Coatesville, Pa., The Unionville Indians showed that they are going to be a force to be reckoned with in District one by scoring a Ttouchdown on a crucial 12 play, 81 yard, five minute drive at game’s end to overcome previously undefeated Coatesville 27-26 at Coatesville Area Multipurpose stadium. “I am so proud of the way this team could come back like this and win in a hostile environment” echoed Indians coach Pat Clark prior to leaving the field.
Unionville started out quick when Cheyney Quinn recovered an opening kick fumble by the Red Raiders and scored eight plays later with star running back Richard Sampson taking it in from two yards out. Coatesville answered quickly in five plays with North Carolina State commit quarterback Manny Stocker connecting on passes of 20, four and 24 yards, the latter a beautiful crossing pattern by Michigan State commit Kyle Kerrick and a touchdown knotting the score at seven.
In the second quarter and pinned on their own 15 yard line, Unionville quarterback Tom Pancoast hit Ross Kim-McManus with an 85 yard touchdown down the right sideline and the momentum again shifted the Indians way. Stocker put the momentum back in Coatesville’s court leading the Red Raiders on an extended ten play drive and scoring from the one to tie the score once again. Both teams traded touchdowns early in the second half with the Indians using twelve plays and Sampson going in from 11 yards. Not to be outdone once again by Unionville, Coatesville countered with a series highlighted by Stocker’s two pass completions and a sizzling 38 yard TD run breaking four tackles along the way and knotting the score once again.
Deep into the fourth quarter and the game tied again at 20, the momentum shift took a serious turn when the snap to Unionville punter Chris Baker went over his head giving the Red Raiders the ball on the Indian 19. Two plays later feature running back Dae-Hon Cheung scored from 11 yards out. The Raiders,however, missed the extra point giving them a six point advantage.
Playing through adversity is what makes high school football so interesting and with five minutes left the Indians decided to go on their drive for the ages. Mixing in a combination of sweeps and option runs with Matt Maggitti, Pancoast and Sampson and getting five first downs along the way, Unionville used almost the entire five minutes to secure the victory.
The key play was a third and ten screen pass from Pancoast to Maggitti from the Coatesville 24 for a first down at the Red Raider 14. Four plays later Pancoast snuck in from the one and with Sean Barnes extra point and only 31 seconds left to play the Indians were about to have a very happy trip home to Kennet.
“The offensive line came through big time especially on our game winning drive” quipped Clark. “We’ve had some injuries on our line and they stepped up. I can’t believe Rich Sampson is not getting any attention from colleges. He shut down two of the best receivers in Southeast Pennsylvania in Anthony Nash (Rustin) and Kerrick the last two weeks. Hopefully he’ll get some now.”
Unionville (AAAA, Chest-Mont American) moves to 4-1 and plays Oxford next week. Coatesville (AAAA, Chest-Mont National) falls to 4-1 and plays Bishop Shanahan.
Scoring by Quarter
1st Quarter
Unionville– Rich Sampson- two yard run- PAT Sean Barnes- 8:33
Coatesville- Kyle Kerrick 24 yard pass from Manny Stocker- PAT- Corey Hall- 6:02
2nd Quarter
Unionville- Ross Kim-McManus- 85 pass from Tom Pancoast- PAT- Sean Barnes- 6:15
Coatesville- Manny Stacker- one yard run- PAT- Corey Hall- 1:33
3rd Quarter
Unionville- Richard Sampson- 11 yard run- PAT- no good- 5:40
Coatesville- Manny Stocker- 38 yard run- PAT- no good- 3:15
4th Quarter
Coatesville- Dae-Hon Cheung- 11 yard run- PAT- no good- 5:39
Unionville- Tom Pancoast- one yard run- PAT- Sean Barnes- :31
