HHS football squad secures winning season

By: Kyle Moylan
   The Hightstown High School football team didn’t just win 40-7 at Allentown this past Saturday, it did it with an amazing amount of class.
   The Hightstown starters played hard and fantastic football for a half. They then stepped aside and watched as the backups continued what was a fulfilling day for Coach Ed Kopp.
   "It’s not about egos," Kopp said. "It’s about the kids getting a chance to play and building a program."
   In truth, the score could have been almost anything Hightstown wanted it to be. With Kenny Amponsa in the game and running at his best, Hightstown led 21-0 after the first quarter.
   Amponsa scored on a 60-yard run the first time he touched the ball. Before four minutes had been played, Amponsa added a touchdown run of 25 yards as well. Mike Bernazal’s 5-yard touchdown run and three extra points by Matt Fried completed the scoring in the first quarter.
   A couple of fumbles slowed Hightstown in the second quarter. Even so, Hightstown added to its lead as Joe Medici threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Greg Kryzsiak.
   Hightstown was able to play around the turnovers because its defense had total control of the game.
   "The coaches really prepared us well," Matt Stinson noted. "We didn’t see anything from Allentown today that we didn’t see in practice this week."
   As a result, Allentown didn’t have a first down in the first half. Allentown carried the ball 14 times in the first half and managed a combined negative 31 yards. Even Allentown’s lone completed pass of the first half resulted in a 6-yard loss. Total it up. Hightstown’s defense pushed Allentown back 37 yards during the first half.
   Even when Hightstown went to its backups in the third quarter, that number grew. Until a 17-yard run on the last play of the third quarter, Allentown didn’t have a first down and had a combined total of negative 53 yards of offense.
   "Going into each game, the three of us (Fried, Marc Wargo and Stinson) try to outdo each other," Stinson noted. "No disrespect to Allentown, but we really wanted to get a win."
   West Windsor South had ended Hightstown’s unbeaten streak the previous week.
   "Coming off the loss to West Windsor South, we wanted a win more than anything," Fried said. "We were fired up and ready to play."
   And after a half, they were also willing to step aside and cheer on their teammates.
   Kopp used a lot of the older kids that don’t get much playing time in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, he played his J.V.
   Hightstown still played well. Jon Lee-You scored in the third quarter on a 1-yard run. In the fourth quarter, Tahj Thomas broke free for a 47-yard score.
   "We’re much more of a team this year," Wargo said. "Last year it was all blame and no game. No more of that."
   Of course, this means as much to a coach as a 40-7 win.
   "A win is a win," Kopp said. "It doesn’t matter by how much. We took the pounding last year. This year we want to win with class. That’s what makes you feel good."
   That’s true, but clinching a winning season is also nice.
   "I would have taken four wins at the start of the year," Kopp smiled. "Six is great."
   And watching the way the Hightstown coaches and players pulled up on Allentown, success really couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of guys.
   NOTES:In a game with major playoff implications, Hightstown will play at Hamilton 2 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are in the hunt for a spot in the Central Jersey Group III field. Hightstown currently is in third place with 47 power points. Hamilton is in seventh place with 35 points. The top eight teams make the playoffs and the winner of this game would get a power point bonanza.