PIPER PIRATES FOOTBALL

Kansas City Star Newspaper October 1, 2003

Victory says Piper Heading in Right Direction

By DONOVAN CORRIGAN Special to The Star

If this was a statement game, and according to Piper coach Dick Tatro it was, the statement the Pirates made after a thrilling 22-21 come-from-behind victory over Mill Valley on Friday night was loud and clear: Piper has become one of the better Class 4A programs in the area.

"My goal when I came here (Piper) was to build a top 4A program. We are moving in the right direction," Tatro said. "I told them that to be the best, you have to beat the best. We work hard every week to achieve that.

"Mill Valley has a great program, and we want to get to that level, so beating them might not mean that we have the same kind of program that they do, but it does show that we are in the ballpark."

Piper won the game in dramatic fashion. Trailing 21-14 with less than one minute left, Piper quarterback Scott Lipovac engineered an improbable 74-yard scoring drive in just 57 seconds. Lipovac's 10-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Hamilton capped off the drive. Piper trailed 21-20 with 1.5 seconds to play.

Lipovac, who beat Mill Valley all game with arm, did in the No. 3 team in The Star's small-class poll with his speed. A senior, Lipovac outraced Mill Valley defenders to the right corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion and a 22-21 victory.

Tatro, armed with the knowledge that Mill Valley's power running game would be hard to stop in overtime, decided to go for a two-point conversion and the win. The gamble paid off.

"The call to go for two (points) was not that gutsy. They have a great offense for overtime," Tatro said. "The power running game gave them a better chance in that small box of 10 yards. We score easier from 30 yards. They are better at short yardage. We made our two-point conversion earlier, so I was confident we could again."

Tatro had good reason to be wary of the Jaguars' prowess running the ball. David Woods had already rushed for 207 yards and three touchdowns in 33 carries. Woods' 30-yard run gave Mill Valley to a 21-14 lead late in the fourth quarter. Wood scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter to give Mill Valley a 14-6 lead.

Piper, 3-1, tied the game 14-14 early in the fourth quarter on 19-yard run from Shawnn Lampson, and a two-point conversion pass from Lipovac to Hamilton. Lipovac's 53-yard bomb to Chris Shannon in the first quarter gave Piper a 7-0 lead.

Lipovac completed 16 of 26 passes for 215 yards. He rushed for 57 yards in 11 carries. Lipovac has completed 47 of 88 passes for 785 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.

According to Tatro, it's Lipovac's intangibles that make him such a good quarterback and the leader of the Pirates' offense.

"He is a great leader by example off the field as well as on the field," Tatro said of his standout quarterback. "He knows our offense better than anyone. He's fast (4.6 in the 40); he's strong (benches over 200 pounds) and smart (3.5 GPA). A coach couldn't ask more of him. Scott (Lipovac) has been the best."

Piper Upsets Mill Valley

By KEVIN KADUK The Kansas City Star Sat, Sep. 27, 2003

Piper coach Dick Tatro didn't waste much time in making a decision on the age-old dilemma of going for the win or settling for the tie.

Mill Valley had run the ball successfully all night. It was likely to run the ball even more in overtime. Piper had just engineered a 74-yard touchdown drive in 57 seconds, pulling within one point. One and a half seconds remained on the clock. It was Piper's homecoming night. The crowd was noisy. Momentum was on their side. The decision was simple.

"If we went to overtime, we were going to be here all night," Tatro said. "So we decided to strike while the iron was hot and go for two."

Quarterback Scott Lipovac rolled out on the two-point conversion attempt, found no receivers and made a mad dash to the right corner. Three yards later he was in the end zone for a 22-21 victory that upset Mill Valley, ranked No. 3 in The Star's small-class poll.

Prep Zone State Spotlight Wednesday, October 1, 2003

from PrepZone

"PLAYER OF THE WEEK Scott Lipovac, KC Piper 5-foot-11, 160 senior QB

HIS GAME: Lipovac guided Piper to a come-from-behind 22-21 upset of previously unbeaten Mill Valley, connecting on 16 of 26 passes for 216 yards and two scores. He hit 5 of 5 passes and scrambled for 15 yards as the Pirates marched 74 yards in 55 seconds for the win, hitting tight end Jeff Hamilton for a 10-yard TD and then running for the game-winning two-point conversion.

COACH'S COMMENTS: "Scott is pretty calm and cool in those situations," Piper coach Dick Tatro said. "They were dropping eight back in coverage and you have to give him credit because not many high school kids can handle it like he did. I was pretty confident in Scott and our kids they could get it done."

HovpenSports.Com Player of the Week October 2, 2003

from HovpenSports

"Scott Lipovac who won a big one for KC Piper. Scott completed 16-26 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns to send Piper to a 22-21 victory over Mill Valley in an upset. He completed every pass on the final drive that went 74 yards with 57 seconds left in the game and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass with a second. Trailing by a point, Piper went for the two point conversion with the quarterback sprinting to the corner of the end zone for the win. Piper got the ball after a Mill Valley touchdown with 55 seconds left on their own 24 yard line. Twice he spiked the ball to stop the clock. He also ran for 57 yards on 11 carries."

Last – Minute Heroics at Piper

By Jeremy Banks

Kansas City Kansan Newspaper

Question:

How do you get about 20 people to line up outside and chant your name for 10 minutes straight?

Here’s how to do it.

Come into a situation where your team is behind 21-14 with only :57 seconds left to play. Lead the team on a 75 yard drive in those 57 seconds and score on the two-point conversion to win and it’s a lock that it can happen to you too.

Piper High School quarterback Scott Lipovac had fans chanting “We want Scott, we want Scott” after Lipovac led the Pirates 3-1, to a 22-21 come-from-behind win over Mill Valley High School, 3-1, Friday night at Piper High School.

“It hasn’t set in yet, but I’m sure tomorrow I’ll know how much it means,” said Lipovac.

Pirates Go to 4-1 with Win over IMMAC

The Piper Pirates increased their record to 4 wins and 1 loss with a 33-30 win over Immaculata, Friday night at Piper.

The Pirates stormed out to an early 20-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter as the Pirate offense scored on 3 consecutive offensive possessions. Three different receivers scored the first 3 Piper touchdowns on passes from Quarterback Scott Lipovac. Jeff Hamilton caught a pass over the middle and outraced the IMMAC secondary for a 56 yard touchdown pass. On the next possession Shawnn Lampson caught a pass in the back corner of the endzone for a 35 yard touchdown. Then on the second play of the second quarter junior receiver Alex Angelotti scored on a 7 yard touchdown pass.

The Pirate defense played well throughout the game coming up with many key playes and forced 5 IMMAC fumbles. Leading the way in tackles for the Pirates were linebackers Mike Simmons with 16 tackles followed by Aaron Dulaney with 15. Coming up with fumble recoveries for the Piper defense was sophomore Free Safety Steve Hargis with 2 recoveries, and Simmons, Hamilton and Josh Wille with one recovery each.

Lampson finished with 133 yards rushing on 20 carries and rushed for a touchdown on a 5 yard run in the 3rd quarter. Lipovac completed 13 of 23 passes for 209 yards and had 4 touchdown passes. Senior tight end Jeff Hamilton had seven pass receptions for 128 yards and caught 2 touchdown passes.

The defensive play of the game came late in the 4th quarter on a play where the IMMAC quarterback broke loose on a long run deep into Piper territory. Defensive end Josh Wille raced down the field and caught the runner from behind preventing an IMMAC touchdown and helping preserve the win for the Pirates.