Rich Lipani arrived at the top of the Section V football all-time coaching wins list with a pile of points.
Lipani, in his 38th season as Hilton's coach, and 41st overall, picked up his 230th varsity win Sept. 25, when the Cadets rolled to a 54-8 victory over Irondequoit. Dave Whitcomb, the only coach in Section V Football history to win Section V championships with three different teams, also has 230 wins in retirement.
"He actually hired me for my first job, the JV coach at Aquinas in 1985," Lipani said. "He was the head coach at Aquinas that year, and I knew him from when I was in high school, he was running a bunch of football camps."
Hilton remains undefeated after its fourth victory, perhaps the team's most dominant win this fall. The Cadets
rolled to 489 yards of total offense and intercepted three Irondequoit passes.
"Maybe one time since last November," Hilton senior offensive lineman Zachary DeMarte said about the number of times Lipani talked about his place in Section V Football history.
The next chance for the Cadets to give Lipani sole possession of the record is Oct. 2, when they play at Webster Schroeder. The Monroe County Division I matchup between teams in Class A1 kicks off at 7 p.m.
"I've been doing it a long time," Lipani said. "So, if we didn't have a lot of wins, I'd be doing a crappy job.
"It just means that we're 4-0. We're happy to be 4-0, we gotta keep rolling here."
James Johnson, who grew up in the city of Rochester, has worked as a full-time journalist covering high school sports for the Democrat and Chronicle since 1996. Follow him @jjDandC on X (Twitter) and Instagram. Please contact him at JAMESJ@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Hilton coach tied Section V's all-time wins record and can break it Friday
