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11/29/2022 11:37 AMHaddam-Killingworth entered their Thanksgiving rivalry game on Nov. 22 with their playoff hopes on the line. The Cougars fell by a score of 28-8 to Valley Regional-Old Lyme. The loss dropped the Cougars to 6-4 and ultimately on the outside looking in on the Class S playoff picture. VR-OL earned a playoff spot with the win and Cromwell’s victory later in the week.
The Cougars were held scoreless for much of the contest until senior captain Tate Callender broke through for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, preventing the shutout.
While disappointed to miss the postseason, H-K Head Coach Tyler Wilcox, just having completed his second season in the role, is positive about his team’s trajectory. “I thought the kids made a great improvement from last year,” Coach Wilcox said. “We went 2-8 last year, we lost a couple of those close games, we were able to get over the hump this year, especially beating North Branford 15-14, that was a game we gave away last year, the kids worked all off-season, they put in the work, the coaches put in the work and you saw it on the field this year.”
Wins for H-K this year came against Old Saybrook-Westbrook (30-0), Windsor Locks-Suffield-East Granby (28-12), North Branford (15-14), Coginchaug Co-op (56-6), Coventry (35-7), and Capital Prep/Achievement First (34-8)
Coach Wilcox feels most for his seniors, who were a large class this year, for coming up just short of a playoff berth in their final season. “We had a big class of seniors, there were
18 of them,” Wilcox said. “It was awesome to end up with a huge senior class that dictated the tempo and attitude for everything we did this season. I feel bad for them, we were inches away, maybe four plays away from that playoff berth, things just didn’t break our way.”
Leading that group of seniors were tri-captains Tate Callender, Alex Phipps and Joe Whiteside. Coach Wilcox added that senior Orion Inkel was a “leader on and off the field” as well for the Cougars.
Callender began last season expecting to be the Cougars’ starting quarterback. A broken wrist during the first quarter of the first game derailed those ideas. Despite that, the senior has carved out a record-breaking role for himself as a receiver. This season, he broke H-K’s receiving yards record while leading the league in receiving yards and touchdowns.
“On offense he’s a plug-and-play guy,” Coach Wilcox said. You can put him anywhere and he’s going to make plays for you…Defensively he played at safety, he played at corner, linebacker…he’s one of those few athletes that can do pretty much everything on the field, we’re really going to miss that next year.”
Callender and quarterback Phipps have played together since youth ball and brought that familiarity to their senior season. The quarterback/wide receiver duo worked together in the off-season and both came into the year with a better understanding of defensive reads. This enabled them to run more complex routes, relying on each other to be on the same page regardless of what the defense ran.
“That was one thing they both brought into the offense this year,” Coach Wilcox said. “[They were] able to take that next step, be able to read defenses, be able to have two-way routes on certain plays where Tate was singled up. Those two took advantage of it this year and it really paid off.”
In year two as the H-K coach, Wilcox felt more freedom to implement his system, especially on offense, where the Cougars spread the ball out more than they have in the past.
“Historically we’ve been a double wing, said Wilcox, “pack it in tight and run the ball 50-75 times a game. That’s been H-K’s way. In college I was more into the spread system, so I brought that system back once I started coaching in 2014 and we’ve adopted it here and there depending on the personnel.”
“This year you really had to pick your poison playing us…If teams wanted to take the run away with Orion we threw the ball with Tate…really just taking what the defense gave us.”
Next year will certainly be an adjustment period for H-K, as they lose those 18 seniors and will need to rely on a much younger core, along with finding their footing with a new quarterback. Coach Wilcox feels that discipline will be a key differentiating factor heading into 2023.
“We’re going to have to be a super disciplined group next year,” said Wilcox. “Losing a lot of playmakers in that senior class, a lot of experience, [we have] a lot of experience in the sophomore and junior class that have played since they were freshmen. They do have the experience I think we’re just going to have to be a very disciplined group.”
While remaining focused on next season, Wilcox has his eyes on the bigger picture. An H-K alumnus, he has been thrilled to see how well the newly implemented youth programs in town have built lasting bonds on the football field starting at a young age.
“They did a great job keeping kids together,” Wilcox said of the town’s youth football programs. “That 2018 class that went to the state championship vowed to stick together from eighth grade to senior year and it paid off. This group did the same and just came up just short. If you’re able to keep those groups in town and keep them together it really pays off in the end.”
The 2022 Haddam-Killingworth roster consisted of: Senior captains Alex Phipps, Tate Callender, and Joe Whiteside. Additional seniors Connor Schipritt, Andrew Nugent, Zenon Kolcio, Jacob Maier, Lawson Doverspike, Orion Inkel, Cavin Napoletano, Logan Rich, Kevin Gamache, Caleb Dias, Jesse Fazzone, Neal Scheppach, Jayden Fulton, Nicholas Frasco, Dylan Coon, and Kevin Fisher. Juniors Eric Vincent, Kevin White, Jake DePino, Jacob McGoey, Lorenzo Rich, Wyatt Solosky, Cooper Pitts, and Luke Dooley. Sophomores Riley Schipritt, Jacob Lamarre, Bryce Lacoss, Timothy Cavrell, Joseph Slane, Michael Brooks, Ryan Rafferty, Jesse LaViola, Michael Gaines, Leo Wolf, Stephen Signore, Gunnar Howes, Lucas Lawlor, Trevor Dixon, Jayden Quinones, Thomas Lundgren, Colin Castagno, Christopher Frasco, Hunter Leslie and James Inkel. Freshmen Joshua Frith, Ian McLean, John Moyher, Caleb McLean, Lucas Dias, Axel Kolcio, Chase Lombardi-Bole, and Marcel Inkel.
The Cougars are led by Head Coach Tyler Wilcox, as well as assistant coaches: Barth Keck, George Callender, Torren Callender, Jon Grasso, and Andrew Wiese.