Hoover’s 300th win looks just like old times

“We came in today knowing it was coach’s 300th win. It was all about him. Every second, every sweat, every tear, every drop of blood, it was all for him.”

By Rob Centorani

Staff Writer

HARPURSVILLE — The system on display Saturday had to be familiar to anyone who’s worn a Walton uniform during Jim Hoover’s tenure, from that first squad in 1976 right on through.

Heck, even some old-time Vestal graduates, stars from yesteryear such as Bobby Campbell or John Schultz, probably would have nodded approvingly at the sight of the Warriors on Saturday.

Though much has changed since Hoover took over the program during Gerald Ford’s administration, much also has stayed the same.

Like many of the 299 that came before it, victory No. 300 in Hoover’s impeccable career at Walton looked very familiar. Saturday’s 20-6 Section Four Football Conference non-division victory over Harpursville-Afton contained all that has made Walton football the envy of every program in these parts.

Those carrying the football dealt out as much punishment as they received, squeezing every yard out of every attempt. The beefy and mobile linemen created creases. And the defense was as aggressive and hard-hitting as ever.

In a light but persistent rain that favored Walton’s grind-it-out approach, coach Hoover hugged his son Adam — an assistant coach — as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

This coaching gene runs strong in the Hoover family.

Jim’s late father, Dick, steered Vestal to 182 victories in a career that ended in 1976. When Dick retired from Vestal, he headed over to Walton to help his son. Now Adam, who had 24 victories over seven seasons as Oneonta High’s head coach, is aiding his dad.

“The time he puts into it, the scouting he puts into it and the preparation for practice, (assistant) coach (Gary) Backus showed me a file he had from my father’s first year in 1976, and the practice plans are almost the same,” said Adam Hoover, who left OHS after the 2012 season. “You have to be organized when you’re working with 16- to -18year old kids, you have to have patience and you have to be able to relate to them — and it’s not the easiest age to relate to sometimes.”

Jim Hoover has guided the Warriors to five unbeaten seasons (1987, 1989, 1991, 1994 and 2007), and 12 other Walton teams have finished with one loss (1978, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997-2000, 2002 and 2008).

All told, Hoover’s record stands at 300-79-1, with 13-0 state championships seasons in 1994 and 2007 included.

“Now that it’s happened, it’s more important than before it happened,” said Hoover, the fifth coach in New York state history to amass 300 victories, joining Howie Vogts (364), Vin O’Connor (340 to start the season), Brent Steuerwald (318) and Tony DeMatteo (311 to start the season). “It’s something we didn’t talk about all week. It never was mentioned. What was important was to get a victory against a pretty good football team to show that we’re a pretty good football team.”

Though Hoover said the milestone wasn’t brought up in the days leading up to the game, every player decked out in orange and white knew what Saturday’s victory meant, as all the postgame hugs and congratulations suggested.

“Today’s game was all about coach,” said junior back Dawson Beers, who rushed for all of his gamehigh 104 yards in the second half. “We came in today knowing it was coach’s 300th win. It was all about him. Every second, every sweat, every tear, every drop of blood, it was all for him.”

Added immovable defensive tackle Tyler Griffin: “It’s an unbelievable honor to be part of such a prestigious football family and to be here for his 300th win is indescribable.”

So much about the manner in which this win came and the sloppy conditions it was played under appeared fitting, especially how it ended.

Trailing by 13 points in the fourth quarter, Harpursville- Afton (0-2) took over at Walton’s 33 following a bad snap that led to Warriors punter Robert Merrill taking a 15-yard loss.

When the Hornets’ Dillion Lindsey swept left on a 20-yard run, H-A had a first down at Walton’s 11. But athletic quarterback Devon Dean was stopped for no gain on first down, Shaun Sweet lost 1 yard on second down, and Dean threw incomplete on third down. Then Griffin, a 6-foot-3, 246-pound senior who spent a large portion of this afternoon in the Hornets backfield, busted through the line and tackled Dean for a 3-yard loss before the play could get started.

“That’s the name of the game,” Griffin said of his penetration that disrupted so many Harpursville plays. “If you can stop where they want to go, they can’t function as a team.”

At that point, one Walton follower yelled, “Start a drive that takes 7 minutes and 38 seconds” — the exact time remaining on the clock. That’s just what the Warriors did.

Walton ran the final 14 plays, all the ground, churning out consistent gains — something that has been a staple of Hoovercoached teams.

Beers carried 10 times for 58 yards on the drive, using his 170-pound frame as a battering ram, bouncing off defenders for sizable gains.

“That’s just, get every bit of yardage for coach,” said Beers, who probably gained 50-plus yards after contact.

The Warriors (2-0) opened the scoring in the first quarter. Dean set up to punt from the goal line. Immediate penetration up the middle led to a block that was recovered by Merrill in the end zone to make it 6-0 with 4:46 left in the first quarter.

Senior quarterback Trevor Zandt made two big plays as Walton doubled its lead in the second quarter. On the last play of the first quarter, Zandt faked a handoff. The right-hander then rolled left before setting his feet and sending a long pass to Merrill for a 55-yard gain that gave Walton possession at Harpursville’s 27. One play later, Zandt again dropped to pass but was pressured immediately. He side-stepped a defender, then found a seam in the middle before cutting to his left and up the sideline on a 25-yard scoring run.

On the opening possession of the third quarter, the Warriors drove 59 yards in six plays to extend their lead to 20-0.

It started with Zandt again rolling left before hitting tight end Matt Sinistore on the left side. After making a fingertip grab, Sinistore turned it up field for a 25-yard gain.

Five plays later, Beers ran around the left end for a 7-yard scoring run. His twopoint conversion run made it 20-0.

Though Beers, Jacob Wright (11 carries for 57), Zandt (6-54) and Quinn Harby (10-32) had big days on the ground, those up front — tackles Dillon Kilpatrick and Charles Naden, guards Griffin and Kevin Malia, and center Lucas Hammond — were equally important. The big fellows consistently gave Walton backs holes through which to run, and it added up to 261 yards on the ground.

Dean set up Harpursville’s third-quarter touchdown with an impressive 39-yard run. It appeared Walton had him stuffed in the backfield, but the speedy and shifty Dean broke out of a tackle and raced up the right sideline to the Warriors’ 2. Lindsey scored on a 3-yard run one play later.

The Hornets finished with 132 yards on the ground and 141 total yards. Dean got loose three times with gains of 30, 33 and 39 yards. Harpursville’s other 42 plays from scrimmage netted 39 yards.

Harby and Griffin had two sacks apiece, leading a Walton defense that stopped Harpursville for negative yards on 13 plays.

“Defensively, our kids played one heck of a football game,” Hoover said.

Walton 20, H-A 6

Walton 6 6 8 0 – 20 Harpursville-Afton 0 0 6 0 – 6

FIRST QUARTER

W – Robert Merrill recovered blocked punt in end zone (run failed), 4:46

SECOND QUARTER

W – Trevor Zandt 25 run (run failed), 11:11

THIRD QUARTER

W – Dawson Beers 7 run (Dawson Beers run), 9:23 H – Dillion Lindsey 3 run (run failed), 3:08

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Walton rushing: Quinn Harby 10-32, Christian Rutherford 3-15, Jacob Wright 11-57, Nick Mills 1-2, Trevor Zandt 6-54, Alex Sorochinsky 2-5, Dawson Beers 18-104, Austin Brooker 2-7, Robert Merrill 1-(1-15).

Harpursville-Afton rushing: Devon Dean 17-85, Mitchell Weist 2-2, Dillion Lindsey 11-41, Shaun Sweet 8-4.

Walton passing: Trevor Zandt 3-for-7, 93 yards.

Harpursville passing: Devon Dean 1-for-7, 9 yards.

Walton receiving: Robert Merrill 2-68, Matt Sinistore 1-25.

Harpursville receiving: Dylan Smith 1-9.  

Walton cruises past Harpursville

Pressconnects.com---Legendary Walton head coach Jim Hoover won his 300th game as his team defeated host Harpursville 20-6 on Saturday.

The Warriors ran the ball 54 times for 265 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Dawson Beers handled the majority of the workload, taking 18 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown. Teammates Jacob Wright and Trevor Zandt finished with 55 rushing yards apiece, with Zandt having a 17 yard touchdown with about 11 minutes to go in the first half.

Zandt added 92 yards through the air, 67 of which went to Rober Merrill. Merrill scored the game’s first touchdown in the opening quarter when he recovered a blocked punt in the endzone.

Harpursville was led by quarterback Devon Dean (16 carries, 77 yards) and Dillion Lindsey (8 carries, 34 yards, TD).

First quarter

W—Robert Merrill punt block (run failed)

Second quarter

W—Trevor Zandt 17 run (run failed)

Third quarter

W—Dawson Beers (Beers run)

Individual statistics

Rushing — Walton, Quinn Harby 9-26, Trevor Zandt 7-55, Jacob Wright 11-55, Dawson Beers 18-106, Austin Brooker 2-11, Alex Sorachinsky 2-6, Robert Merrill 1--16, Christian Rutherford 4-18. Harpursville, Devon Dean 16-77, Dillion Lindsey 8-34, Shaun Sweet 8--3, Mitchell Weist 3-2.

Passing — Harpursville, Devon Dean 1-7-0-9.

Receiving — Walton, Robert Merrill 1-67, Matt Sinistore 1-25. Harpursville, Dylan Smith 1-9.