Rocket Power
Vito Pilosi remembers those days as a sophomore, thrown into the fray and trying to make sense of a complicated and demanding Slippery Rock High offense.
The game blurred by at a frenetic pace. At times he was overwhelmed. At times, he was overmatched.
But it all led him to now, a senior and in his third year as a quarterback for the Rockets — second season as the full-time starter.
“I've matured a lot,” Pilosi said “You get three years of this, you start to understand what you're doing. There's definitely a learning curve. There's so many different things you can do off one play. Honestly, when you get a bunch of reps, it gets a lot easier.”
The game has slowed down for Pilosi as he has fully grasped the concept of the Rockets option attack.
Last year, Pilosi had a breakout season, completing 74-of-147 passes for 1,147 yards and 13 touchdowns.
He only threw three interceptions.
Pilosi also was a threat with his legs, rushing for a team-leading 893 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Part of the reason for his huge leap forward was his understanding of the attack.
“Just sticking my nose in the playbook,” Pilosi said.
“I love this offense,” he added. “It just picks apart defenses. They just feel so broken when you get good at it.”
And Slippery Rock coach Larry Wendereusz said he thinks Pilosi has gotten quite good at it.
“Mentally, as a sophomore, we threw him in there because we felt we needed a jump start,” Wendereusz said. “I don't know if it was the right thing or the wrong thing to do. Last year in our first scrimmage, we weren't sure who was going to be the quarterback. It was between him and Jake Shaffer. We left the scrimmage and on the way home I talked to the offensive coaches and the decision was made to go with him. I think Vito grew a lot last year in that position. We're hoping and expecting him to grow this year as well.”
Pilosi has grown — literally.
He's gotten bigger and stronger, packing on another 20 pounds onto his 6-foot-2 frame.“I think Vito is an exceptional athlete,” Wendereusz said. “I think he's built himself to be a better athlete in the weight room. The time he's spent there is noticable in his physique, and I think that's only going to make him better.”Pilosi, who is also a gifted wrestler for the Rockets, was a mainstay in the weight room by no accident.He knew he was going to have to be stronger to bear the brunt of an offense that puts a lot on the quarterback's plate.“It's definitely a toll on me, but I've gotten stronger and bigger and my teammates will help me out,” Pilosi said.One of those teammates is running back David Duffalo, who had his own breakout campaign in 2018.Duffalo rushed for 416 yards and also added 21 receptions for 317 yards.Even more is expected out of Duffalo this season.On both sides of the ball.“I thought David had a pretty good coming-out year last year,” Wendereusz said. “The crazy part is on offense he got all the stats, but defensively he may be a better linebacker than a running back. He's tough to find. He's tough to block. He makes a lot of plays defensively. Sometimes people lose track of that, but he's a really good linebacker.”Duffalo wants to be easy to find as a leader.“I want to be someone that everyone can look up to,” said Dufflo, who stands just 5-8, but wants to cut a bigger profile as a positive influence in the locker room. “I'm not the most vocal guy, but I'm a guy I hope people can look up to on the field. As a team, I just want to help make everyone better.”
