East rallies to nip West

WEST CHESTER – The East All-Stars rallied from 12 points down in the second half to nip the West, 22-21 Thursday night in the 14th Annual Valor Bowl at West Chester East High School.

The Valor Bowl is an all-star game showcasing the best senior football players from Avon Grove, Coatesville, Conestoga, Downingtown East, Downingtown West, W.C. East, Great Valley, W.C. Henderson, Malvern Prep, Owen J. Roberts, W.C. Rustin, Kennett, Oxford, Octorara, Bishop Shanahan, and Unionville High Schools.

The East took a 3-0 lead when West Chester Henderson’s Kyle Morton kicked a 20-yard field goal. The West made it 7-3 when Coatesville’s Marquis Weathington Intercepted a Mike DeLancey pass and went 25-yards for the score.

The East gave the ball right back on a DeLancey fumble that was recovered by the West on the East 30. Bishop Shanahan’s Ryan Eglof hit Avon Grove’s Toby Fiala for a five-yard strike to put the West up 14-3. The West extended their lead with 8:39 remaining in the first half. Octorara’s Dan Solomon hit his high school teammate Charles Cooper on a screen pass that went 61-yards for the score. The West led 21-3.

The East started to chip away at the West’s big lead. With 3:53 left in the first half and facing a fourth down-and-four, DeLancey hit West Chester East’s Pat Whalen for a 52-yard pass. The East went into the half trailing 21-9.

“It’s not that it wasn’t working in the first half, we just turned over the ball too many times,” said Head Coach Dan Ellis. “In the second half the offensive line came out and really took over.”

Ellis’ big offensive line took over in the second half and ran the ball 27 of 30 plays in the second half. “We came out and kept running the same plays,” said Offensive MVP Dan Burtch of Rustin high school. “They couldn’t stop it.” The West defense pitched a shutout in the second half.

In the third quarter Rustin’s Connor Burke scored on a seven-yard run to put them up 21-15. The East’s winning drive went 16 plays (14 runs) and Rustin’s Cordario Taylor scored from nine-yards out. The East looked like they were going to run out the clock late in the game until they turned over the ball with 1:44 remaining in the game. The ball was recovered by Downingtown East’s Dillan Martin.

The West’s comeback was denied when Egolf’s pass went off the finger tips of his receiver James Brown and right into the hands of East CJ Stiemetz. “He made a great play,” said Ellis. “He made plays all night for us.”

The Valor Bowl is more than just a football game. Over the last eleven years the Valor Bowl has raised over$350,000 for Special Olympics and our goal this year is to raise an additional $40,000! This year’s game promises to be another exciting and memorable evening.

Note: West Chester Rustin’s Dan Burtch became the first offensive lineman to be named Offensive MVP and Conestoga’s Mark Kaminskas was the Defensive MVP.

Coatesville’s Dae-Hon Cheung was named Offensive MVP for the West and Downingtown East’s Dillan Martin was named the Defensive MVP for the West.