[tps_title]Hatboro-Horsham Hatters [/tps_title]
Bob Raines–Digital First Media
Anthony Kwiatanowski blocks for Adam Suder at Hatboro-Horsham football practice July 27, 2016.
Kwiatanowski ready to do it all for Hatters
HORSHAM >> A lifelong ball carrier, Anthony Kwiatanowski also savors being the last line of defense.
“I really like defense. I like coming down the hill and filling the gaps, also playing the ball in the air,” Hatboro-Horsham’s senior free safety and running back said. “I just love everything about it — the zone coverages, man coverages … especially man on man, it’s just who is going to win the battle in the air or on the ground. 
“Being the last line of defense is a big job because you either bring the guy down or he’s popping one for long distance if not a touchdown. I like having that aggressive feel. I like hitting people.”
Kwiatanowski is a driving force on both sides of the ball for the Hatters.
“You can’t really get a better player than that,” said head coach Michael Kapusta of Kwiatanowski. “He’s got such a great attitude and work ethic that he’s really made himself into the player that he is.”
Offensively, Kwiatanowski really started to come into his own last year.
“As our season wore on, he really became the feature back,” Kapusta said. “He scored a lot of touchdowns and had a lot of yards in the second half of the season. So that’s a matter of him getting comfortable in his starting role as the running back and really just working his tail off to become a very good, solid, high school running back.”
Kwiatanowski’s impact is felt whether he has the ball or not.
“He can do it all. He can block very well, he has good vision, runs downhill really hard,” Kapusta said. “He can catch the ball out of the backfield, he can line up in the slot. He can get open, make catches, and he’s just a really good leader.
“He provides such a great example for everybody that as a coach, you wish you could multiply him.”
Kwiatanowski is a one-of-a-kind player. But at the heart of it, he’s instrumental to the Hatters’ team concept.
“It’s not just yourself. It’s not an individual sport,” the senior said. “You can do as much as you think you can by yourself but if you don’t have your team you can’t do anything. It’s more of a brotherhood. You’re going out with your best friends on a Friday night to battle another team or a crosstown rival, so I really enjoy it.
“It’s fun. I like all the hard work, how technical positions are, all the footwork. I just love it all — the contact especially.”
Hatters Bringing the ‘D’
Hatboro’s defense is shaping up rather nicely.
“That’s hopefully gonna be our calling card this year,” Kapusta said. “We have pretty much everybody returning as starters except we’re replacing a corner and a defensive lineman, replacing them with a rotation of guys who are used to playing on Friday nights.
“The rest of the core is guys we had last year so we’re looking for our defense to be aggressive, experienced, and to run around and tackle the football carrier pretty well.”
Twice As Nice
Hatboro-Horsham and Upper Moreland get to play twice a year now — the Hatters took both match-ups last fall — and the two teams wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s awesome. Being in Hatboro, we’re always seeing those guys,” Kwiatanowski said of the two SOL American rivals, “whether it’s at restaurants, at the park. So for us, it really means a lot playing against guys we’re always seeing in town.
“It’s a different feel compared to any other game. There’s a lot of tension, just because we know it’s such a big tradition here at both schools so it’s a real battle. If there’s one game we wanna win, we wanna win against them.”
By Kev Hunter; khunter@21st-centurymedia.com
Who has the best student section?
[totalpoll id=”61531″]
