Whippets clobbered by “Cougar Crew” for fourth time in five years

Based on the records of Downingtown East (5-3) and Downingtown West (6-2), the twelfth rendition of the Downingtown Civil War was supposed to be evenly matched on paper.  On paper, this game was supposed to come down to late in the game, like it did last year (a 29-28 win by Downingtown West).

Then again, they have to play the game.  In the 2014 rendition of the game, the Downingtown East Cougars absolutely dominated the Downingtown West Whippets, by a score of 34-14.  It is the fourth win in five years for the Cougars over the Whippets, and all four of those wins were by a minimum of 14 points.  The loss, combined with a game against 9-0 Coatesville next Friday, virtually guarantees elimination in the District 1 playoff hunt.  With a win over West Chester Henderson, the Cougars should get in with a 7-3 record.

Downingtown East’s dominance of the Whippets was clear all game, especially in the trenches, as the Cougars had a distinct size advantage, and used it.  In the words of Downingtown East coach Mike Matta, “We did not want to turn the game into a track meet, we caught a few breaks with dropped passes early on. Our game plan was to beat them up.”  The Cougars rushed for over 200 yards and piled on a total of 350 yards of offense.

This was a game that started evenly matched.  Downingtown East struck first, as Andrew Hudson hit highly touted receiver Cary Angeline on a 14-yard pass, to cap off a 13-play drive that covered 80 yards.  The Whippets tied the game on a four-yard run by Jimmy DiSantis, and took a 14-7 lead on a two-yard run by Jake Barr.

From there, it was all Downingtown East, as the Cougars literally ground out 27 unanswered points on four consecutive possessions.  Keith Conner capped off another 13-play drive on a three-yard run to tie the game at 14.  A rare ill-advised pass by Whippet Quarterback Tyler McNulty which was intercepted led to Andrew Hudson finding Dan Chisena on a 22 yard pass two plays later, and Downingtown East took a 21-14 lead into the half.  The late score before half gave the Cougars momentum that Downingtown West was unable to overcome.

Dowiningtown East put the game away on their first two drives of the second half.  The Cougars went 82 yards in three plays (a 10-yard run by Keith Conner, a 41-yard run by Conner being the first two), capped off by a perfect throw from Andrew Hudson to Cary Angeline covering 31 yards, which made the score 27-14.  Another run by Keith Conner covering 25 yards capped off a 10-play touchdown drive, and closed out the scoring.

Tonight, Andrew Hudson silenced any critics he may have had following a difficult loss to Bishop Shanahan, as Hudson went 11-15 passing for 141 yards and three touchdowns.  He was also successful as a game manager, the Cougars played a clean game on offense, did not have any turnovers, and had five penalties.  Hudson’s two major targets were Cary Angeline (five catches, 83 yards & two touchdowns), and Dan Chisena (five catches, 53 yards and a score).  Keith Conner had a big game rushing the ball for East, with 165 yards and two touchdowns (22 carries). What won’t show up on the stat ledger, but deserves mention here is that Conner had a lot of his yards after contact and/or dragging tacklers.

For Downingtown West, Tyler McNulty was 17-32 passing (219 yards) and an interception.  Jake Barr was held to 88 all-purpose yards (48 rushing, 40 receiving). Jimmy DiSantis had 52 yards receiving on three catches. Thomas Mattioni had a breakout game (five catches 147 yards) however.

Postgame, West coach Mike Milano stated, “They (East) made plays in the first half, and we did not.  They flat out kicked our butts in the second half.”  Mike Matta told his kids, “This is a signature win for us.  They are a well coached team at West, and we imposed our will on them.” Regarding the play of Keith Conner, “Keith stepped up.  He riled up our team.  It’s a defining moment for him.”