Daniels, who threw for 150 yards, set up Nick D'Ambrose's 1-yard scoring run with a 41-yard pass to Darrion Conrad.
The Blazers got the ball back twice more with a chance to slice further into the deficit but couldn't do it. Kolzow's 77-yard touchdown pass to Karol Lipiszko and Jacob Brocato's 28-yard field goal put the game out of reach at 31-7.
"You can't get down 21-0," said Blazers coach Paul Parpet Jr. "After the game I said to the boys we have to learn how to make a play when we have to make a play. We didn't do that tonight."
D'Ambrose returned a kick 82 yards for a touchdown, but the Hornets capped the night with a 5-yard scoring run by Paris Lewis.
"Every season's kind of a journey, and we learned the first couple of weeks," said Hinsdale South coach Mike Barry. "We took our lumps. Our kids have learned resiliency and how to bounce back, and we're real proud of them."
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