Rappo’s the name, wrestling’s the game, state title’s the aim

Last Saturday, it took about an hour for two wrestlers with the last name Rappo to win district titles.

First, Billy Rappo, a Council Rock South junior, deftly won his championship bout at 103 pounds. It was his first district crown, but you wouldn't know it. When the third-period buzzer rang, he simply walked to the scorer's table, provided his signature, and walked away. "I expect to win," Billy Rappo said.

Then, Matt Rappo, a senior, won a tight 7-5 decision at 135. It meant his third such title, but Matt was visibly irked. It shouldn't have been that close. "I killed that kid earlier in the year," he said.

Later, the brothers appeared happy, but it was a subdued brand of glee. No need to get overexcited. When you wrestle under the Rappo name, these sort of victories are commonplace.

No South wrestling roster has ever been without a Rappo. Matt and Billy are the two youngest of five brothers to come through South, and they represent the final stanza of an era. And because of such a lineage, the troop of brothers served as the linchpin of the area's most recent dynasty.

When Council Rock divided into two schools in 2002, Brad Silimperi became the head wrestling coach at South. For years prior, he instructed at Council Rock Wrestling Association, where he became close with the Rappos.

There's Rick, 24. Then comes Mike, who is a month shy of 23. Then it's Mark, a college junior. Matt and Billy follow. Silimperi said he has known them all since "they've been in diapers."

The coach served as the Rappos' primary instructor for years, but the sport runs in the family. Their father wrestled in high school. So did their uncle; their grandfather, too.

Wrestling lent itself to the boys. All relatively small in stature - shorter, lightweight - it allowed them to compete with others comparable in size.

Growing up, the brothers practiced on a mat in the family's basement in Holland, Bucks County - a "free-for-all," Rick Rappo described those sessions. Each evolved through CRWA's youth program.

"We went as hyper kids trying to get the energy out," said Rick, who wrestled in college at Penn and was a three-year starter, "and wrestling was our way out of it."

Through the brothers, Silimperi and his assistants began laying the philosophical infrastructure that would serve as the basis for South's success over the years.

Because of the family's early and continuous involvement with the program, the Rappos became the model. Rick Rappo Sr. and his wife, Margaret, bestowed an uncommon confidence in the coaches. They, Silimperi said, turned their children over to the program. Full trust. No interference.

"They were one of the leaders, not just buy into it, but have success in what we were preaching," said Trap McCormack, a South assistant since 2002. "That really made it easier for all the kids [on the team] to follow - to believe in what we were saying as coaches, believe in our style, believe in our system."

The Hawks won the last five District 1 titles in the team tournament and the last five District 1 North championships in the individual tournament. They have won three straight regional titles in the individual tournament, and could add another regional championship this weekend at Oxford.

They also finished in the state's top four two of the past three years, including this season, at the team tournament. They won the 2005 PIAA Class AAA state team championship.

Matt and Billy Rappo have combined for 75 wins and nine losses this season. No other Rappo won as many district titles as Matt (three). But the three older brothers own something that neither Matt nor Billy has: an individual state championship.

Rick Rappo won the 2004 title at 103 pounds; Mike won in 2005 and '06 at 119 and 130, respectively; and Mark won in '08 at 103. Mike is a redshirt senior wrestler at North Carolina. Mark wrestles at Penn.

Billy and Matt Rappo placed at states last year and likely will contend for titles this season.

"They've set some high standards for us," said Matt Rappo, who has a scholarship to Division I Bloomsburg.

"There's only one downfall: having pressure on you," Billy said, though warmly.

Each title came under Silimperi. The years of partnership and success cultivated a special bond between the family and coaching staff.

Silimperi is a regular at the Rappo home. During summers, he visits the family's vacation place in Sea Isle City, N.J.

"I don't think anybody else is that close with their head coach," Matt Rappo said.

Hardly anyone knows the brothers' competitive side better than Silimperi.

They're always jockeying. Mini-golf in Sea Isle during the summer? "It's like the Masters," the coach described.

They argue, as brothers do. They try to settle on who's the best.

"We haven't decided yet," Billy Rappo said.