Kyle Otworowski and Logan Zilz are Hanover Central’s yin and yang.
More Top Picks Bonsaii Docshred C156 C Micro Cut
Opposite sides of the same coin.
Otworowski, a forward, and Zilz, a midfielder, complement each other to the highest degrees.
Otworowski called Zilz “the main assister on the team.” Zilz described Otworowski as “our finisher, for sure.”
Hanover Central coach Tim Zilz, Logan’s father, said the two sophomores “have been the driving force of our offense.” Otworowski has a team-high 10 goals for the Wildcats (6-1) this season. Logan Zilz has four goals, which is tied for second, and a team-high six assists.
“Set pieces, I just hit it in, and he’ll get anything on it,” Logan Zilz said of Otworowski. “His head, chest, foot, whatever it takes, he’ll do it. He’ll put it in the back of the net.”
And Otworowski knows Logan Zilz will get the ball to him.
“Every free kick, every corner, every penalty, we can rely on him either to cross it in or score a goal,” Otworowski said. “That’s how most of our goals come, from set pieces, with him on the ball.”
Otworowski and Logan Zilz grew up competing against each other. But they joined forces when they were 10 years old and have been teammates since.
“We’ve known each other forever,” Logan Zilz said. “We used to be against each other, and even then after the game we’d give each other high-fives and say ‘good job.’ When he came to my team, automatically we got that chemistry down right away, and it just clicked. The assists and goals were just easy for us.”
They made it look relatively easy as freshmen last season. Otworowski had a team-high 18 goals and four assists. Logan Zilz had 10 goals, behind only Otworowski, and a team-high 10 assists; the single-season program record of 12 assist is one of his targets.
But in reality, it was anything but easy for Logan Zilz, who has also been handling kickoff duties for Hanover Central’s football team this season.
“It was a lot of pressure at first,” he said of last season. “Going from these little rec leagues to showing up to high school, it was a lot of pressure. The first couple of games, my confidence was not there at all. But then it started to grow, and I ended up with a really good season.
“It was a nervous thing going in freshman year. But coming in this year, it was completely different, going in straight off the bat with confidence, urgency.”
Logan Zilz also has the added wrinkle of playing for his father.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” Logan Zilz said. “I don’t want the school to be like, ‘This kid, he’s just on the team because his dad is there.’ It’s a lot of pressure, and I have to push a lot harder in school with academics and on the pitch with just playing and getting better and improving.
“It’s a lot of pressure, really. But I just try to be the best I can out there.”
Otworowski expressed similar sentiments about the challenges of making an impact in his high school debut.
“The first couple of games, there was so much pressure,” he said. “My mind wasn’t in it. As I’ve gotten used to it, I’ve gotten more locked in.
“But I’d say it’s only the beginning. Most of our squad is sophomores. We only have a few juniors and seniors. We have a big squad of freshmen this year, and there are more on the way.”
Indeed, Hanover Central put together the best start to a season in program history as it moved to the Northwest Crossroads Conference from the Greater South Shore Conference. The Wildcats were undefeated until losing to Hobart on Wednesday.
They went 9-7 last season, Tim Zilz’s first as coach. They had posted a single on-field win in each of the three previous seasons (having been awarded an additional win via forfeit in both 2019 and 2021).
More Top Picks Best Garage Heaters For Cold Workshops
“We’re back at it and proving last season wasn’t a fluke,” Tim Zilz said. “This program’s for real, and these guys definitely are passionate about it. They’re doing everything in their power to represent themselves, the team, the school.”