Paul Sarpen

  • Bears De-Clawed By Cougars

    Bears De-Clawed By Cougars

    After defeating Spring Ford and their Missouri bound quarterback for their first win last week, the Cougars from Downingtown East made it two in a row over the Pioneer Athletic Conference, this week downing the Boyertown Bears 35-7.

    This game could have been worse, far worse for Boyertown, as Downingtown East could have scored 60 or more tonight. In the first half, Boyertown quarterback Conner Foskey completed more passes to Downingtown East defenders (3) than he did his own receivers (1).

    The Cougars were unable to capitalize on the first Foskey interception, as the Bears turned them away on a failed fourth down conversion. The Cougars capitalized on the second one, as Connor Kiebort returned Foskey’s second interception 29 yards for a 7-0 lead. Mason Ippolito expanded the lead to 14-0 on a 15-yard run.

    Downingtown East returned Foskey’s third interception 41 yards to set up an Alex Rios four-yard run to make it 21-0. Freshman running back Jules Robinson scored his first varsity touchdown from one-yard out. Alex Rios scored his second touchdown in the first half from ten yards out, ensuring the mercy rule for the second half.

    Boyertown scored against Downingtown East’s Junior Varsity team to make the final score 35-7.

    The score was not remotely indicative of how one sided the game was. Boyertown did not have a first down until the fourth quarter, had negative yards of offense through three quarters, had more interceptions (3) than completed passes (1) after three quarters, and 67 total yards for the game.

    Alex Rios (67 yards), and Jules Robinson (70 yards) were East’s leading ground gainers tonight.

  • Whippets Down Vikings

    Whippets Down Vikings

    Many in Chester County and the surrounding District 1 area were surprised with the Downingtown West start to the 2024 season.  A new quarterback, new coach, and they replaced many skill players from last year’s team.

    The Whippets won again tonight, defeating the Perkiomen Valley Vikings 35-13 in a crossover matchup between the Ches-Mont and Pioneer Athletic Conference.

    Perkiomen Valley dug themselves into an early hole, with some uncharacteristic play.  A botched fake punt and a tip drill interception gave the Whippets short fields, where they jumped out to a 14-0 lead early.  West Point bound Darian Smith scored on a 33-yard touchdown run, and Cole Bricker hit JD Weller on a 16-yard pass to make the score 14-0.

    The Vikings’ hole got bigger when it hit 21-0. Darian Smith scored his second of three touchdowns from 36 yards out.  A Patrick MacDonald 11-yard run got the Vikings on the scoreboard in the second, cutting the lead to 21-6, but that was as close as the Vikings would get.

    West got their lead back to three scores (28-6) before halftime, when Mike Taraschi scored from 13 yards out.

    Both teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, a Patrick MacDonald touchdown run got the Vikings back to 28-13, and Darian Smith closed out the scoring on a 39-yard reception.

    The Whippets’ ground game rolled to 196 yards (315 total) and their defense held the Vikings to 55 yards passing (163 total).

    After the game, Whippet coach Tom Kline said, “Spencer Dunn was held out of the second half due to an ankle issue. It was more of a precautionary measure. We had a lot of guys with offers to play in college last year, but we are confident in our 22 this year, and we take what the defense gives us.”

    Perkiomen Valley coach Rob Heist acknowledged, “We didn’t play our brand of football tonight.  We had a few uncharacteristic penalties (5-45) and turnovers (2).” Those turnovers snowballed quickly in the first half.  These kids are resilient.

  • Cougars Mauled By Mariners

    Cougars Mauled By Mariners

    Tonight, the Cougars from Downingtown East dropped their second straight game to start the 2024 season. This week they were defeated 31-2 by the Tom’s River North Mariners.

    The Cougars are young this season, replacing ten starters on offense and ten starters on defense from last year’s 12-1 team that advanced to the District 1 6A semifinals. Early on, their lack of experience showed, as the Mariners scored at will.

    The first half was the TJ Valero show, as he accounted for all three first-quarter touchdowns, a 15-yard run on their first possession, a 26-yard pass to Mekhi Morse, and a 30-yard pass to Cam Thomas, which put Tom’s River North up 21-0.

    Nasiah Cormin tacked on a 23-yard field goal for the Mariners’ 24-0 halftime advantage. TJ Valerio put the Mariners up 31-0 on a 39-yard pass to Malachi Ford. TJ Valerio accounted for 375 (272 passes, 103 rush) of the Marniers’ 402 yards

    The Cougars prevented a shutout when they tackled the punter in the end zone for a safety.

    Downingtown East’s punishing running game was non-existent, managing only 83 yards.

  • Whippets Win Opener In New Era

    Whippets Win Opener In New Era

    There was a lot of things that were new tonight for the Whippets of Downingtown West.  A new quarterback in Cole Bricker, replacing the graduated Quinn Henicle, and a new coach in Tom Kline, replacing the retired Mike Milano.

    The more things change, the more they stay the same, as the Whippets beat the Abraham Lincoln Railsplitters, by a score of 30-14. The final score could have been far worse, as the Whippets squandered many opportunities.

    Downingtown West scored on their opening possession, following a short punt.  The Whippets drove 58 yards in 11 plays (all on the ground), as Tommy Miller punched one in from three yards out.

    The Whippets’ defense got in on the scoring after a 50-yard punt.  On Lincoln’s first play, Kysheion Dawkins was tackled in the end zone for a safety resulting in a 9-0 lead for Downingtown West. Spencer Dunn expanded West’s advantage to 16-0 after a one-yard run.

    The Railsplitters got on the scoreboard before half, when quarterback Omari Sutton scored on a quarterback zone run to cut the lead to 16-6.

    During the third quarter, there was no scoring, but the Whippets squandered a few opportunities to expand their lead.  There was a fumble inside the five and a couple of missed fourth downs inside Lincoln’s 15-yard line. Downingtown West went to the air to put themselves up 23-6 when Cole Bricker hit Taraschi from five yards out.  They weren’t done as Darian Smith scored from 23 yards out making it 30-6.  John Cotton returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a score to close out the scoring.

    I observed a more physical running game from the Whippets tonight.  They had 390 yards of offense, 369 of which were on the ground.  Spencer Dunn ran for 171 yards on 25 carries.

    For the Railsplitters, Marcus Sutton threw for 137 yards on 16-22 passing.

    After the game, new Whippet head coach Tom Kline lamented on a few things saying, “We won’t accept mediocrity, and left points out there. Some of it was rust, and in the past this was a second scrimmage week. We made a few mistakes that will be improved upon.  We are a physical running team, and that is who we will be.”

  • Whippets get payback, move on to District Title Game

    Whippets get payback, move on to District Title Game

    Two weeks. Two undefeated teams end their season with a loss. Last week was Souderton.

    This week was Downingtown East’s turn, as the Whippets avenged their 35-7 loss to the Cougars in week 10, in epic fashion. The Whippets scored on a Quinn Henicle four-yard run with sixteen seconds left to pull out the 17-14 upset.

    The Whippets got on the board first on their opening drive, when Ben Mehan kicked a 21-yard field goal. Following an exchange of punts, Ayden Harris put the Cougars up 7-3 with a six-yard run.

    Right before halftime, things got very interesting. Following some issues with clock management and indecision on whether or not to burn time-outs for a punt, Quinn Henicle hit Dean Hangey on a 40-yard Hail Mary for a 10-7 lead.

    Late in the third quarter, we had our fourth lead change, when Ayden Harris put East up 14-10 on a two-yard run.

    A crucial sequence put the wheels in motion for West’s upset. Ben Mehan boomed a 49-yard punt, pinning East at their one-yard line. East’s vaunted run game managed only seven yards. Then a 28-yard punt put the Whippets in plus territory at the Cougar 35-yard line with about three minutes left to set the table.

    Faking a run into the middle, Henicle pulled the ball and ran it in for the four-yard run at the end. Henicle went 13-22 for 196 yards on the night.

  • Cougars Smother Vikings, Advance To Semifinals

    Cougars Smother Vikings, Advance To Semifinals

    The more things change, the more they stay the same.

    Second-seeded Downingtown East mercy-ruled and shut out seventh-seeded Perkiomen Valley by a score of 35-0. This was Downingtown East’s eighth shutout in their 11 games. The Cougars have allowed 39 points in 11 games this fall.

    The way the Cougars won tonight, was the way they have won all season so far. Their suffocating, smothering defense, along with a power run game behind a massive offensive line has proved too much for many teams. Perkiomen Valley was only down 14-0 at halftime and was competitive for about 2-1/2 quarters before their defense got worn out.

    Ayden Harris put Downingtown East on the scoreboard on their first possession with a one-yard run. The Cougars had an opportunity to go up 10-0, but chose to go for a fourth down and four inside the Vikings’ 15-yard line.  It did not work out however as JJ Helverson’s pass was intercepted, only his second interception of the season.

    Owen Lammy put the Cougars up 14-0 before halftime on a 22-yard run, capitalizing off an interception.

    After halftime, Downingtown East systematically wore out Perkiomen Valley. Ayden Harris added runs of three and then five yards to put Downingtown East up 28-0. Drew Virelli made the Cougars lead 35-0 with 3:40 left in the third quarter, putting the mercy rule into play again.

    Ayden Harris had 41 carries for 252 yards and three touchdowns tonight, his second consecutive 200+ yard game. The Cougars ran for 346 yards on 58 yards.

    Felix Mason of Downingtown East had three sacks in the game, “The coaches had another great game plan. We have a mental toughness that we can match other teams’ physicality.”

    Mike Matta stated, “He couldn’t be blocked all night without being held.  Number 77 for them (Carter Eucker) is a hell of a player.”

    Downingtown East’s defense suffocated Perkiomen Valley’s offense to 65 total yards (22 passing, 43 rushing), and six first downs.

    Up next for Downingtown East (11-0), is a rematch of their week ten matchup with Downingtown West (10-2) in the District semifinals.

    Perkiomen Valley’s season ends at 9-3.

  • Cougars Beat Trojans To Advance

    Cougars Beat Trojans To Advance

    Mauled. Mangled. Demolished. None of those adjectives could describe what happened to the unfortunate bunch of Trojans from Wissahickon High School tonight at the hands of the Downingtown East Cougars at Kottmeyer Stadium in the opening round of the District 1 6A playoffs.

    In tonight’s 56-0 win over Wissahickon, the Cougars showed that there was no layover from wins over league rivals Coatesville (21-0) and Downingtown West (35-7) in the last two weeks. As one-sided as tonight’s game was, it could have been much worse. Downingtown East could have scored 70 points or more.

    Despite picking up a few first downs, aided by a successful fake punt and two personal fouls by Downingtown East, Wissahickon’s first drive bogged down. However, the Trojans were able to pin Downingtown East deep in their territory with a 57-yard punt.

    Although pinned in a deep hole, the Cougars moved the ball down the field easily, capped off by an Owen Lammy touchdown run of 11 yards, on his only carry of the night. The Cougars added two more first-quarter touchdowns, capitalizing on consecutive interceptions by Wissahickon quarterback Nolan Pounds. Ayden Harris scored from 22 yards to make it 14-0, and on a 38-yard pass from JJ Helverson from 38 yards out for a 21-0 lead after one.

    The Cougars’ offensive and defensive onslaught continued in the second quarter to the tune of 28 more points, to make the score 49-0 at halftime. John Morrin scored from four yards out to make it 28-0, Ayden Harris scored from six yards out after another interception to make it 35-0, and Jimmy Stott returned Nolan Pounds’ fourth interception of the night 36 yards for a 42-0 lead. Ayden Harris put the Cougars up 49-0 at halftime. Harris had 217 yards rushing on 23 carries (253 total) and four touchdowns in only one half of play.

    The entire second half was played under the mercy rule, but that did not stop the Cougars, as the backups scored when John Morrin put an exclamation point on the game with a nine-yard run. Morrin rushed for 104 yards on 18 carries.

    After their first drive bogged down at midfield, Wissahickon never threatened until late in the game against the Cougar backups. Even then, Nolan Pounds threw another interception, his fifth and final one of the game.

    Nolan Pounds and the Trojan offense took a literal pounding all game by the Cougar defense, as they were suffocated to a total of 145 yards and five turnovers. Pounds was 7-20 passing for 100 yards and five interceptions. Despite Wissahickon’s best efforts to get Quasir Sampson 1000 yards rushing. He fell 50 yards short, as Sampson was held to 39 yards on 17 carries.

    Joe Morrin had an interception, and Owen Lammy and Jimmy Stott had interceptions. Paxson Warnock had two interceptions for Downingtown East as well.

    Wissahickon’s season ends at 6-5.

  • Battle Of The Brandywine Showdown A Whippet Mow Down

    Battle Of The Brandywine Showdown A Whippet Mow Down

    No matter what you call it- whether it’s The Battle of the Brandywine, a Celebration of Downingtown Football, or the Downingtown Civil War, the game usually has major district 1 playoff implications. Tonight was the twenty-first game between the schools, since Downingtown split after the 2002-03 school year.

    This year’s game between the Downingtown East Cougars (8-0, 3-0) and Downingtown West Whippets (8-1, 3-0) was no different. A league title, and a top three seed in the District 1 6A playoffs were at stake. An exciting game was expected.

    Although an exciting matchup was anticipated, the outcome of the game was a totally different thing. The Cougars absolutely dominated the Whippets by a score of 35-7, in a game that was never close. This was the fourth win in the last five games between the two schools, and the Cougars have beaten the Whippets 13 times in the 21 games.

    Downingtown East was able to capitalize on a couple of Whippet mistakes early. West running back Kam Alex lost a fumble at the Cougar 48-yard line. The Cougars turned that into a touchdown when Ayden Harris barreled in from two yards out.

    West’s second possession also resulted in a Whippet turnover, this time a Quinn Henicle interception gave the Cougars the ball inside the West 40-yard line. East turned it into a 14-0 lead when JJ Helverson hit Appapogu from 31 yards out on a fourth down and three. There was nobody in the same zip code as Appapogu.

    Downingtown East expanded their lead to 21-0, when Owen Lammy scored from 42 yards out.  Ayden Harris scored from six yards out to put the Cougars up 28-0 at halftime.

    The only questions that needed to be answered in the second half were if there would be the first mercy rule in the Downingtown rivalry, and would the Whippets be the first team since State College to score on the Cougar defense.

    We did not get the first mercy rule in the 21-game rivalry, because the Whippets were able to put a touchdown on the board when Quinn Henicle hit Dean Hangey on a 37-yard pass to convert a fourth down and 13 to close the gap to 28-7.

    That’s as close as the Whippets got, as Ayden Harris closed out the scoring on a three-yard run. Harris ran for 188 yards and three touchdowns on the night.

    After the game, a dejected Whippet coach Mike Milano stated, “East can all play. They beat us up. We had trouble protecting Quinn all game. We had no balance. They flat out beat our (tails).”

    Cougar running back Ayden Harris said, “Shout out to the bigs on the offensive line today. All glory to God.”

    Coach Mike Matta added, “They (West) did some things. Our line played well. Our standard is to finish strong. It’s a long season from January with lifting. It’s exciting for the kids. They’re lunch pail kids that work hard.”

    Whippets quarterback Quinn Henicle threw for 69 yards on 5-12 passing. The leading rusher, Kam Alex, was held to 12 yards rushing on eight carries. An offense that managed a load of highlights against some solid teams (Lincoln, Neshaminy, Chester, and Coatesville) got systematically taken down for 48 long minutes tonight.

  • Whippets Beat Shanahan In Final Tune Up

    Whippets Beat Shanahan In Final Tune Up

    In a week between a deflating loss at Chester and the Downingtown Civil War matchup against Downingtown East looming, one could say that the Whippets of Downingtown West were ripe for a trap game tonight against Bishop Shanahan.

    That was not the case however, as Downingtown West clobbered Bishop Shanahan by a score of 43-7 on the Whippets’ senior night.

    Following a short punt, it took Downingtown West three plays to go 50 yards and stake a claim to a 7-0 lead on a Kam Alex five-yard run. Another short field gave the Whippets a 14-0 lead when Spencer Dunn barrelled in from two yards out.

    Bishop Shanahan was fairly competitive at this point but was unable to sustain drives.  The Eagles were able to drive into West territory, only to be turned back on a fourth and short.  From there, the floodgates opened.  Quinn Henicle scored from five yards out on an option run to make it 21-0. He then threw a touchdown pass to Jordan Barry to put the Whippets up 29-0.  The only thing that went wrong for West, was a bad snap on the extra point, which turned into a conversion for 29-0.

    Following an extended delay due to weather, the Whippets scored on the opening drive of the half.  The mercy rule was put into effect when Quinn Henicle hit Dean Hangey for a 26-yard pass to make it 36-0.  Jordan Haylock put the Eagles on the scoreboard with a 48-yard run, and Antonio Gonzalez closed out the scoring on a 12-yard run.

    Downingtown West rolled up 434 yards of offense, led by Quinn Henicle’s 205 yards passing and two touchdowns on 11-14 passing.  Dean Hangey had 112 yards receiving (five catches) on the night.  Jordan Haylock had 112 yards and a score for Shanahan.

    After the game, Shanahan coach Paul Meyers said that if they beat Chichester, they would get a home game in the 4A playoffs.  “Landon (Wright) threw the ball well today.  We moved the ball well, but we had a few drives stall, and then the wheels fell off after not converting the fourth and short.  If we made it 14-7, it would have been a different ball game, than being down 29-0.”

    West coach stated, “We had a great week of practice.  The loss to Chester was a teachable moment. We didn’t have a great week of practice after Coatesville.  We weren’t excited to see them (Chester), but they were excited to see us.  We need to be consistent.  Consistency is a key to getting far in the playoffs.”

  • Whippets Win Slug Fest Over Coatesville

    Whippets Win Slug Fest Over Coatesville

    Tonight, the Whippets of Downingtown West won a massive Ches-Mont League clash against one of their two main rivals, the Coatesville Red Raiders by a score of 21-14.  Tonight was Downingtown West’s first win over the Red Raiders since the 2019 District 1 AAAAAA championship game, and only the second time the Whippets beat the Red Raiders since 2015 (1-6 in that span). It was the first time the two rivals played since 2021, as last year’s game at Coatesville was canceled and never played.
    Tonight’s game had the feeling of a big-time brawl, with a little bit of everything, from weather delaying the start by almost a half hour, to 240 combined yards and 25 total penalties.
    Following a Coatesville punt, Downingtown West went through Coatesville’s vaunted defense like a hot knife through butter, when Kam Alex scored from ten yards out.  From there, the Red Raiders were able to make some offensive adjustments. They hit a big pass play from Matt Ortega Jr (youngest son of Coatesville coach Matt Ortega) to Frank Miles of 37 yards, then Damon Watson scored from three yards out to tie the game at seven.

    The Red Raiders took a 14-7 lead into halftime when they capitalized on a rare mistake by Whippet quarterback Quinn Henicle who lost a fumble on a sack.  Matt Ortega Jr hit Jack Qwan Jones from 29 yards out on a second down and 26, following a personal foul.

    Downingtown West tied the game at 14 midway into the third frame, when Henicle hit John Barry on a 60-yard pass play. They then took the lead on a Quinn Henicle 9-yard run.

    Despite losing two fumbles, Quinn Henicle had a solid game, throwing for 195 yards and a touchdown on 13-17 passing, and adding 48 yards rushing and a touchdown on 16 carries.

    Coatesville still has a solid defense, holding Downingtown West’s offense to their lowest output in points (21) and yardage (301 yards).  Unfortunately, the Red Raiders were unable to overcome an off day by their offense (192 yards of offense- 118 yards passing, 74 rushing), and 16 penalties for 140 yards.

    After the game, Coatesville coach Matt Ortega told his team, “Adversity reveals character and life lessons.  Either you’re on the bus or you’re not.  We will come back Monday and win next week with the guys who want to be here.  We had our chances, but they made more plays than we did.  We fell apart, wasted time outs getting plays in late and lining up wrong.”  Regarding the penalties, he said, “They clearly played a big role tonight, some were borderline.”

    After the game, Whippet quarterback Quinn Henicle said, “It’s amazing to beat them.  The only opponent that could beat us is ourselves.”

    Coach Mike Milano stated “We hung in there all game.  Kept trusting each other and the staff.  This game is always a grind from all the way from middle school to now.  You can’t beat a good team when you commit 16 penalties like they did.”

    DW 7-0-7-7- 21
    CV 14-0-0-0- 14

    DW- Kam Alex 10 yard run (Mehan kick)
    CV- Watson 3 run (Shaeffer kick)
    CV- Davis 29 pass from Ortega (Shaeffer kick)
    DW- Barry 60 pass from Henicle (Mehan kick)
    DW- Henicle 9 run (Mehan kick)

    First Downs-
    DW- 16

    CV- 11

    Penalties-Yards
    DW 9-105

    CV 16-140
    Fumbles-Lost
    DW- 2-2
    CV- NONEYards Passing
    DW 195
    CV- 118Yards rushing
    DW- 106
    CV- 74
    Total Yards (plays)
    DW- 301 (57 plays)
    CV- 182 (49 plays)
    Individual StatesDW- Henicle 13-17- 195 yards, 1 td
    CV- Ortega Jr 8-23-106 yards, 1 INT. Haskett 1-2-12 yardsRush-
    DW- Henicle 16-48 TD, Kucera 5-24, Alex 15-20, Dunn 3-10, Tarashi 1-6.
    CV- Ortega 9-7, Haskett 4-14, Watson 11-53Receiving-
    DW- Hangey 6-82, Kucera 3-42, Alex 1-2, Dunn 1-(minus 2), Campbell 1-8, Barry 1-60

    CV- Miles 2-44, Haskett 1-8, Watson 1-4, James 3-48, Tucker-Scott 2-15
  • Hornets Stung By Cougars

    Hornets Stung By Cougars

    Week 6 brought another Ches-Mont crossover game for Downingtown East, after last week’s 42-0 thrashing of Kennett.

    Tonight, the crossover opponent was the Oxford Hornets.  They were tonight’s Homecoming victim for the Cougars, and the Hornets were stung by the same 42-0 score as Kennett.  The Cougars improved to 6-0, and Oxford is now 1-5.

    This week was more of the same for the Cougars using the simple philosophy of running the ball and playing defense.  Downingtown East’s defense held their fifth opposing offense scoreless in six weeks. Only State College had any sustained success offensively on the Cougars, and Delaware Valley’s only score came on a kickoff return.  Meanwhile, the Cougars dominated Oxford for over 294 yards on the ground and 412 total.
    Downingtown East stung Oxford for a 14-0 first-quarter lead following two short Oxford punts of 20 and 18 yards. The second one set up a short field for Downingtown East. Ayden Harris scored from three yards out to cap off a seven-play, 57-yard drive. Then JJ Helverson hit Jackson Noble for a 24-yard touchdown pass.

    The Cougars added 21 points in the second quarter to ensure the mercy rule for the entire second half. Helverson hit Alex Rios for a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0. Then Owen Lammy scored from eight yards out to make it 28-0. The final nail in Oxford’s coffin in the first half occurred when the Cougar offense capitalized on a short field due to a fumble. Ayden Harris scored from seven yards out.

    In the second half, the Cougar backups tacked on the final touchdown on the night. Lalit More scored on a three-yard run.

    While forcing two turnovers, Downingtown East’s defense held the Hornets’ spread offense to nine first downs, 11-21 passing for 97 yards and 24 yards rushing on the night.

    Ayden Harris ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns for Downingtown East.  JJ Helverson threw for 105 yards.

    After the game, Mike Matta stated, “There were a lot of good things to build upon. They gave us the business last year, and we wanted to send them a message.”
  • Conestoga Downs Radnor in Central League Clash

    Conestoga Downs Radnor in Central League Clash

    In a mid-season Central League rivalry game, the Conestoga Pioneers downed the Radnor Raptors, by a score of 21-7 at Teamer Field in Berwyn tonight.

    The old adage of winning football games by running the ball and playing defense, held true for Conestoga tonight. The Pioneers overcame a short-term injury to starting quarterback Jude Cook, by riding their defense in a second-half shutout of the Raptors from Radnor.

    Offensively, the Pioneers established the run early, often, and in many different ways. The Wildcat, fullback dives by Navy-bound Newhall, quarterback counters, or ISO, all worked to the tune of 298 yards rushing (390 total yards).

    Conestoga got on the board early, after Jude Cook capped off a long touchdown drive on a quarterback sneak. Radnor was able to tie the game at 7-7 after capitalizing on a Jude Cook interception and returned to the Pioneer 11 when their quarterback threw a seven-yard pass.

    From there on out, Conestoga’s running game added two more touchdowns by Jude Cook (four yards) and Charlie Gilmartin (two yards) before half, and rode a smothering defense the rest of the way. The Pioneer defense held Radnor to 95 yards passing, 60 yards rushing (155 total), and seven first downs.

    After the game, Radnor’s coach said, “We made too many mental mistakes tonight. If we make those same mental mistakes next week (against Strath Haven), we will get beaten easily.” Conestoga coach Matt Diamond stated, “Jude’s injury is short-term. Although his injury is short-term, we struggled to get our footing on offense in the second half. Our defense was outstanding. We had a strong run game, mixed with play action.”

  • RECAP: Cougars Rout Eagles in First Half Onslaught

    RECAP: Cougars Rout Eagles in First Half Onslaught

    In the Ches Mont opener for both schools, Downingtown East rode 30, second-quarter points to the mercy rule of the Bishop Shanahan Eagles, 37-0.

    Shanahan was competitive in the first quarter.  The lack of depth and the physicality up front wore them out.

    Ayden Harris scored the only touchdown in the first quarter. The 30-point, second-quarter deluge began on a 52-yard pass from Helverson to Mike Brown to make it 13-0. A 36-yard run from Ayden Harris made it 20-0. A 28-yard pass from Helverson to Brown made it 27-0. Another Harris run and a 23-yard Field Goal made it 37-0.

    Shanahan coach Paul Meyers said what Matta did was class (by taking a knee at the end when they could have scored).

  • Cougars beat Warriors

    Cougars beat Warriors

    Downingtown East is known for playing anyone, any place, at any time. Tonight was no different, as the Cougars faced Delaware Valley from the Scranton area.

    The Warriors got worn out 37-6. The physical Cougar team showed they are not one-dimensional. They threw for 236 yards and ran for 230.

    Both teams traded scores early, as JJ Helverson hit Mike Brown for 41 yards and Mike Iuzzolino returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a score. Both kickers missed their extra points. After one, Ryan Hornak made a 27-yard field goal for a 9-6 Cougar lead.

    From there, the Cougars imposed their will. Ayden Harris’s run (30 yards) and an 11-yard pass from Helverson to Lammy made it 23-6 at halftime. Morris and Ayden Harris scored rushing touchdowns to close out the scoring.

    Harris rushed for 127 yards and two scores. JJ Helverson threw for 215 yards.

  • Whippets Air Mail Win Over Perk Valley

    Whippets Air Mail Win Over Perk Valley

    Coming off a close road win over Public League school Abraham Lincoln last week, the Downingtown West Whippets felt like they had something to prove.

    After needing to hold off a late rally last week, the Whippets led from start to finish, downing Perkiomen Valley 35-14.

    Downingtown West had a balanced offense (190 rushing, 298 yards passing) while scoring three touchdowns of over 34 yards. Two of those touchdown passes went over 70 yards.

    The Whippets and Vikings traded touchdowns in the first quarter a 70-yard pass from Quinn Henicle to Jake Kucera, then Perkiomen Valley answered back on a two-yard run by Patrick MacDonald. MacDonald broke loose for a 59-yard run on a quarterback counter.

    Downingtown West opened up a 21-7 lead at halftime after Henicle hit Kucera for a 76-yard pass, then Kucera scored from 5 yards out. The Whippets’ lead expanded to 28-7 after Henicle connected with Dean Hangey from 9 yards out.

    The teams traded touchdowns as both quarterbacks threw touchdown passes.

    The difference in tonight’s game was the inability of Perkiomen Valley to have any consistent rhythm on offense and special teams. The Vikings had 9 penalties, including an illegal substitution penalty and a roughing-the-kicker personal foul. Both special teams’ penalties led to Whippet first downs and eventual touchdowns.

    Quinn Henicle (Old Dominion commit) threw for 298 yards and 4 touchdowns for Downingtown West, and Jake Kucera (Maine commit) had 240 yards receiving and four touchdowns (3 receiving, 1 run)

    Perk Valley’s head coach said “We made mistakes. Some were attention to detail, and some were coaching. Against a quality team like Downingtown West, they will make you pay. Most games are won on 3-4 big plays. We will clean these up.”

    Quinn Henicle had this game circled since last year, we hit a few lucky shots against their cover 3. The expectation here is to win.

  • Cougars Mow Down And Shut Down Rams

    Cougars Mow Down And Shut Down Rams

    In our opening week of high school football, Downingtown East played about as complete a game as a team could play against Pennridge.

    The Cougars shut down and shut out the Rams by a score of 43-0. It could have been much worse than the score indicated.

    Downingtown East scored 17 first-quarter points and had a short field each time. The Cougars scored on a ten-yard drive, capped by a Mason Ippolito quarterback sneak. The 7-0 lead became 14-0 on a 15-yard run by Ayden Harris (younger son of former NFL running back Arlen Harris). Ryan Hornak made a 24-yard field goal for the 17-0 lead.

    Things went from bad to worse for the Rams in the second quarter. Owen Lammy scored on a short run, then Ayden Harris scored two more touchdowns to put the Cougars up 37-0 at the half.

    Downingtown East’s backups added a score in the fourth quarter when John Morrin scored from seven yards out.

    Offensively, Downingtown East ran for 374 yards and had 417 total. Ayden Harris ran for 163 and three scores.

    What was most impressive was the complete desecration of Pennridge’s offense by Downingtown East’s defense. The Rams managed a total of ten total yards (17 passing), one first down, and didn’t cross midfield. The one first down didn’t come until four minutes left in the game.

    Mike Matta stated this game was won in January, “Our lines paid their dues, and were unbelievable.”

    Ayden Harris admitted he has big shoes to fill, with his dad and uncle playing here. “It feels amazing, with the community behind us.”

    Final 1st 2nd 3rd 4th T
    Pennridge 0 0 0 0 0
    Downingtown East 17 20 0 6 43
  • Cougar Running Game Dominates Kennett

    Cougar Running Game Dominates Kennett

    In a week five crossover game between two 3-1 team in Downingtown East and Kennett, a lack of depth due to low numbers and injuries wound up costing the Kennett Blue Demons, 41-7.

    The game was not this one-sided, as Kennett, which may be featured on betting platforms like https://mtgall.com, was up 7-0 after one and only down 14-7 at halftime. Two Downingtown East mistakes led to Kenneth’s only score, a turnover, then a 63-yard touchdown pass that was tipped to the receiver, Guyer. That wound up being more than half of Kenneth’s offensive output, as the Blue Demons were held to 115 yards.

    Downingtown East got two touchdowns on passes from Jamy Jenkins to Thelander (16 yards), and a two-yard run by Bo Horvath. Then Bo Horvath broke a 41-yard run to set up a two-yard pass from Jenkins to Noble. Horvath broke an 84-yard run to make the score 27-7. A Jenkins to Walsh 56-yard pass made it 34-7, then Owen Lammas scored from two yards out.

    On the night, Bo Horvath ran for 242 yards, and Downingtown East ran for 321 yards (547 total).

    Downingtown East 41, Kennett 7

    Final 1st 2nd 3rd 4th T
    Kennett 7 0 0 0 7
    Downingtown East 0 14 27 0 41

     

                               1st Quarter

    K – Ian Guyer 63-yard pass from Brett Kauffman (Ryan Barker kick)

                               2nd Quarter

    D – Erik Thelander 9-yard pass from Jamy Jenkins (James Blake kick)

    D – Bo Horvath 2-yard run (Blake kick)

                              3rd Quarter

    D – Jackson Noble 2-yard pass from Jamy Jenkins (kick failed)

    D – Bo Horvath 84-yard run (Blake kick)

    D – Caden Walsh 56-yard pass from Jamy Jenkins (James Blake kick)

    D – Owen Lammy 2-yard run (James Blake kick)

  • Coatesville Wins Raider Battle to Advance to the District Finals

    Coatesville Wins Raider Battle to Advance to the District Finals

    Tonight, in a battle of Raiders at Coatesville- the Coatesville Red Raiders downed the Ridley Green Raiders by a score of 50-14. It was one of those games where Coatesville could have named their score, it was never close.

    Now they play Garnet Valley next week for the 6A district title in Concordville.

    Ashon Wesley started Coatesville’s run of dominance early on runs of 26 and one yard, to put them up 14-0. That lead became 16-0 when Ridley’s punter was penalized for an illegal kick in the end zone. Harrison Susi scored on a 31-yard run to put Coatesville up 23-0, then threw a 58-yard strike to expand the lead to 30-0. Bryan Lacey scored from two yards out to ensure the mercy rule in the second half.

    Coatesville’s defense was suffocating to the point where Ridley did not get a first down until there were five minutes left in the first half.

    Coatesville expanded their lead to 44-0 when Tommy Ortega hauled in a 12-yard pass from Harrison Susi.  Ortega has scored a touchdown in every Coatesville playoff game since 2016.

    Tahir Mills got Ridley on the scoreboard on an 11-yard run. NahirnSalim scored on a 72-yard pass from Heller to cut the lead to 44-14. Damon Watson closed out the scoring on a two-yard run.

    On the night, Coatesville rushed for 396 yards (520 total). Harrison Susi ran for 142, Ashon Wesley had 105, and Bryan Lacey ran for 115.

    Matt Ortega commented on the difference between his teams of years past and the last two years, “They’re a team, and make plays together. RJ Rickabaugh and Nolan OHara are the heart and souls of the team. This is a special group of seniors. Our line is a physical bunch.”

    Coatesville 50, Ridley 14
    Ridley           0 0 7 7-14
    Coatesville  14 23 7 6-50
  • Coatesville Mows Down Cougars

    Coatesville Mows Down Cougars

    Tonight at Coatesville, the Red Raiders clinched the Ches-Mont National division and wrapped up a top-three seed in the District 1 6A playoffs beating Downingtown East.

    This was one of those highly anticipated matchups that turned into a complete dud, for many reasons.  The weather did not cooperate, nor did Coatesville, as the Red Raiders smothered the Cougars in every way, in one of the few times the Cougars got mercy-ruled.

    Ashon Wesley ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns, and Harrison Susi threw for three touchdowns.

    Harrison Susi got the Red Raiders on the board with a 38-yard touchdown pass.  Ashon Wesley got the lead to 13-0 after one on a 20-yard run.  The Coatesville deluge continued as RJ Rickabaugh hauled in a seven-yard pass from Harrison Susi.  

    The only bright spot for the Cougars was a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Michael Waite.  Another touchdown pass from Susi to Ortega (12 yards) put Coatesville up 27-7 at halftime.

    Ashon Wesley got the Red Raiders into the mercy rule on touchdown runs of 65 and 33 yards.

    The fourth quarter was a glorified scrimmage, as both teams emptied their benches

    Coatesville 42, Downingtown East 7

    Downingtown East 0 7 0 0-7

    Coatesville  13 14 15 0-42

    Scoring

    First Quarter

    CV- Tommy Ortega 38 pass from Harrison Susi (Kick failed)

    CV- Ashon Wesley 24 run (D. Ryan Ashbee kick)

    Second Quarter

    CV- RJ Rickabaugh 7 pass from Harrison Susi (D. Ryan Ashbee kick)

    DE- Mike Waite 80 kick return (Harry Marks kick)

    CV- Tommy Ortega 12 pass from Harrison Susi (D. Ryan Ashbee kick)

    Third Quarter

    CV- Ashon Wesley 65 run (D. Ryan Ashbee kick)

    CV- Ashon Wesley 33 run (O’Hara pass from Susi)

  • Coatesville Downs Whippets in Thriller

    Coatesville Downs Whippets in Thriller

    A lot of things can happen in the span of thirteen and a half seconds. In this instance, this was the period of time between Downingtown West pulling one of the biggest upsets in program history and a heartbreaking 31-28 defeat at the hands of the Coatesville Red Raiders tonight.

    Entering the game with a 3-3 record and coming off a loss where the Whippets were held to only three points, while 5-1 Coatesville mercy-ruled three straight opponents, not many people expected this game to be as competitive as it was.

    Someone forgot to tell Downingtown West this, as they played their best game of the season, and deserved to win the game tonight. They held Coatesville to six first-half points, forced QB Harrison Susi into countless forced throws, and had the Red Raiders on the ropes all night.

    In the end, big-time players made big-time plays. Harrison Susi made plays with his feet, rushing for 167 yards, and threw a touchdown pass with 13.5 seconds to Taylor.

    The only scoring of the first half was a Harrison Susi two-yard run.

    The excitement of six second-half lead changes began on the kickoff.  John Mulville of Downingtown West returned it 87 yards for a 7-6 lead for West. Dowayne Molina provided a counter punch for Coatesville on a six-yard run off a sweep. Evan Wickersham scored the first of his two touchdown runs on a perfectly executed option run. Harrison Susi answered back on a two-yard run, as the third quarter ended with Coatesville up 18-14.

    From there, the Whippets scored twice for a 28-18 advantage. John Mulville and Evan Wickersham scored on nine-yard runs. Coatesville got it back to 28-24 when Susi hit Tommy Ortega from 12 yards out with under five minutes left. The Red Raiders got the stop they needed and then moved down the field. Susi hit Taylor from 19 yards out with 13.5 seconds.

    Susi ran for 167 yards and threw for 154, and accounted for four of Coatesville’s five scores. Evan Wickersham threw for 103 yards (8-15 passing), and ran for 45 yards.

    After the game, West coach Mike Milano stated that “you don’t always get what you deserve. We played great, battled, and were solid. We have been so up and down this season, and have not been able to develop any consistency. We play the way we did tonight, we will be fine.”

    Coatesville coach Matt Ortega said, “This is a special group of seniors. In the past, we’d have explosive players. We stick together, have hearts, and trust in each other. A non-starter made the play tonight.”

    Coatesville 31, Downingtown West 28

    Coatesville   6 0 12 13-31

    Downingtown West  0 0 14 14-28

    Scoring

    First Quarter

    C- Harrison Susi 2 run (kick blocked)

    Third Quarter

    DW- John Mulville 87 kick return (Colton Cacciavillano kick)

    C- Dowayne Molina 6 run (failed)

    DW- Evan Wickersham 9 run (Colton Cacciavillano kick)

    C- Harrison Susi 2 run (kick blocked)

    Fourth Quarter

    DW- John Mulville 8 run (Colton Cacciavillano kick)

    DW- Evan Wickersham 9 run (Colton Cacciavillano kick)

    C- Tommy Ortega 12 pass from Harrison Susi (run failed)

    C- James Taylor 19 pass from Harrison Susi (Ryan Ashbee kick)

  • Cougars Rebound, Beat Longhorns

    Cougars Rebound, Beat Longhorns

    Tonight, the Cougars of Downingtown East rebounded from from their only loss last week to Rustin in a major way. The Longhorns of Unionville were the wrong team, at the wrong time, and on the wrong end of a 46-13 score.

    Downingtown East jumped on Unionville with four first half touchdowns, and a 28-6 lead. Josh Asante scored on a 16-yard run on a fourth down. Jamy Jenkins scored from ten yards out for a 14-0 lead. Jenkins hit Mike Giardino to go up 21-0, and Bo Horvath scored from five yards out. Unionville cut the lead to 28-6 at halftime when McCloskey hit Schriever from six yards out.

    Coming out of half, Unionville scored to cut the lead to 28-13 on another McCloskey to Schriever connection.

    From there, the Cougars pulled away. Bo Horvath went 75 yards untouched. Jenkins hit George Bousum for 18 yards, and Mike Giardino returned a punt 34 yards for the final score.

    As a whole, there were a lot of penalties. 12 on Unionville and seven on Downingtown East.

    Jamy Jenkins accounted for three scores (two pass, one rush), and Bo Horvath rushed for 172 yards.

     

    Downingtown East 46, Unionville 13

    Unionville 0 6 7 0-13

    Downingtown East 14 14 12 6-46

                                         Scoring

    First Quarter

    DE- Josh Asante 17 run (Harry Marks kick)

    DE- Jamy Jenkins 10 run (Harry Marks kick)

    Second Quarter

    DE- Michael Giardino 3 pass from Jamy Jenkins (Harry Marks kick)

    DE- Bo Horvath 5 run (Harry Marks kick)

    UV- Luke Schriver 6 pass from Matt McCloskey (failed)

    Third Quarter

    UV- Luke Schriver 13 pass from Matt McCloskey (Brian Dym kick)

    DE- Bo Horvath 75 run (kick blocked)

    DE- George Bousum 20 pass from Jamy Jenkins (kick blocked)

    Fourth Quarter

    DE- Michael Giardino 34 punt return (kick blocked)

  • Rustin Downs Cougars in Thriller

    Rustin Downs Cougars in Thriller

    In what could be the best game in the Ches-Mont this season, the Golden Knights beat Downingtown East, 16-14.

    The game was evenly matched game, but the combination of six penalties and the Cougars having few answers for Rustin’s Wing-T, helped the Golden Knights run for 290 yards, led by Dayshawn Jacobs’ 187.

    Chris Yanko got the Golden Knights on the scoreboard, on a five-yard run. Bo Horvath tied the score on an 

    eight-yard run.

    Rustin got up at half 13-7, on a Quarterback sneak by Kobe Freeney. If the Golden Knights had a passing threat, this game could have been one sided. That said, they were able to expand their lead to 16-7 on a 25-yard field goal by Griffin Strunk.

    Downingtown East added a touchdown early in the fourth frame to make it 16-14. They were able to drive deep into Rustin territory before an interception ended their threat.

    West Chester Rustin 16, Downingtown East 14.

     

    WC Rustin                    7 6 3 0-16

    Downingtown East   7 0 0 7-14

     

    1st quarter

    WCR – Chris Yanko 5 run (Griffin Strunk kick)

    DE – Bo Horvath 8 run (Harry Marks kick)

                                   

    2nd quarter

    WCR – Kobe Freney 1 run (kick failed)

                                   

    3rd quarter

    WCR – Griffin Strunk 25 FG

                                 

    4th quarter

    DE – Bo Horvath 7 run (Harry Marks kick)

  • Warriors walloped by Red Raiders

    Warriors walloped by Red Raiders

    Two weeks in a row, two shutouts in a row for the Coatesville Red Raiders. Coatesville followed up their 35-0 win over Avon Grove, with a 48-0 beat down of the Warriors from West Chester Henderson.

    Tonight’s game could have been far worse, despite Harrison Susi having an off game passing (5 of 11, 122 yards). Coatesville  could have still named their score.

    Coatesville staked claim to a 14-0 lead on a nine-yard run by Harrison Susi, when Susi jumped a route. He also has a pass to Eddie Smink for a touchdown.

    It was more of the same for Coatesville in the second half, as the Red Raiders put up four more touchdowns. Bryan Lacey scored from six yards out, Susi threw touchdown passes to Dowayne Molina (nine yards) and LeBron Bessick (44 yards). A 43-yard interception return by Joshua Miller put the Red Raiders up 42-0 and ensured the whole second half would be played under the mercy rule.

    The second half, Coatesville’s backups were able to move the ball. The final score came when Damon Watson broke a 70-yard run.

    Coatesville ran for 279 yards on the night, and had 431 total yards of offense. Coatesville held Henderson to 130 yards.

  • Cougars win over Eagles in league opener

    Cougars win over Eagles in league opener

    Last night at Kottmeyer Stadium, the Ches-Mont league opener featured the Downingtown East Cougars and Bishop Shanahan Eagles.

    Downingtown East defeated an injury-depleted Eagles squad by a score of 28-13, in a game that was far closer than the score indicated. Shanahan is down five starters to season-ending injuries, and another starter will miss a few weeks.

    The Cougars jumped out on Shanahan early, building a 21-0 first-quarter lead on their first three drives. Jamy Jenkins hit Louis Rossetti on a five-yard pass to open the scoring. Following a minus four-yard punt, Jenkins scored from three yards out, again on a quarterback sneak.

    Shanahan was able to cut into the 21-7 lead when Cooper Jordan did an audible draw play and scampered 65 yards untouched to pay dirt. The Eagles cut the lead to 21-13 when Jordan hit Lewis from 20 yards out.

    Bo Horvath closed out the scoring on a one-yard run.

    Despite giving up 230 yards to Horvath (36 carries), being penalized 10 times (90 yards), and turning the ball over three times, the Eagles remained competitive.

    Despite the loss, Shanahan coach Paul Meyers was upbeat. “Yeh we turned the ball over a few times, and had penalties, but these kids realize they could play with them. Cooper Jordan is a gamer, a great athlete, and a superstar.”

    Downingtown East running back Bo Horvath said he, “…enjoyed the workload. With Josh Asante out, I have to pick up the workload.” Mike Matta said, “I was frustrated with the fact that we were unable to put them away, and get a grip offensively.”

  • Cougar Crew Wallops Warriors

    Cougar Crew Wallops Warriors

    Nobody can accuse Downingtown East Cougars of not playing teams from other parts of the state. They played and defeated teams from two different districts in two weeks, Pennridge (2020 District 1 6A runner up), and District 6 power State College last week.

    You can add four-time District 2 champion Delaware Valley to that list, as the Cougars laid a 39-14 beating on the Warriors from the Scranton Area.

    The normal bruising running game is still the calling card for Downingtown East, but opposing defenses can not put nine in the box against the Cougars anymore. As Delaware Valley learned the hard way, the Cougars have a quarterback in Jay Jenkins who can throw the ball. Jenkins threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns on the night. Jenkins’ 17 completions went to five different receivers.

    Things went back and forth in the first quarter, as the teams traded touchdowns on their first three possessions. A Paul Weinrich nine-yard run was sandwiched between a 21-yard pass from Jay Jenkins to CJ Leo and a Bo Horvath 30-yard run. Two botched extra points by Downingtown East led to them only being ahead 12-7.

    The Cougars expanded their lead to 18-7 into halftime when Bo Horvath scored from two yards out.

    Coming out of halftime, Downingtown East was able to continue their onslaught, when Jenkins hit Mike Giardino on a 45-yard pass, Horvath scored his third touchdown (10 yards) on the night, and a 14-yard pass from Jenkins to Bousum, made the score 39-7. Justin Kalitsnik closed out the scoring on a two-yard run.

    After the game, Mike Matta stated,” Our passing was something we worked on all offseason, and we took advantage of that tonight. There’s a lot that can be cleaned up. After the first drive, our defense played well.”

    Offensively, there were plenty of fireworks for Downingtown East tonight, as they rolled to 520 yards of offense on 59 plays. Jay Jenkins threw for 320 yards and three scores, Bo Horvath ran for 176 yards and three touchdowns, Mike Giardino had 168 yards on eight catches.

  • Whippets beat Fords late

    Whippets beat Fords late

    There is a saying in sports, that it’s better to win ugly, than not to win at all.

    In a large majority of instances when a team gives up 382 yards of offense, only gets 221 total yards, gets held to under 75 yards rushing, averages under three yards a carry, gets only nine first downs, and punts five times, you’d think the game would be a blowout.

    Tonight was not one of those instances as Downingtown West beat the Haverford School by a score of 13-7. Tonight, the ultimate equalizers were the five lost fumbles by Haverford and a plus-four turnover margin by Downingtown West. The Fords lost fumbles at crucial times, inside the Whippets’ five-yard line, another one at midfield after a punt on the opening drive of the game, and another one on the final drive of the game in Whippet territory.

    Following a scoreless first half (and a Haverford turnover at midfield), Downingtown West was able to score first, when Evan Wickersham hit Elijah Ford on a 31-yard pass play. It did not take long for Haverford to tie the game, on a quarterback sneak by their quarterback Galasso, two plays after a 70-yard pass from Galasso to Knox. 

    In the fourth quarter, West dipped into their bag of tricks, with a double reverse flea-flicker from Wickersham to Ford (34 yards). The drive was capped off by a Ryan Waters seven-yard run.

    After the game, West coach Mike Milano was proud of his kids. They battled through adversity with the flooding in the town, which meant limited practice Wednesday and Thursday. It was a big win against a solid team.

  • Shanahan wears out Ryan in opener

    Shanahan wears out Ryan in opener

    Tonight started the High School Football season here in District 1, as the Eagles of Bishop Shanahan hosted Archbishop Ryan out of the Catholic League. The Eagles won, 21-3, but it could have been worse had they not had a sluggish first half.

    The game started out poorly for Shanahan, losing fumbles on their first two drives, the first after recovering an onside kick. Despite being sluggish offensively, the Eagles’ defense was able to keep them in the game, albeit on the wrong end of a 3-0 halftime score.

    The second half was a different story as Shanahan got its vaunted spread offense going, scoring twice on runs by Cooper Jordan (10 & 23 yards). Jordan wasn’t done. He had a 61-yard run that set up a 23-yard pass to Ryan McGrory.

    The Eagles ran for 212 yards (313 total), led by Cooper Jordan’s 118.

    After the game, Shanahan coach Paul Meyers said, “You guys have been here before. You never panicked down 3-0 at the half. We overcame adversity, which is a sign of leadership. At the half, we challenged our guys, and they stepped up.”

    Archbishop Ryan  0 3 0 0-3
    Bishop Shanahan  0 0 14 7-21

    Scoring summary

    2nd Quarter
    AR-Norton 37FG
    3rd Quarter
    BS-Jordan 10 run (kick failed)
    BS-Jordan 28 run (Whitehill pass from Jordan)
    4th Quarter
    BS-McGrory 23 pass from Jordan (Domsohn kick)

  • Cardinals use big second half to cruise to 5A district championship

    Cardinals use big second half to cruise to 5A district championship

    There’s one thing you can count on. West Chester Rustin’s Golden Knights being one of the last Chester County teams playing playoff football postseason. Although the Golden Knights were the last Ches-Mont team left, their quest for their first District one  5A title since 2007 will have to wait another year, as they were defeated by the Upper Dublin’s Cardinals 29-8.

    Rustin’s vaunted Wing T struggled to gain traction against Upper Dublin’s smothering defense. The Golden Knights could only muster 103 yards rushing and 126 total yards.

    Following a three and out from Rustin to start the game, the Cardinals went through Rustin’s defense like a hot knife through butter, Capped off by a nine-yard pass from Colin O’Sullivan to Logan Trimm for a 7-0 lead.

    Rustin was able to take an 8-7 lead into the half, by capitalizing on  Colin O’Sullivan’s only mistake, an interception by Anthony Meadows. Dayshawn Jacobs cashed in on the turnover on a 24-yard run and a Tucker Flynn run on a bad snap.

    From halftime on, it was all Upper Dublin. Jake Rossman put the Cardinals ahead for good (14-8), on a short run. Upper Dublin cashed in on an interception, when Micah Bootman scored from three yards out (along with a conversion pass from O’Sullivan) for a 22-8 lead. Chris Kohlbrenner made a 28-yard house call off another interception to close out the scoring at 29-8.

    Regardless of the outcome next week against Erie Cathedral Prep, Upper Dublin will have a bright future at quarterback. Colin O’Sullivan is a sophomore, who played with a lot of poise. He threw for 215 yards on 20-26 passing. Micah Bootman had 92 yards receiving.

    After the game, Mike St. Clair of Rustin was happy with their season. He said they played “ball buster schedule. Our senior class set a good example with their leadership.” “We ran into a hot quarterback, and they were just better tonight.”

     

    Upper Dublin 7 0 7 15 – 29

    West Chester Rustin 0 8 0 0 – 8

    Scoring Plays

    1st Quarter

    UD – Colin O’Sullivan 9 pass to Logan Trimm (Owen Carl kick) :51

    2nd Quarter

    R – Dayshawn Jacobs 24 run (Tucker Flynn run) 7:54

    3rd Quarter

    UD – Jacob Rossman 1 run (Owen Carl kick) 5:25

    4th Quarter

    UD – Malik Bootman 2 run (O’Sullivan pass to Bootman) 11:13

    UD – Chris Kohlbrenner 28 interception return (Owen Carl kick) 3:50

     

  • Cougars wear out Whippets in Celebration of Downingtown football

    Cougars wear out Whippets in Celebration of Downingtown football

    In many ways, 2020 has been a strange year. The 2020 version of the “Celebration of Downingtown Football” would be no different. In most years this passionate rivalry has massive playoff implications. This year is the first time in over 15 years that neither Downingtown school participated in the district playoffs.

    In what was a great defensive game, the Cougars from Downingtown East won the Celebration of Downingtown Football over the Downingtown West Whippets for the first time since 2017, by a 21-7 score.

    The defenses dominated the first half as Evan Wickersham had a 16-yard pass to Julian Williams for the half’s only score. This created a  7-0 lead for the Whippets. The Cougars were able to move the ball, but three turnovers (a lost fumble, and two interceptions) and a turnover on downs put a screeching halt to their early drives.

    The second half, especially the third quarter, was a completely different story. Downingtown East wore out the Whippets, putting up 21 points out of halftime. A one-yard run by Josh Asante tied the game at seven, then a five-yard pass from Jenkins to Asante on fourth and four put the Cougars up for good. Stanley Bryant capped off the scoring from nine yards out.

    Offensively, the story tonight was how effectively Stanley Bryant and Josh Asante ran behind Downingtown East’s massive line. The two of them ran for 300 yards on 54 carries. Asante had 151 yards on 28 carries, and Bryant had 149 yards on 26 carries.

    Both quarterbacks struggled, as neither completed half their passes. Jamy Jenkins threw for 67 yards and two interceptions on 6-14 passing. Evan Wickersham was an uncharacteristic 10-25 passing for 102 yards.

    After the game, West coach Mike Milano said, “They got after us and wore us out in the second half. We made too many mistakes.” His counterpart Mike Matta said, “We were the best version of ourselves tonight. Special teams were on point. We wore them out. This is just what we do. They are a fast-paced team, 16 (Julian Williams) is a heck of a player.”

  • Golden Knights golden in clobbering Cougars

    Golden Knights golden in clobbering Cougars

    Tonight was supposed to be a battle of two of the better teams in the Ches Mont League, in a crossover game between the Golden Knights of Rustin High School and Downingtown East. The keywords were ‘supposed to be’, as the Golden Knights crushed the Cougars, by a score of 32-13.

    Rustin got off to a fast 13-0 lead, by going away from their vaunted Wing-T.  Jon Crispino hit Tucker Flynn on a 65-yard screen pass, then hit Dayshawn Jacobs on an 18-yard pass. The only two passes Crispino completed went for touchdowns. Before exiting the game (collarbone), Flynn had 133 total yards. Dayshawn Jacobs ran for 216 of Rustin’s 363 yards on the ground.

    Rustin’s lead went to 20-0, on an eight-yard run by Dayshawn Jacobs. Josh Asante got the Cougars on the board before halftime on a four-yard run.

    Rustin expanded its lead to 26-6 on a Crispino two-yard run. The Cougars answered on a 30-yard pass from Jamy Jenkins to Nick Lovenguth. Crispino closed out the scoring on a two-yard run.

    Jamy Jenkins threw for 193 yards for Downingtown East, and Josh Asante ran for 85 yards. Rustin rolled 446 total yards.
    After the game, an emotional Rustin coach Mike Saint Clair told his team, “This is the result of hard work, and believing in yourself.”  This was one of the biggest wins for this program. The defense came up big and made stops. In the years of covering high school football, Mike St. Clair is one of the good guys you will encounter.

    East coach Mike Matt’s said, “Rustin played well, did all the little things well, and was more physical than us.” Mike Matta is another one of the good coaches you will come across.

  • Coatesville wins slugfest with Cougars

    Coatesville wins slugfest with Cougars

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    For the second straight week, the Coatesville Red Raiders hosted one of the Downingtown schools. Coatesville beat a Downingtown school for the second straight week, downing the Cougars of Downingtown East, 20-14.

    It was a tale of two halves, as the Red Raiders established a 14-0 halftime lead on a short run by Ashon Wesley, and a 21-yard pass from Harrison Susi to Abdul-Sabur Stewart on the last play of the half.

    Coatesville extended their lead to 20-0 on a Harrison Susi quarterback sneak. Downingtown East got on the scoreboard when Josh Asante scored on a 14-yard run. After the teams traded turnovers, Jamy Jenkins hit Giordino from 16 yards out to close out the scoring.

    Jamy Jennings could not establish any consistency with the Cougar passing game (10-28, 147 yards, 1 TD & 2 ints), but showed flashes of a solid future. Tailback Josh Asante had 21 carries for 111 yards.

    For Coatesville, Harrison Susi threw for 160 yards (17-24), 10 of them to Abdul Sabur Stewart (100 yards).

    After the game, Matt Ortega said,  “We (Coatesville) had some self inflicted mistakes. We did a good job shutting down the run, and make them pass.”

    Mike Matt said, “This was a hard loss. They could have given in at 20-0, but they didn’t. They bought in to the program.”

  • Coatesville gets payback in rematch

    Coatesville gets payback in rematch

    They say payback can come in many ways. Tonight, in their third meeting on the gridiron in less than a calendar year, the Coatesville Red Raiders got payback on the Downingtown West Whippets, by a score of 22-14. Coatesville’s win tonight avenged their defeat at the hands of the Whippets in last year’s district championship.

    The game featured everything, from a safety on a bad snap over a punter’s head, to a 95-yard run on a quarterback sneak.

    Downingtown West got on the scoreboard first, when Nahsir Harris scored on a one-yard run. Coatesville successfully counterpunched on a McClain-Jackson two-yard run, and a 7-6 lead. The Whippets got a touchdown to take a 14-7 lead on an Evan Wickersham 40-yard pass to Elijah Ford.

    Following a West punt and a botched punt return leaving Coatesville at their own one-yard line, was one of the wildest sequences I have ever seen. Coatesville signal-caller Harrison Susi ran for 94 yards on a QUARTERBACK SNEAK, and the drive went 95 yards but did not score a touchdown. The drive ended in a missed field goal.

    After halftime, it became clear that Downingtown West’s lack of depth impacted them. The combination of Coatesville’s physicality upfront, and the Whippets having a lot of kids play both ways, wore out west.

    In military speak, Coatesville’s offensive line skull dragged the Whippets all second half. Downingtown West was shut out in the second half (15-0) due to a safety on a bad snap, and two Harrison Susi touchdown runs. The Whippets had more punts (9) than first downs (8) and more penalties than Coatesville (6-5).

    Red Raider Harrison Susi had 159 yards rushing and two touchdowns (18 carries), Dametrius McClain-Jackson had 94 yards and a touchdown (14 carries). Ashton Wesley had 62 yards on 13 carries.

    Coatesville coach Matt Ortega stated, “Offensively they’re still trying to find an identity, and going into the season, our defense was our strength.”

  • Cougars show no mercy in demolition of Avon Grove

    Cougars show no mercy in demolition of Avon Grove

    They say to win football games, you need to do two things run the ball, and stop the run. Tonight, Cougars executed that to perfection in a 49-0 thrashing of the Red Devils from Avon Grove, 49-0. The scary part is that the score could have been worse. East could have scored 60 or 70.

    Downingtown East had three running backs go over 100 yards (Braden McLane 13-100-1 TD, Josh Asante 15-135-3TDs, and Horvath has 12-124-1TD) in accumulating 383 yards rushing, totaling 511 yards of offense.

    Following an Avon Grove punt on their opening drive, Josh Asante opened the scoring on a nine-yard run. A 40-yard pass from Jamy Jenkins to Giordino put the Cougars up 14-0 by the end of the first quarter. Two more Josh Asante runs of three and five yards, expanded the lead to 28-0. Another Jenkins to Giordino drive ensured that the second half would be played under the mercy rule.

    Even with the backups in the game, they got into the scoring, with Horvath and McLane scoring touchdowns.

    Defensively, Downingtown East only allowed 125 yards of offense, two of which were on the ground. Avon Grove had more punts (7) than first downs (5). Cougar quarterback Jamy Jenkins threw for more yards (128) than the Red Devils had total yards.

  • La Salle spoils senior night for Downingtown

    La Salle spoils senior night for Downingtown

    In the opening week for the Ches-Mont League for football, the Downingtown East Cougars lost to La Salle Prep, by a score of 27-7. It was an odd event in an odd year, the only non-league game being played by any Ches-Mont school.

    This game wasn’t even scheduled two weeks ago, when the schedule was released. Downingtown East was to play Downingtown West.

    Tonight’s 27-7 score was a bit misleading, as it was closer than the score indicated. Downingtown East had a turnover on downs inside La Salle’s five-yard line, and lost a fumble that went in for a touchdown.

    For most of tonight’s game, the cougars had no answer for La Salle’s running game, especially Sam Brown, who ran for 97 yards and three scores on 22 carries. Brown added 24 yards on six catches. It was Sam Brown’s three touchdown runs (3, 8, 10 yards) that put the Explorers up 20-0.

    A 61-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Daly to Machitta put La Salle up 27-0, before a pass from Jamy Jennings to Nick Lovenguth closed out the scoring.

    For La Salle, Gavin Daly threw for 158 yards, Sam Brown ran for 97 yards (121 all purpose). As a team, La Salle ran for 173 yards, and had 331 total.

    Stanley Bryant ran for 83 yards, And Josh Asante ran for 68.

  • Whippets Put An End To “RED RAIDER” Season To Win First District Title Since 1996

    Whippets Put An End To “RED RAIDER” Season To Win First District Title Since 1996

    Before tonight, the Downingtown West Whippets had been unable to beat Coatesville since the 2015 season, and they have been unable to win a District 1 title in football since the state championship team of 1996. Both droughts were put to a convincing end this year, as the Whippets defeated the Red Raiders 48-36.

    The Whippets jumped out on Coatesville from the start, forcing the Red Raiders to a three and out to start the game. It took the Whippets seven plays to take a 7-0 lead, when Will Mahmoud scored from two yards out. Mahmoud struck again almost immediately, returning a Ricky Ortega fumble 42 yards to paydirt making it 14-0. The Red Raiders were forced to punt later. They were in a 21-0 hole following a one-yard run from Will Howard. Coatesville got on the scoreboard late in the first, on a 24-yard run by Ricky Ortega.

    The teams traded touchdowns in the second frame, when Alex Rosano put the Whippets up 27-7. Right before halftime, Ortega hit Abdul-Sabur Stewart on an 80-yard pass, for the 27-14 halftime score.The touchdown pass put Ortega over 10,000 yards for his high school career.

    Coatesville was able to cut the lead to 27-21 after halftime and eventually 34-28 with big plays in the passing game. Touchdown passes to Dapree Bryant (70 & 59 yards, his only two catches) sandwiched a six-yard run by Tyriq Lewis.

    The Whippets scored twice in the final frame, Will Howard threw his first touchdown pass ever against Coatesville to Lewis (37 yards), and Lewis scored from two yards out to make it 48-28. A 40-yard pass to Artie Burgess made it 48-36.

    Although Ortega threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns on the night, that number is very deceptive. Most of the yards, 289, were on five completions. Ortega and the Coatesville offense looked out of sync all night.

    After the game, Matt Ortega lamented on their season.  “It was the best three year run at Coatesville. We battled adversity in injuries. They fought, never quit, but they were better tonight.”

    Whippets players Alex Rosano and Will Howard stated,  “It was our turn. It was gratifying to finally beat them for a district title.” Howard added that line defense made big stands, receivers made crazy plays.

    Observations from the press box: Ortega was 13-31 passing and had some uncharacteristic turnovers. He was outshined by Will Howard (19-28, 302 yards). Tyriq Lewis had 176 offensive yards (60 rushing, 116 receiving) and three scores. Alex Rosano had nine catches (115 yards).

  • Whippets Win Shootout, Set Up Rematch For District Title

    Whippets Win Shootout, Set Up Rematch For District Title

    Tonight the Haverford Fords had to make their second trip in a row to Kottmeyer Stadium for a playoff game against a Downingtown High School. Unfortunately for the Fords- the result was not the same, as the Whippets defeat them 49-42; to set up a rematch with league rival Coatesville for the District 1 6A title.

    The final score was a lot closer than it should have been, as the Whippets were ahead 35-7 in the first half, and 42-14 in the third quarter.

    Things began dubiously for Haverford, as the Fords wheels were spinning and went nowhere for their first two drives. As they were unable to move the ball, Tyriq Lewis staked the Whippets to a 14-0 lead on runs of 4 and 1 yard. Lewis completed a 34 yard halfback pass for 34 yards on their opening drive.

    Haverford quarterback Trey Blair helped the Fords’ offense get on track, when he broke a 75 yard run set up a Chasen Wint 1 yard run to cut their deficit to 14-7. Will Howard completed his first of three touchdown passes to Will Mahmoud (5 yards) to make it 21-7 after the first quarter.

    A one yard sneak by Howard increased the Whippets’ lead to 28-7, then a double turnover gave the Whippets the ball at midfield. A screen pass intended for Tyriq Lewis was intercepted by Will Higson, then Sean Pelkisson forced a fumble by Higson on the interception return. The Whippets cashed in, as Will Howard scored on a 7 yard run, to put the Whippets up 35-7. Trey Blair cut the lead to 35-14 at halftime, on a 20 yard run.

    The Whippets and Fords scored touchdowns on their only possessions in the third frame, on Will Howard’s second touchdown pass to Will Mahmoud (42-14), and a touchdown pass from Blair cut the lead to 42-21.

    The fourth quarter had a lot of scoring, and led to a wild finish. Trey Blair threw his second touchdown pass to Chris Dempsey (21 yards) to cut the lead to 42-28. Will Howard hit Julian Williams for a 52 yard touchdown pass to bring West’s lead back to 21 (49-28). At this point, the Fords made things interesting, led by their SUNY-Buffalo signal caller. Blair scored on a 1 yard run (49-35), recovered an onside kick, then threw a 9 yard pass to Higson to cut the score to 49-42.

    Unfortunately for the Fords- the Whippets recovered the second onside kick, ran out the clock, and set up their rematch.

    Offensively, the Whippets showed a lot of balance on offense, with 273 yards rushing, and 282 passing. Will Howard threw for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns, and ran for 2 more. Tyriq Lewis ran for 140 yards.

    For Haverford, Trey Blair ran for 256 yards, and accounted for 5 scores.

    Up next- Haverford (10-3) plays Upper Darby on Thanksgiving morning, and Downingtown West (12-1) plays Coatesville (10-2) next Friday

  • Fords put brakes on Cougars in upset

    Fords put brakes on Cougars in upset

    Tonight at Kottmeyer Stadium, a bunch of supporters from Downingtown East were expecting a win over a double-digit seed. They also expected a rematch with their inter-district rival in the District 1 semifinals.

    To quote Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friends.”

    The Fords from Haverford High School put the brakes on that rematch, dispatching the home Cougars by a 35-12 score. The win was Haverford’s second win ever in the District playoffs.

    Whatever could go right for Haverford, went right. The Fords’ offense was able to generate explosive plays, their defense suffocated Downingtown East’s run game, and their special teams scored. The Fords’ defense was highly opportunistic, forcing five turnovers.

    As for Buffalo commit Trey Blair, he was as advertised. On Haverford’s opening drive, Blair broke free a 54-yard touchdown run, giving the visitors from Delaware County a 7-0 lead. The advantage was short lived, as the Cougars’ Stanley Bryant broke free for a 64-yard run to cut the lead to 7-6.

    From there, it was all downhill for Downingtown East. Following Bryant’s touchdown run, Trey Blair returned the ensuing kickoff to paydirt to make it 14-6 and hit Sean Reynolds for a 26-yard pass to make it 21-6 after one quarter of play.

    From there, the Trey Blair show continued, a one-yard plunge made it 28-6. Their backup quarterback hit Justin Burgess to make it 35-6 at halftime.

    The only scoring in the second half was on a 64-yard run by Stanley Bryant.

    After the game, longtime Haverford coach Joe Gallagher said their game plan was a “scheme they had not run all year. It was a change of pace. This is one of the most physically and mentally toughest teams I’ve ever coached. They were 85% run all year.”

  • Whippets use big Second half to oust Pennsbury

    Whippets use big Second half to oust Pennsbury

    The years may change, but some things stay the same.
    Two of those items that seldom changed the last few years- that the Downingtown West Whippets and the Pennsbury Falcons will cross paths in the District 1 6A playoffs, and the other is that the teams will have a high scoring affair.
    Both of those items came true to form tonight for the third time since 2014- as the top seeded Whippets hosted the Falcons from Fairless Hills, and this time it was the Whippets’ turn to come out on the right end of a high scoring affair, by a score of 63-35. The game had 44 first downs, 985 yards of offense, and 13 plays of over 25 yards.
    Both teams went up and down the field right away, as Pennsbury went 80 yards in 7 plays on their opening drive- when JayVon McNeill scored from 32 yards out on a zone read, which was set up by a 28 yard run by CJ Kohler on a 4th and 1 at their own 40.

    Following a West three and out, and Pennsbury drive covering 35 yards before stalling on downs; the Whippets tied the score on a Tyriq Lewis 14 yard run. Lewis rushed for 218 yards on 21 carries, and had his second 5 touchdown game of the season tonight.

    From there, Pennsbury went back down the field in 5 plays- as Brad Mickles scores 44 yards out to take a 14-7 lead. The Falcons were able to steal a possession on an onside kick that was touched by a West player around midfield (and booted by multiple players on both sides), all the way down to the Pennsbury 18 yard line, before the Falcons recovered it. It took Pennsbury 7 plays to cover 82 yards, before McNeill scored for a 21-7 Falcon lead.
    The teams traded scores, as Tyriq Lewis score to close the gap to 21-14, Bond apparently hauled in a 33 yard pass from Kohler to put the Pennsbury lead back to 14 at 28-14 midway through the second quarter.
    From there- the game was dominated by Downingtown West. Terrence Gainer scored from 8 yards out to cut the Falcons’ lead to 28-21, and Will Howard threw a 16 yard pass to Julian Williams to tie the game at 28-28 going into halftime.
    Coming out of halftime, it took Downingtown West two plays (aided by 3 penalties by Pennsbury) to take a 35-28 on a Howard pass to Mahmoud from 32 yards out. After a short punt, Tyriq Lewis scored his third touchdown on the night on the first play of the drive, to put West up 42-28. Pennsbury closed the score to 42-35, on JayVon McNeill’s third score- the final time Pennsbury found paydirt. Tyriq Lewis put the Whippets up 49-35 on a 27 yard run, and 56-35 on a 3 yard run. Terrence Gainer put the stamp on this one, on a 7 yard run.
    West put up 481 yards of offense- 116 passing and two touchdowns by Will Howard, along with 365 yards rushing led by Tyriq Lewis’ 218.
    Pennsbury had 502 yards of offense in the loss. CJ Kolher threw for 139 yards, and the Falcons rushed for 363 yards- led by JayVon McNeill’s 158 yards and 3 scores (24 carries), and Brad Mickles’ 142 yards and a score (23 carries).
  • Red Raiders Win Quarterback Showdown

    Red Raiders Win Quarterback Showdown

    Like in most years, the Ches-Mont league title was decided near the end of the season. For the fourth straight year, the Coatesville Red Raiders clinched a share of the league title, by defeating the Whippets of Downingtown West in a hard hitting 29-21 contest.

    It sets up a outright win, or a three way shared title situation next week.

    The game was billed as a showdown between division 1 bound quarterbacks Ricky Ortega (Villanova) of Coatesville and Wil Howard (Kansas State) of Downingtown West. Both quarterbacks accounted for at least three scores- but it was Ortega who made more clutch plays with his feet, and Coatesville’s receivers made plays where West’s made crucial drops.

    Coatesville got on the scoreboard first on a sneak by Ortega, as he showed no ill effects of a lingering foot injury on a quarterback sneak. Maximus Hale tied the game on a two yard plunge.

    The Red Raiders took a 20-7 lead into halftime on a second touchdown run by Ortega, and a 17 yard pass from Ortega to Dapree Bryant. In the first half, Ortega threw for 229 yards.

    Starting the second half, Downingtown West roared back to take a 21-20 lead- on a Wil Howard 1 yard run, and a 2 yard option run following a 10 yard punt by Coatesville. By the end of the third quarter, Ricky Ortega scored on a 1 yard run, following a bloop kick.

    Hadzor kicked a 27 yard field goal for the final score. But the ending was a bit interesting. Julian Williams returned a punt to the Coatesville 23, but the Red Raiders’ defense held.

    The game was chippy- 8 personal fouls were called. Statistically- Ortega threw for331 yards, and had two receivers go over 100 yards (Dapree Bryant- 147 and Stewart had 113)

  • Downingtown Showdown a Mow Down

    Downingtown Showdown a Mow Down

    Tonight was the 16th rendition of the Battle of the Brandywine between Downingtown East and West. Both teams entered the game with 6-0 records, and before a crowd of about 7,000 people.

    If you told me before the game that the Whippets would:
    1. Fumble the opening kickoff at their own 30,
    2. Turn the ball over 4 times,
    3. Allow two Cougar running backs to run for over 100 yards each, and
    4. Give up 277 yards rushing for the game
    I would tell you that the Cougars would beat the Whippets for the 8th time in the last 10 years.

    That was not the case, as the Whippets beat the Cougars for the second year in a row, by a score of 63-35. It was a record setting night, as new records for most combined points scored in a game (98), and points scored by the winning team (63) were set.

    As previously stated, the game started auspiciously for the Whippets- as they fumbled the opening kickoff. Four plays later, Stanley Bryant rumbled in from 11 yards out. The teams traded touchdowns in a 14-14 first quarter- Tyriq Lewis tied the game on a 3 yard run to tie the game at 7, Spencer Uggla & Lewis scored touchdowns to keep the game tied. Tyriq Lewis scored his third touchdown (6 yard run) to put the Whippets up 21-14 going into halftime.

    The third quarter was a scoring fiesta for the Whippets as they out scored their district rivals 28-7. Alex Rosario scored on a 36 yard pass from Wil Howard for a 28-14 advantage.

    Stanley Bryant scored his third touchdown to cut the Whippets’ lead to 28-14, but Julian Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. 35-21 became 42-21 when Tyriq Lewis took another Wil Howard pass 34 yards to pay dirt. Julian Williams did more damage to the Cougars on special teams, taking a punt 56 yards for a 49-21 Whippets lead.

    The Cougars did not go away, as Stanley Bryant scored twice, sandwiching a Sean Pelkisson 38 yard fumble return for a score. Backup quarterback Evan Wickersham put the Whippets over 60 points on a sneak.

    This game always turns in legendary performances from both sides- from Pat Devlin in the first games of the Battle of the Brandywine, to Tommy Woodward’s 4 interception game in 2009, to the Lauletta’s, and Cary Angeline in recent years.

    This year- it was the play of five players. For Downingtown West, Wil Howard threw for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns, while running for 86 more. Tyriq Lewis had 130 total yards (60 rushing, 70 receiving), and Julian Williams had two touchdowns on special teams. For Downingtown East, it was their running backs- Spencer Uggla (27 carries for 147 yards & a touchdown), and Stanley Bryant (125 yards & 4 touchdowns).

    After the game- West coach Mike Milano stayed that “they (East) are a really good team. We have some special athletes here, who have a big game mentality. We tried to do too much early, and like a prize fight, there’s a lot of emotion. “

  • Ortega breaks record in Red Raider Runaway

    Ortega breaks record in Red Raider Runaway

    Tonight, Coatesville could do almost no wrong in a 55-17 demolition of an overmatched West Chester Henderson squad.

    In a game where the Red Raiders pulled their starters before halftime, scored 48 points before half, and special teams scored twice. There was an occurrence that out shined all of this- Coatesville quarterback Ricky Ortega broke Pat Devlin’s Ches-Mont League record for career yards passing. It occurred on a 3 yard pass to Damonte Reason.

    Right off the bat, the Warriors from Henderson were in for a long night- Dapree Bryant took the opening kickoff 84 yards for a score. It went from bad to worse as Dametrius McClain-Jackson scored from 19 yards out, to make it 14-0.

    Coatesville scored 3 more touchdowns to make it 34-0- Two passes from Ortega to Bryant (22 & 10 yards) sandwiched a McClain-Jackson score. Ortega’s second touchdown pass was set up by a Shamaur Hall interception.

    Henderson scored their lone first half touchdown on a Jon Hamm 12 yard interception return of Rhyel Eubanks. Eubanks would redeem himself with a 57 yard pass to Abdul Stewart. Amir Kennedy retuned a Henderson punt 85 yards right before halftime to put Coatesville up 48-7, and invoke the mercy rule.

    Henderson did add 10 points in the second half- an Eddie Smink 38 yard pass to John Herman-Harsch set up a Pat Esemplare touchdown run of 28 yards, and Joe Shur kicked a 23 yard field goal.

    Freshman reserve quarterback Harrison Susi scored from 11 yards out for Coatesville for the final margin.

    Ortega threw for 75 yards and 2 scores (9-12 passing) on his record setting night. As a team, the Red Raiders accumulated 213 yards passing and 126 rushing (339 total)

  • Warriors Downed by Shanahan in Thriller

    Warriors Downed by Shanahan in Thriller

    Henderson showed glimpses of greatness.  Tonight the Warriors from Henderson High School did not look like a team that went winless last year. They didn’t look like a team with 15 straight losses (and 1-21) dating back to the 2017 season. The investment the players showed clearly in a 16-14 loss to a young Bishop Shanahan Eagle squad.

    Neither team moved the ball consistently in a scoreless first half. Penalties and two crucial interceptions by Shanahan cost themselves, while overall inconsistency doomed the Warriors.

    A quarterback change from Sammi Whitehill to Cooper Jordan gave the Eagles a spark in the second half, as Jordan ran for 75 yards and two scores. After he broke a 41 yard run, he scored from four yards out.

    A botched snap on the field goal by Shanahan turned into a first and goal- where Billie Keegan missed the tee, and made a play. Cooper made it 13-0.

    Henderson would not go away. The Warriors hit two big pass plays (with a Shanahan Field Goal in between), from Eddie Smink to Cole Cooper.

    An interception by Gus Ross sealed the win for the Eagles.

  • District 1 Showdown, an absolute mow down

    District 1 Showdown, an absolute mow down

    In a potential district playoff meeting, the Downingtown West Whippets put the clamps down on perennial District and Central League power Garnet Valley, by a 42-19 score. Many people thought it would have been a better game, but it got away from the visiting Jaguars in the second quarter.

    Garnet Valley had a solid drive to jump on the Whippets for a 7-0 lead early. The drive was capped off by a one-yard run by Jake Morin.  Tyriq Lewis tied the game up on a 61-yard run on fourth down.

    During most of the first half, the Jaguars had some success with the veer option. A couple self inflicted mistakes (multiple fumbled snaps, missed field goal) allowed the Whippets to pull away.

    A Sean Pelkisson 22-yard run and a five-yard reception gave the Whippets a 21-7 halftime advantage. Howard made the connection to Pelkisson again to open the second half, which made it 28-7.

    At this point, the Jaguars showed some life. They scored on a six-yard pass from Gallagher to Craig to close the gap to 28-13.

    Any hope Garnet Valley had to get back into the game, was squashed with a 91-yard kickoff return by Julian Williams. Add in a one-yard run by Wil Howard, and it was too much.

    Kansas State bound quarterback, Wil Howard, threw for 155 yards, and Tyriq Lewis ran for 100 yards for West.

  • Cougars clobber Archbishop Ryan in opener

    Cougars clobber Archbishop Ryan in opener

    In what seems to be the case on a yearly basis, the Downingtown East Cougars had an opponent from out of district 1, and won in a convincing fashion. This season is no different, as the Cougars beat Archbishop Ryan out of the Catholic League, by a mercy rule 42-12.

    The game was not nearly as close as the score indicated- Archbishop Ryan didn’t get a first down until their fourth possession. By then they were down 21-0. The Raiders were out-gained by almost a 3-1 margin (302-109).

    Archbishop Ryan went three and out on their first three possessions of the game.  It took the Cougars two plays to go up 7-0 on a Drew Person sneak. It took one play to make it 14-0, after Drew Person hit Luke Connolly for 57 yards. Person hit Connor Noble from five yards out for a 21-0 lead.

    Once the Raiders were down 21-0, they sustained their only decent drive of the game. Their drive was capped off when Cole Lowe hit Justin Collier from 15 yards out on a busted play. The extra point failed, so it was 21-6 at this point.

    From there, the onslaught continued. Spencer Uggla scored from 22 yards out to make it 28-6, and a 39-yard run by Josh Asante made it 35-6.

    The Cougars delayed hitting the mercy rule by six minutes, when a pass was intercepted in the end zone. The teams traded punts on their first possessions of the second half, then with six minutes left in the third quarter, the mercy rule was put into play when Brendan Littlepage hit Situ Koye from ten yards out.

    Julian Jones scored from a yard out on Downingtown  East’s JV team, for the 42-12 final.

  • Whippets Be-Devil Avon Grove

    Despite a slow start, the Downingtown West Whippets improved to 6-0 on the season by soundly defeating Avon Grove 35-7.

    During a scoreless first quarter, the Whippets were stuck in neutral offensively, as Avon Grove was able to generate pressure on West’s offense coming off the edges. Meanwhile, Avon Grove had a modicum of success offensively, but a stifling Whippet defense and penalties doomed the Red Devils.

    The second quarter was a completely different animal, as Downingtown West was able to exert their will offensively, staking claim to a 21-0 lead. Tyriq Lewis capped off a drive with a three-yard run. Tyler Austin bulled his way from 11 yards out, and again on a six yard run.

    After halftime, highly regarded quarterback Wil Howard, hit Jackson Luneberg from nine yards out for a 28-0 score. The mercy rule was reached early in the fourth quarter, when Wil Howard scored from seven yards out. Corey Riddell’s 73-yard run put Avon Grove on the board.

    For Downingtown West, Tyler Alston (93 yards) and Tyriq Lewis (86 yards) spearheaded a ground game that racked up 233 yards.

    Some food for thought, as deserving as Ricky Ortega is in receiving the press he does, don’t forget about Wil Howard. Howard is flying under the radar.

  • Red Raiders show no mercy, run away from Eagles

    Tonight’s matchup between the Coatesville Red Raiders and Bishop Shanahan Eagles at Jack Mancini Field, was a mismatch in every way.

    With Octorara departed to the Lancaster-Lebanon League, and District 3,  Bishop Shanahan has become the lone 4A school, and the smallest school in either division of the Ches-Mont League. Coatesville is the largest school in the league based on enrollment.

    The size of both schools’ rosters and the gap in talent was also significant, as the 49-0 score indicated.  Coatesville showed why they are possibly the best team in District 1 (and the state). They piled on 428 yards of offense and 42 first half points. Despite the impressive offensive numbers Coatesville put up, the score could have been worse in their favor.  A holding penalty nullified a Coatesville touchdown on the opening kickoff.

    On Coatesville’s second possession of the game, Aaron Young bolted 55 yards to put the Red Raiders on the scoreboard. Junior quarterback Ricky Ortega was involved in the next five Coatesville touchdowns, a ten-yard run, two passes to Dapree Bryant (60 & 25 yards), a pass to Dymere Miller (26 yards), and an eight-yard pass to Bryant.  The 25-yard pass to Bryant was something off a highlight reel. It was a one-handed catch and he managed to keep his feet in bounds. It was impressive.

    The 42-0 advantage put the mercy rule in place, but Coatesville’s backups were able to add a touchdown in the third.

    Statistically, Ricky Ortega had his best game of the season tonight, throwing for 210 yards (with four touchdowns), rushing for 92 yards plus a score, before being removed at halftime. Aaron Young ran for 126 and a score. Top receiver Dapree Bryant had 139 yards and three scores on six catches.

    Based on what I saw tonight, I don’t see many teams beating Coatesville this season. The main thing they MUST clean up, is the penalties. Although the Red Raiders were penalized 13 times for 96 yards. Only two were remotely significant, the holding penalty that nullified a touchdown on the opening kickoff and an intentional grounding penalty on Ricky Ortega.

  • Cougars show no mercy despite slow start, down Cahillites

    In the final week of non league games, the Downingtown East Cougars defeated the Cahillites from Roman Catholic, 42-7 at Kottmeyer Stadium. The win kept Downingtown East undefeated at 3-0 on the season and their seventh straight win over the Cahillites.

    The Cougars’ special teams started the game off slowly and almost put them in a two score hole off the bat. Despite forcing a punt on Roman’s opening possession, Downingtown East fumbled the punt at their own 15 yard line.  It took the Cahillites one play to take a 7-0 lead, as Ivan Thorpe hauled in a 15-yard strike from Rhyme Robinson..

    Things went from bad to worse on the ensuing kickoff, as it was fumbled by the Cougars at their own 25.  Like they did the rest of the night, Downingtown East’s defense stiffened, and it led to Downingtown East finally getting on the board.  Following a punt on Downingtown East’s first possession, linebacker Connor Noble jumped a bubble screen and returned it 55 yards to cut the lead to 7-6.

    From there, it was Downingtown East’s defense smothering Roman, and capitalizing on field position due to short punts by the Cahillites.  Luke Davis scored on a quarterback sneak and on an option run (34 yards) to expand the lead to 20-7. Zach Hamilton scored from two yards out to push the lead to 27-7 at halftime.

    Coming out of half, Garvey Jonassaint scored untouched on a 24-yard screen pass from Luke Davis to swell the Cougar advantage to 34-7.  On their next possession, Davis hit Matt Harootunian from 20 yards out.  Garvey Jonassaint’s two-point conversion put the lead at 42-7, invoking the mercy rule.

    The mercy rule was not needed, however, as the game was ended with 2:37 left in the third quarter, on account of multiple lightning strikes in the area.

    GAME SUMMARY-

    Roman-    7-  0-  0-NA-   7

    Down E- 13-14-15-NA- 42

    RC- Thorpe 15 pass from Robinson (Flaherty kick)

    DE- Noble 55 yard interception return (kick blocked)

    DE- Davis 1 run (Murlless kick)

    DE- Davis 34 run (Murlless kick)

    DE- Hamilton 2 run (Murlless kick)

    DE- Jonassaint 24 pass from Davis (Murlless kick)

    DE- Harootunian 20 pass from Davis (Jonassaint run)

    DE                 RC

    First downs                                  13                   7

    Penalties-Yds                             2-20              7-40

    Punts-Avg                                  3-34              6-31.7

    Fumbles-Lost                              2-2                    2-2

    Rushes-Yards                          32-156                19-50

    Comp-att-Int                          5-15-0              10-20-2

    Yards Passing                         95                      32

    Total Yards                             251                    82

  • Panthers pull upset, give Clancy milestone win

    Tonight at Jack Mancini field on the campus of Bishop Shanahan High School, the Panthers from Strath Haven upset the Bishop Shanahan Eagles, 24-21. The game was an instant classic, that was decided by Emmett Young’s 24-yard field goal at 7.7 seconds left.

    Not only does the win assure the Panthers a second District 1, 5A playoff game next week at Unionville, but it was legendary coach Kevin Clancy’s 300th win at the helm of the Panthers.

    The Eagles got off to a slow start and had a difficult time on offense and defense. The Panthers opened the game on a six-minute touchdown drive, capped off by a Sean Daly one-yard run.

    Shanahan got within 7-6 when Connor Whalen scored on a two-yard touchdown run and a badly missed extra point. Ethan Belville scooped up a fumbled Shanahan QB/RB exchange, and rumbled 17 yards for a 14-6 halftime lead for the Panthers from Wallingford.

    The only score of the third quarter, came when Shanahan quarterback Andrew Smyth scored from two yards out and completed a two point conversion pass to Steve Sweeney to tie the game at 14-14. Following a short Panther punt, Danny DiBenedetto took a handoff 50 yards to pay dirt and a 21-14 lead. Strath Haven drove down the field to tie the game on a 30-yard pass to a fallen down Thomas Foster.

    The touchdown pass set up the stage for Young’s heroics. Smyth threw a tip drill interception, giving the Panthers the ball in plus territory. Haven ground out the clock to 7.7 seconds, Young kicked a 24 yard field goal, and stopped Shanahan’s last gasp.

    On the milestone win, Kevin Clancy stated, “I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was a gutsy win. All our defense making plays. It wasn’t easy, we ground it away. A sophomore LB made the interception to put us in a position to win.”

    Shanahan boss Paul Meyers said, “Give them credit, we made mistakes, and the fumble return was the difference in the game.”

  • Coatesville wins instant classic over Cougars 

    This match up was billed as the most anticipated game of the 2017 season in the Ches Mont league. The contest between Downingtown East and Coatesville lived up to its billing. Both teams were clearly the best two teams in the league (by a wide margin). Coatesville made two more plays than Downingtown East did, and made them count, in a 38-27 win at Kottmeyer Stadium. The game was about as evenly matched as it could be, as every time one scored, the other answered.

    Downingtown East got on the scoreboard first, as Garvey Johnassaint broke free for a 25-yard score. The lead was short lived, as Red Raider receiver Dapree Bryant broke free on an option play on Coatesville’s first play from scrimmage after East’s early score.

    Neither team could break away from the other, as the Cougars squandered two opportunities in Coatesville territory, by way of a tip drill interception, and a lost fumble.  Coatesville cashed in on the interception, when Aaron Young scored from 11 yards out.  This time, Downingtown East answered back, on another Johnassaint touchdown run to tie the game at 14-14.

    Downingtown East took a 21-20 lead going into the fourth frame as Johnassaint scored his third and final touchdown, and Ricky Ortega answered on a sneak for Coatesville. The difference was a missed extra point. Special teams on both sides were not so special, as both teams were starting around their own 30-40 yard lines.

    Coatesville took a 26-21 lead in the fourth on a Dapree Bryant three-yard run, but with five minutes left, the fun began. Downingtown East forced a punt and drove down the field aided by both clutch plays. Another one of Coatesville’s calling cards (besides their high octane offense), was dumb penalties. Brassir Stocker put the Cougars up 27-26, on a three-yard run on fourth down and one with about 55 seconds left.

    55 seconds is an eternity for Coatesville’s offense and a kicker who struggles to kick it deep. Ricky Ortega led a drive which culminated in a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dapree Bryant with 3.5 seconds left to re-take the lead 32-27. Aaron Young returned an errant pitch on the ensuing kickoff to seal the deal.

    Despite holding Aaron Young to 101 yards of total offense (82 rushing) and Avery to 36 total yards (on 1 catch), the Cougars let Dapree Bryant have a big game (95 yards receiving, 74 rushing). Ricky Ortega threw for 180 yards, and ran for 106.

    Garvey Johnassaint ran for 108 yards and 3 scores. Kyle Lauletta threw for 134.

    As strong a team as Coatesville is, they still have one Achilles heel, the tendency to commit a high amount of penalties. Among the 13 penalties called on the Red Raiders for 145 yards, SIX were personal fouls. Two were charged to Rutgers bound Avery Young. One for a helmet to helmet hit and another for arguing a call then removing his helmet on the field. One was on head coach Matt Ortega for arguing a call.

  • Cougars wear out Whippets for seventh straight win

     

    Tonight the fourteenth rendition of the Battle of the Brandywine was played between the Downingtown West Whippets and Downingtown East Cougars. It is also known as a “Celebration of Downingtown Football”. For Downingtown East, it was a celebration of a different kind, as the Cougars beat the Whippets for the fourth year in a row, and the seventh time in eight years.

    The score was 28-14, but it was closer than the score indicated.

    The script was the same as the previous six vanquished Cougar opponents, wear the opponent down with a physical offensive line, a three headed monster at running back, and a smothering defense. It worked again, to the tune of 304 yards rushing (400 total). The Whippets were held to 265 total yards and minus two yards rushing.

    Downingtown West was successful in limiting East’s possessions to one in a scoreless first quarter, and three first half possessions. East struck first, as Tim Aivado scored from three yards out. The Whippets answered with a three yard run by sophomore quarterback Wil Howard, after Howard connected with Jack Willenbrock on a 41-yard pass. The score was 7-7 at halftime, and many were shocked that West was hanging in with a heavily favored opponent.

    Although the Whippets never laid down, the physicality of East’s front line was taking its toll on the smaller front.  Bryce Lauletta scored on fourth and goal from the 1, Brassir Stocker scored from five yards out to extend the lead to 21-7.

    The Whippets got their deficit back to seven, on a 78 yard flanker screen from Howard to Willenbrock. Unfortunately for West, that would be as close as they would get, as Stocker scored again from five yards out with 90 seconds left.

    After the game, West coach Mike Milano said his team, “…played pretty well. We got a couple injured players back, and it helped on defense. I’m proud of how they rebounded from last week.”

    East players Bryce Lauletta and Jack Riley were, “…ecstatic to be the first class to beat West four years in a row. It’s a testament to how hard we work.”

    West quarterback Wil Howard threw for 267 yards, Owen Landis had 105 yards receiving, and Jack Willenbrock had 135 yards receiving. Brassir Stocker ran for 155 yards (187 total).

  • Cougars crush Warriors in league opener

    The opening weekend in the Ches-Mont League’s National Division was chock full of blowouts. Tonight’s game between Downingtown East and West Chester Henderson was no different, as the Cougars steamrolled the Warriors, by a 41-7 score.

    Downingtown East rolled to 522 yards of offense, and Henderson was held without a first down until 1:30 into the third quarter. Even worse for the Warriors, the fact that they were held to 125 total yards and six first downs.

    The Cougars jumped out to a 7-0 lead on their first drive, when Bryce Lauletta hit Spencer Umberger on a four-yard pass. That was added by four more Cougar touchdowns in the second frame. Tim Aivado scored on runs of four and seven yards, a touchdown run of 73 yards by Garvey Johnassaint, and a 67-yard pass from Bryce Lauletta to Steven Long.

    The whole second half was played under the mercy rule, but Joe Saulino hit Kavond Jones on a 12-yard pass against the Cougar backups. Reserve tailback Spencer Uggla scored from 12 yards out for the final score.

    On the night, Bryce Lauletta threw for 132 yards and two scores. Garvey Johnassaint ran for 150 yards, and Tim Aivado ran for 119 yards and two scores. As a team, the Cougars ran for 378 yards on 44 carries.

  • Whippets thoroughly whipped by Coatesville

    Coming into tonight’s Che’s-Mont league opener, the Whippets of Downingtown West had a lot of momentum after wins over Wayne Valley and Neshaminy. Any momentum the Whippets had was doused by long time rival Coatesville, and doused quickly.

    This game was never close and could have been far worse for the Whippets. Before most of the crowd filed into their seats, the Whippets were in a three touchdown hole. In the first 6:30 of the game, we saw how explosive the Red Raiders are. Coatesville drove 90 yards for a score, on an Aaron Young five-yard run. The Red Raiders’ defense got in on the action three plays later, when Tione Holmes intercepted a pass and rumbled thee yards for a 14-0 lead. Whippet tailback Anthony Ciliberto coughed up the ball one play later, and the Red Raiders cashed in again for a 21-0 lead.

    Coatesville scored a fourth first quarter touchdown when Ricky Ortega hit a streaking Dapree Bryant for a 67 yard score for a 28-0 lead. Ortega hit Aaron Young for a 40 yard score for a 35-0 lead ensuring the mercy rule for the second half.

    While the Whippets were being whipped by the Red Raider defense to the tune of 133 yards and eight first downs, the Red Raider offense did the same, as Ricky Ortega hit Avery Young (bound for the state university of New Jersey in Piscataway) for the second time and a 42-0 lead.

    The Whippet backups scored on Mitchell Micale’s sneak.

    Coach Matt Ortega said, “we knew our offense would have their way tonight. This is the time of year our defense clicks, so we challenged them. They responded well and confidently.”

    Ricky Ortega went 16-20 passing tonight, for 268 yards and four touchdowns.

  • Golden Knights show no mercy in borough battle against Vikings

    It is rare that championships are won in a team’s third game of the season. That being said, the boro of West Chester had its championship decided already. In what has been a regular occurrence since Rustin High School opened in 2006, the Golden Knights from Westtown won the boro championship again.

    One week after dominating the Warriors from Henderson (37-6), the Golden Knights demolished the West Chester East Vikings by a 49-7 score.

    Although the Golden Knights were able to move the ball with little resistance in building a 27-7 halftime advantage, they got in their own way with nine first half penalties which stalled a few drives.

    Nick Benoit got Rustin on the board, with a four-yard run to cap off a 12 play and 79 yard drive. Following a Viking punt, Rustin had a drive stall with 2 of their four first half holding penalties.

    The Golden Knights expanded their lead to 14-0, when Benoit scored from 12 yards out. Following the kickoff, the Vikings hit a big play from Kyle Cichanowsky’s 36-yard run, then a 36-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Cassidy to Michael Gray to cut the lead to 14-7.

    From here on out, it was all Rustin. The Golden Knights scored twice before half on a run by quarterback Will Pileggi, and a 14-yard pass from Pileggi to Collin Hurley in a well executed 2 minute drill, to get a 27-7 halftime advantage.

    The rout continued to the mercy rule when Michael Covert rumbled to a score from 39 yards out, and a 5-yard run from Tyler Kaliner and a 2-point conversion run by Nick Benoit, to put the lead at 42-7 with 16 seconds left in the third quarter. Rustin’s backups scored when Kalimer scored his second touchdown.

    The story was Rustin’s defense. West Chester East was smothered to the count of 7 first downs, 97 yards passing, and 110 total yards.

    Viking coach Scott Stephen said, ”Life gives you a couple of whoopings over time. No matter the score, we support and encourage each other.”

    Mike St. Clair from Rustin was emphatic saying, “winning West Chester was the priority number 1. Priority number two is winning the Ches Mont League.”

    Michael Covert paced Rustin with 158 yards and two scores.

    Summary-

    RHS- 7- 20- 15- 7- 49
    WCE- 0- 7- 0- 0- 7

    WCR.  WCE.
    First Downs            27.        7
    Penalty-yds.        11-96.    4-41
    Punts-Yards.       1-39.      6-33
    Rushes-Yds.      50-393.  18-13
    C-a-I.                6-13-0.    9-21-0
    Yards.                   63.        97
    Total yards.         456.       110

  • Knights “Bend the Knee” tonight, crushed by Cougars

    Tonight was a record setting night at Kottmeyer Stadium, in the Boro of Downingtown, between two consistent top tier District 1 programs, the Downingtown East Cougars and the North Penn Knights.

    If you think the records would involve lowest scoring game in stadium history, in a game between two teams with notoriously solid defenses, you would be sorely mistake.  Tonight’s game set a record for most combined points (105) in a game, most points by a losing team (44), and Downingtown East tied the stadium record for the most points by any one team (61), in a 61-44 shootout win over North Penn.  The teams also combined for 41 first downs, 864 yards of offense, only five punts, and six turnovers.

    Over the last three seasons, the teams have split four meetings, including a playoff game in 2014.

    North Penn got on the scoreboard first, when Steve DePaul hit the highly recruited receiver Justis Henley on a 61 yard flanker screen to convert a third and 15 for a touchdown on their first possession. The Cougars tied the game at 7-7 when Kyle Lauletta hit Jack Riley on a three-yard pass.  Kelly Macnamara booted a 27-yard field goal to put North Penn up 10-7. Like they have all night, Downingtown East answered back, as Brassir Stocker scored the first of his three touchdowns, on an eight-yard run and a 13-10 lead at the end of one.

    The second quarter featured more back and forth action.  DePaul hit Owen Thomas for a nine-yard score, and a 17-13 lead for the Knights.  Downingtown East re-took the lead 20-17, when Brassir Stocker returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards. North Penn scored two unanswered touchdowns on runs by Khan Jamal (13 yards), and Dars Bowsky (32 yards) to take a 30-20 lead.  The Cougars closed the lead at 30-27 at halftime, when Tim Aivado scored from a yard out on a 4th down and one.

    The momentum that Downingtown East took into the locker room continued as the Cougars scored three unanswered touchdowns to open up a three score lead.  Bryce Lauletta scored on a one-yard run to re-take the lead (33-30), Tim Aivado scored on a 16-yard run (40-30), and a 45-yard run by Brassir Stocker (47-30).  A second touchdown pass from DePaul to Henley (45 yards) closed the score to 47-37 after three quarters.

    The Cougar scoring onslaught continued when Bryce Lauletta scored his second one-yard touchdown run of the night to put East up by 17 again, and Garvey Johnassaint scored from four yards out to put the Cougars up 61-37.  DePaul threw his final touchdown pass to Jon Haynes (10 yards) to close out the scoring.

    On the night, Downingtown East ran for 370 yards led by Brassir Stocker (150 yards), Garvey Johnassaint (123 yards), and Tim Aivado (86 yards).  North Penn quarterback Steve DePaul threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns, and receiver Justis Henley had 225 yards and 2 touchdowns (11 catches)

    After the game, a clearly unhappy North Penn head coach Dick Beck told his team he didn’t want to see or hear any crying or (complaining).  “Don’t quit on us, because I will be here early Monday morning.  It was not a ‘scheme’ thing, but an inability to get off our blocks, and they flat out beat our (butts).  Our defense was really bad.”

    Downingtown East coach Mike Matta stated, “This is the best offensive line we ever had here.  They were clearly staying on top of their blocks.  I can’t say enough about our strength program and Darren Wasser.  As far as our tailbacks go, all three are different.  Bryce is clearly our leader.  We were able to fight back all night.”  Tailback Brassir Stocker said, “Our line is really good. They put in the work all week, and gave 110%.  It was a hard week of practice, and we felt that North Penn quit a little bit. They’re not used to being down like this.”  Connor Munnelly was more blunt in his assessment of the second half, ”Shootouts with North Penn don’t normally happen like that.  We beat them physically, and they quit at halftime.  When they were walking coming out of the locker room after halftime, we knew we were going to beat them.”

    SUMMARY
    Dtown East- 13-14-20-14- 61
    North Penn- 10-20- 7- 7- 44

    NP- Henley 61 pass from DePaul (Macnamara kick)
    DE- Riley 3 pass from Lauletta (Good kick)
    NP- Kelly Macnamara 27 yard FG
    DE- B Stocker 8 run (kick blocked)
    NP- Thomas 9 pass from DePaul (Macnamara kick)
    DE- Stocker 93 yard kickoff return (Good kick)
    NP- Jamal 13 run (kick blocked)
    NP- Bowsky 32 run (Macnamara kick)
    DE- Aivado 1 run (Good kick)
    DE- Lauletta 1 run (Kick blocked)
    DE- Aivado 16 run (Good kick)
    DE- Stocker 45 run (Good kick)
    NP- Henley 41 pass from DePaul (Macnamara kick)
    DE- Lauletta 1 run (Good kick)
    DE- Johnassaint 4 run (Good kick)
    NP- Haines 10 pass from DePaul (Macnamara kick)

    DE                NP
    First Downs-                            21                 20
    Penalties-Yards                     4-50               9-61
    Fumbles-Lost                         1-0                 2-2
    Punts-Average                     3-34.7             2-36
    Rushes-Yards                     55-370            25-121
    Comp-Att-Int                        8-14-2            18-33-2
    Yards Passing                         66               307
    Total Yards                            436               428

    Passing
    Downingtown East- Lauletta 8-13, 66 yards, 1 td, 2 int.  Long 0-1
    North Penn- DePaul 18-33, 307 yards, 4 tds, 2 int.

    Receiving
    Downingtown East- Noble 1-12, Riley 2-16 (TD), Umberger 3-30 (TD), Aivado 2-8
    North Penn- Henley 11-225 (2TD), Andrews 1-11, Catanzaro 2-19, Thomas 1-9 (TD), Edwards 1-11, Haynes 1-10 (TD), Cartwright 1-26

    Rushing-
    Downingtown East- Johnassaint 16-123 (TD), Umberger 1-0, Aivado 17-86 (2td), Stocker 14-150 (2TD), Lauletta 7-11 (2td).
    North Penn- Bowsky 3-44 (TD), Andrews 4-27, Jamal 10-50 (2td), Henley 1-36, DePaul 5-(minus 3)

  • Speedboys run out of Downingtown by Shanahan

    In what is now classified as “week 0”, the Bishop Shanahan Eagles ran the Speedboys of West Philadelphia out of Downingtown by a score of 48-6. As sloppy as Bishop Shanahan played tonight, the score could have been worse.

    Early on tonight, it was clear that Shanahan was not only a far more talented team, but depth would be a huge advantage to the Eagles. West Philadelphia only had about 35 players dress, with another half dozen not in pads due to injury.

    Following a Speedboy punt on their opening possession, it did not take long for Shanahan to build a 7-0 lead, as Connor Whalen scored from 10 yards. West Philadelphia was able to keep Shanahan’s high powered spread offense off the field, but could not capitalize.

    Unfortunately, it unraveled for West Philadelphia in the second frame. It started with Danny Bathon scoring on a 43-yard run, a six-yard run by quarterback Danny DiBenedetto, and a four-yard pass from DiBenedetto to Andre Moffett, to expand Shanahan’s lead from 7-0 to 28-0 at halftime.

    What had become a forgone conclusion in the PIAA Mercy Rule, became a reality with 7:27 left in the third quarter as Andre Moffett scored from 15 yards out to make the Eagles’ lead 35-0.  Connor Whalen zig zagged his way to the end zone from 49 yards out to put Shanahan’s lead to 42-0.  Backup tailback David Schaffer put Shanahan up 48-0.  Terrell Smith was able to put the Speedboys on the board with a short run, to close out the scoring.

    On the evening, Bishop Shanahan accumulated 276 of their 332 on the ground, and only attempted eight passes.  Connor Whalen ran for 96 yards and several scores (seven carries). Danny Bathon ran for 52 yards. Liam Deering ran for 45 yards.

    After the game, Shanahan coach Paul Meyers attributed the somewhat sloppy play to, “first game jitters. We had a lot of new players play.  We were able to get a lot of players out there tonight.  We were able to establish the edge, since they weren’t walking their Outside Linebacker to the edge.  Pregame, we told them to take it one game at a time.”

  • Downingtown East West showdown a Cougar Mowdown!

    paulweek92016Tonight saw the closing of the regular season in most of the state of Pennsylvania, and also brought us one of the biggest rivalry games in Chester County in the annual clash between the Downingtown East Cougars and Downingtown West Whippets.

    Despite the packed house at Kottmeyer Stadium tonight, the anticipation that surrounded this game last year was not there, due in part to the Whippets entering the game with a 4-5 record (the first time that either school went into the game with a losing record).  In most rivalry games, you can throw the records out the window. Unfortunately for Whippet fans, tonight was not the case for Downingtown West, as the Cougars ran all over the Whippets by a score of 42-20, in a game that could have been far worse for Downingtown West.

    Downingtown East established their dominance up front on their first drive, as the Cougars went down the field behind running backs Jeremy Jennings and Dan Liaudatis picking up huge chunks of yardage. The drive was capped off by Liaudatis plowing in from six yards out.

    Following a three and out by West, the Cougars were back at it, however a Bryce Lauletta pass intended for Jeremy Jennings on 4th & 8 on the Downingtown West 10 yard line was intercepted by Kenny Costello, and returned 99 yards for a touchdown to knot the score at 7-7.

    The tie score was short lived, as it took Downingtown East all of two plays to re-take the lead, when Jeremy Jennings bolted 69 yards to paydirt, to go up 14-7.  Unfortunately for West, the Cougar onslaught was just getting started. Dan Liaudatis scored on runs of three and two yards to go up 28-7 at halftime, and expanded to 35-7 when Jeremy Jennings scored his second touchdown of the night from seven yards out.

    Although most teams would have folded when their starting quarterback went down to an injury, as Downingtown West starter Kyle Geiser did tonight, Downingtown West did not fold.  They played Downingtown East fairly even in the second half (both teams scored two second half touchdowns).  Kenny Costello scored from four yards out to close the gap to 35-14. Brassir Stocker answered back to make it 42-14. Cole Zapf closed out the scoring on a four-yard reception from backup quarterback Mitchell Micale.

    After the game- Downingtown East tailback Dan Liaudatis said, “Our offensive line has been lifting since January. This win is all them.  Despite going to the playoffs, the West game is the most important game of the season, and it’s a great feeling to beat them again.”  Coach Mike Matta echoed his tailback’s sentiments, saying, “Our line dominated tonight. They lift hard.  This game was a ‘Wasser game’. He works our kids hard in the weight room.  Beating West is more important than any playoff game, as tonight is an annual celebration of Downingtown Football.”

    A dejected Whippet head coach Mike Milano said, “East has a huge offensive line that we have not matched up well with for a while.  Combined with a tough runner, they’re difficult to stop.  We cannot sacrifice in the secondary, because they have the skill players to make you pay.”

    Statistically, Downingtown East ran for 403 yards and had 499 total.  Dan Liaudatis (37 carries, 207 yards, three touchdowns) and Jeremy Jennings (seven carries, 135 yards, two touchdowns) led the way.  Jennings also had 87 yards receiving, for 222 total. The Cougar defense smothered the Whippets, holding them to 124 yards.  The leading rusher for Downingtown West was Cole Zapf (42 yards and 73 total offensive yards).

    NOTES: Despite this being the fourteenth year since Downingtown High School split into East and West, there have only been 13 games played between the two schools. Downingtown East leads the series eight wins to five, and there was no game in 2007.  This was Downingtown East’s third win in a row, and sixth win in the last seven years.

    SCORING SUMMARY
    DE- Dan Liaudatis 6 run (Nelson kick)
    DW- Kenny Costello 99 yard INT return (Biscardi kick)
    DE- Jennings 69 run (Nelson kick)
    DE- Liaudatis 3 run (Nelson kick)
    DE- Liaudatis 2 run (Nelson kick)
    DE- Jennings 7 run (Nelson kick)
    DW- Costello 4 run (Biscardi kick)
    DE- Stocker 10 run (Nelson kick)
    DW- Zapf 4 pass from Micale (kick blocked)

    First downs-
    Downingtown East- 22
    Downingtown West- 9

    Penalties-Yards
    Downingtown East- 8-75
    Downingtown West- 6-61

    Fumbles-Lost
    Downingtown East- 1-1
    Downingtown West- 2-2

    Punts-Average
    Downingtown East- 3-27.3
    Downingtown West- 5-29.6

    Rushes-Yards
    Downingtown East- 55-403
    Downingtown West- 35-78

    Completions-Attempts-Int
    Downingtown East- 5-9-1
    Downingtown West- 6-14-0

    Yards Passing
    Downingtown East- 96
    Downingtown West- 46

    Total Yards
    Downingtown East- 499
    Downingtown West- 124

    Individual Stats
    Rushing
    Downingtown East- Lauletta 2-8, Liaudatis 37-207-3tds, Jennings 7-135-2tds, Stocker 6-42-td, Munnelly 10, Umberger 1-4, Day 1-0, Brkich 2-7
    Downingtown West- Geiser 2-(minus 9), Zapf 12-43, Costello 8-6-td, Micale 7-12, Ciliberto 5-19, McNulty 1-(minus 5)

    Passing
    Downingtown East- Lauletta 4-8-92 yards-INT, E Harris 1-1-4 yards
    Downingtown West- Geiser 4-8-34 yards, Micale 2-6-12 yards-TD

    Receiving
    Downingtown East- Jennings 3-87, Kiely 1-4.
    Downingtown West- Zapf 3-31-td, Costello 1-(minus 4), Williams 1-11, McNulty 1-8.

  • Speed Kills: Red Raiders dominate Cougars

    paulweek62016Tonight a highly anticipated contest between 5-1 Downingtown East and 5-1 Coatesville was supposed to be played at Kottmeyer Stadium, with huge title implications in the Ches-Mont League’s National Division.  In recent years, most of these games are tightly contested matchups between two evenly matched teams, and this year was supposed to be no different.

    Then they played the game, and only one team showed up.  The Coatesville Red Raiders rode a wave of big scoring plays to absolutely demolish the Downingtown East Cougars, by a score of 40-7.  Tonight’s game was much closer than the score indicated.  Coatesville thoroughly outplayed Downingtown East in every facet of the game, which is a rarity when playing the Cougars.

    The Red Raiders’ smothering defense forced many three and outs during the first half, and a deluge of big plays put Downingtown East in an insurmountable 27-0 halftime hole.  Coatesville’s onslaught of big plays started on their first possession, following a three and out by the Cougars. Freshman quarterback Ricky Ortega while flushed out of the pocket, hit a wide open Mekhi Alexander on a 64-yard scoring pass to establish an early tone for the evening.  Following a long punt return, the Red Raiders dipped into their bag of tricks, when Mekhi Alexander connected with Avery Young on a 28-yard wide receiver pass.

    The onslaught continued, as Avery’s brother Aaron Young scored on a 68 yard run to make it 21-0.  Once Aaron got through the front seven, he turned on the burners, and just hit another gear.  Ricky Ortega threw his second touchdown pass on the night to Avery Young, covering 32 yards, then Jaden Hudson for his third score (34 yards).  In all, Coatesville had four scoring plays of 32 yards or more, and five scoring plays of 28 yards or more. In all, the Red Raiders gashed Downingtown East for 474 yards of offense.

    Downingtown East was able to avert a shutout when Bryce Lauletta threw a 27 yard scoring pass, but Ricky Ortega capped off the scoring on a one-yard run.

    I came away impressed with Ricky Ortega, who is having an impressive season for a quarterback, regardless of what year he is.  His poise is impressive, he threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another.  Running back Aaron Young ran for 125 yards and a score (10 carries), and Avery Young had 121 yards receiving and two scores (six catches).  Coatesville will win the league, and do some damage in the district 1 playoffs this season.  In the next two seasons, look out for Coatesville, they will get back to Hershey in 2017 or 2018.

    After the game, Coatesville head coach Matt Ortega stated, “We really played physical, and it’s something we can build on.  We had a good feel with what they run, and made some small tweaks to our game plan from last year.  It’s something to take game by game, and we need to keep improving on this.  Ricky was chomping at the bit at his next big game. He and I had a talk after we got beat by Cumberland Valley, on how to improve, and he did.”  Ricky Ortega commented that, “Our offensive line stepped up tonight.  We executed the game plan, and took what they gave us.  I trust my teammates, and will continue to get better.”

    Like always, Downingtown East coach Mike Matta was to the point.  He stated, “They whipped us.  We got outplayed, and out coached.”

  • Redskins down Whippets in dominating fashion

    paulweek22016Over the first three weeks of the 2016 High School Football season, we have seen our fair share of surprises across District One. We could put the start of the Downingtown West Whippets in as one of the season’s early disappointments.

    Over the first two weeks of the season, the Whippets surrendered 76 points and over 800 yards of offense in their first two games.  Tonight was more of the same for the much maligned Downingtown West defense, as the Neshaminy Redskins rolled up 480 yards of offense, en route to a dominating 42-14 victory.  For the first time since 2010, and the second time since Downingtown High School split into East and West, Downingtown West has started a season 0-3.  Dating back to last season, the Whippets have lost five straight games.

    It looked like Neshaminy would dominate early, as the Redskins used a big play in the passing game to go up 7-0, when Mason Jones hit a wide open Mike Garlick for a 74-yard touchdown pass on Neshaminy’s third play from scrimmage.  Following a three and out from Downingtown West’s offense, it did not take long for the Redskins to double their lead, when star tailback Will Dogba scored from three yards out.

    Downingtown West would not go away, as Cole Zapf scored from 16 yards out to cut Neshaminy’s lead in half at 14-7.  Neshaminy’s offense scored on another big play in the passing game, as Jones hit Cory Joyce for a 54 yard score.  The Redskins’ advantage was cut to 21-14 before halftime, when Zapf scored his second touchdown on the night.

    Unfortunately for the Whippets, Zapf’s second touchdown was the last time they would hit pay dirt for the evening.  Mason Jones hit star receiver Zach Treadway for 27 yards to go up 28-14, then backup tailback Mike Crescenzo scored two fourth quarter touchdowns of three and five yards for the final score.

    Tonight, Neshaminy’s defense was overshadowed by their effective offensive output of 480 yards and 42 points. The Redskins held an offense, that scored 72 points in their first two games, to 178 yards of offense and shut them out in the second half.

    After the game, Neshaminy signal caller Mason Jones said, “Although we have a new coach this year, Will (Dogba) and I got on the same page as our coaches rather easily.  We run a lot of checks at the line of scrimmage, we took advantage of man coverage, and hit some big throws.”  Regarding receiver Zach Treadway, he said, “He’s a big threat every time he touches the ball.  He has the best hands I have seen.” His big play receiver Zach Treadway said, “We say that West’s defense plays a lot of quarters and cover two, and we just executed like we did all week.”

    A dejected Downingtown West coach Mike Milano stated, “Neshaminy is a Run/Pass Option team, and we had to play man to man on them. The quarterback is a three-year starter, Treadway and Dogba are three-year starters.  We tried to hit their quarterback, but he was able to hit big plays on us.”

    RECAP-
    Neshaminy 14-7-7-14- 42
    Downingtown W 7-7-0-0- 14

    N- Garlick 74 pass from Mason Jones (McDonald kick)
    N- Dogba 3 run (McDonald kick)
    DW- Zapf 16 run (Biscardi kick)
    N- Joyce 54 pass from Jones (McDonald kick)
    DW- Zapf 10 run (Biscardi kick)
    N- Treadway 27 pass from Jones (McDonald kick)
    N- Crescenzo 3 run (McDonald kick)
    N- Crescenzo 5 run (McDonald kick)

    DW            N
    First Downs                        10            21
    Punts                             5-38.2          3-33
    Penalties-Yards             5-35            4-37
    Fumbles-Lost                  NONE        2-0
    Rushes-Yards              38-159         30-177
    Comp-Att-Int                2-12-1         13-27-0
    Yards Passing                19               303
    Total Yards                   178               480

    Passing-
    DW- Geiser 2-12- 19 yards- 1 INT
    N- Jones 13-27-303 yards- 3tds

    Receiving-
    DW- Costello 1-10, Williams 1-9
    N- Dogba 1-0, Treadway 6-123 (TD), Garlick 1-74 (TD), Stills 1-17, Manzyk 1-10, Joyce 2-74 (TD), Crescenzo 1-5

    Rushing-
    DW- Geiser 8-15, Zapf 4-33 (2TD), Costello 7-20, Riddick 18-88, Willenbrock 1-3
    N- Jones 2-(minus 9), Dogba 20-146 (TD), Crescenzo 8-40, O’Connor 5-17

  • Eagles down Bulls, 29-6

    paulweek12016What a difference a year makes. Last year the Bishop Shanahan Eagles started 0-3. This year, the Eagles are off to a 2-0 start after beating a physical Glen Mills team, 29-6.

    The score was not as indicative as Shanahan dominated the entire game with their spread offense, which led two touchdown drives of over 85 yards. Meanwhile, Glen Mills was smothered by Shanahan’s defense to the tune of only 11 first downs. It was a rough day for Glen Mills, as the Battling Bulls had more penalties than first downs.

    The Eagles got on the board early, when Nick Skulski hit John Kozinski on a 16-yard pass. The lead grew to 15-0 on another Skulski pass, this time to Brendan Dearing (25 yards). Dearing had a huge day, hauling in eight passes for 170 yards.

    The floodgates continued to open, as Liam Dearing scampered in from ten yards out for a 22-0 lead at halftime. Shanahan’s final score came on a Nick Skulski two-yard run.

    Glen Mills averted a shutout, when Quadir Gibson took a screen pass 75 yards.

    After the game, Shanahan coach Paul Meyers felt his offensive line, “stepped up against a good physical team. It was a good win. We need to cut down on the penalties (8-64 yards).”

    Nick Skulski threw for 215 yards, Brendan Dearing had 170 yards receiving & 192 all purpose yards for Shanahan. Glen Mills’ bright spot on offense was Quadir Gibson with 100 yards receiving & 184 total yards.

  • Whippets rally falls short against Perk Valley

    paulweek12016aTonight, in a opening week game in District 1, Perkiomen Valley beat Downingtown West by a score of 42-41. Tonight was a game that featured everything, from a 42-14 fourth quarter lead that nearly evaporated in six minutes, to 917 combined yards of offense, seven turnovers, 621 combined passing yards, and 83 points.

    The shootout was as expected, but almost became one sided. Downingtown West scored on their first possession, on a one-yard run by Kenny Costello to cap off the drive.

    The Whippets’ score was answered by 28 unanswered first half points by Perk Valley, a 13-yard run by Brendan Schimpf, two touchdown passes from Stephen Sturm to Justin Jaworski (22 & 16 yards), and a 17 yard run by David Williams, to build a 28-7 halftime lead.

    Everything went Perk Valley’s way most of the game, as the Whippets were unable to finish drives. A fumble and three interceptions by Kyle Geiser (one of six new quarterbacks in the Ches Mont National), ended potential scoring drives.

    When Downingtown West closed it to 28-14 on a one-yard run by Michael Riddick, the Vikings expanded the lead to 42-14 on another Sturm touchdown pass to David Williams (16 yards) and another touchdown run by Brendan Schimpf.

    In most cases a 28 point lead with less than seven minutes to play is insurmountable. Tonight was not that case. Perkiomen Valley did everything in their power to give the game away. Following a Sturm interception, Cole Zapf scored on a 14-yard run to make the score 42-21. Following a quick three and out, a 67-yard pass from Geiser to Zapf closed the gap further to 42-28,. A 40-yard pass off a flea flicker from Geiser to Braden Williams (immediately following a successful onside kick) made it 42-35. Then while trying to run out the clock, a Perkiomen Valley ball carrier fumbled the ball, which West capitalized on when Geiser found Michael Riddick for 27 yards.

    After the touchdown pass from Geiser to Riddick cut the score to 42-41, Downingtown West was faced with a critical play call, kick the extra point and play for overtime, or go for two and win it. With all the momentum, West (rightfully so) went for two and the win. Unfortunately for the Whippets, the pass was intercepted.

    As good a quarterback as Stephen Sturm is (16-27-244 yards), Kyle Geiser from Downingtown West had a great game. Following a slow start, Geiser threw for 377 yards & three touchdowns.

  • Cougars dismiss visitors

    paulweek12016Due to the increase in classifications in the PIAA, the opening weekend of Pennsylvania High School football is this weekend, compared to Labor Day weekend in past years.

    That being said, there is a third Lauletta at quarterback for Downingtown East. Bryce Lauletta had a solid outing in his first high school start- throwing for 186 yards and three touchdowns, in a 23-6 win over Delaware Valley HS.

    Downingtown East laid claim to a early 7-0 lead when Bryce Lauletta hit Ethan Harris on a five-yard fade pattern to cap off a five-play 59 yard drive, the key play being a 43 yard pass to Noah Hahn.

    The teams exchanged punts, and defensive stands for most of the first quarter into the second. Delaware Valley got stuffed on a third and fourth and goal at the Downingtown East one-yard line, then stiffened when East moved the ball inside their 35.

    The Warriors’ inability to score inside the ten-yard line proved to be crucial, as an interception by Brassir Stocker was turned into a nine-play, 90 yard drive; capped off by a second of three Lauletta to Harris touchdowns, this time from 41 yards.

    Not far after, Downingtown East made it 21-0, on the final Lauletta to Harris score on a crossing pattern. Downingtown East’s final score came on a safety, when a snap went through the punter’s hands for a 23-0 lead.

    The second half was a glorified scrimmage, but Delaware Valley was able to avert the shutout when Matt Cavallaro score from four yards out.

    Some observations I had from tonight’s game, Delaware Valley was able to hit some big plays with screen passes to counter Downingtown East’s aggressive defense. Three screens went for over 30 yards, two more went over 20.

    Downingtown East coach Mike Matta stated after the game that “Bryce played well. It was what we expected. He had a good game. Our defense capitalized on mistakes, and special teams were solid.”

  • All County Team

    Coach of the year- Mike Matta, Downingtown East.

    Offensive player of the year- Cary Angeline

    Defensive player of the year- Doug Costin

    Offense-
    QB- Jon Jon Roberts, WC East
    WR- Ryan Hubley, Great Valley
    WR- Jaden Hudson, Coatesville
    RB- Ty Pringle, WC Rustin
    RB- Jake Barr, Downingtown West
    TE- Cary Angeline, Downingtown East
    OL- Mike Clark, Downingtown East
    OL- Jack Villone, WC Rustin
    OL- Doug Costin, Shanahan
    OL- Ray McGuire, WC Rustin
    OL- Jackson Hale, Downingtown West
    Kicker/Punter- Drew Brennan, Downingtown East

    Defense-
    DL- Doug Costin, Shanahan
    DL- Will Kiely, Downingtown East
    DL- Jelil Norman, Coatesville
    DL- Pat Clark, Unionville
    LB- Brody Wilson, Downingtown East
    LB- Braden Harper, Downingtown West
    LB- Zach Tillet, Great Valley
    DB- Jeremy Jennings, Downingtown East
    DB- Elan Nash, Unionville
    DB- Jordan Young, Coatesville
    DB- Brendan Dearing, Shanahan

  • Cougars sent packing in rematch

    paulweek122015The District 1 4A playoffs brought a rematch from week three, between the Downingtown East Cougars and North Penn Knights. The playoff matchup was completely different from the regular season matchup, as the ninth seeded Knights eliminated the top seed 27-14.

    The game was not as close as the 27-14 indicated. North Penn moved the ball like a bull in a china shop, to the tune of 511 yards of offense.

    Tonight’s game started as eerily as the week three matchup, as North Penn was able to gash Downingtown East early to establish a two score lead. Knights’ fullback Nick Isabella scored on a 44 yard run, and a 27 yard pass from Reece Udinski to Owen Thomas provided the 13-0 lead.

    Downingtown East’s inability to move the ball, combined with a rare 16 yard punt by Drew Brennan, gave North Penn a short field to cash in to points, when Nyfease West scored from five yards out.

    Downingtown East’s lone first half score, a 61 yard pass from Saunders Healy to Jeremy Jennings, was neutralized by a nine-yard pass from Udinski to Justin Ostopowicz, making the halftime score 27-7 in North Penn’s favor.

    Jack Kincade scored the lone second half touchdown on an eight yard run.

    After the game, North Penn tailback Nyfease West said, “Our line blocked great tonight. They were just huge. We felt we had to patch up mistakes from week three, and get them back.” Coach Dick Beck echoed West’s sentiments, “We made fewer mistakes. Reece had his best game tonight.”

    Statistically- Reece Udinski threw for 230 yards and two scores, Nyfease West rushed for 242 yards, and Ricky Johns had 167 yards on seven catches to lead North Penn. Downingtown East was lead by Saunders Healy’s 201 yards passing & Cary Angeline’s 103 yards.

    North Penn (10-2) hosts Neshaminy (9-3) in one semifinal game. Downingtown East’s season ends at 11-1.

  • Falcons upset Whippets in Overtime

    paulweek11a2015In the minds of most residents of Chester County, a rematch of the Downingtown Civil War between the two Downingtown High Schools seemed to be a foregone conclusion. After the first round of the district 1 4a playoffs, any hope of a rematch between the schools has been dashed.

    Tonight, the defending district 1 champion Pennsbury Falcons defeated the Downingtown West Whippets in the first round for the second year in a row, by a score of 35-28 in overtime.

    Granted, tonight’s game was not the 63-55 shootout of last year, but tonight’s game was an absolute slug fest. Pennsbury stuck to their mantra of running the ball behind a massive offensive line and wearing opposing defenses out.

    The Falcons from Fairless Hills jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first period of play, when Pennsbury got a 45 yard kickoff return and a 49 yard drive (which consumed 5:30) capped off by a Rob Daly 3 yard run.

    Another long drive was capped off by a rarity for Pennsbury, the forward pass, when Mike Alley hit Luke Snyder on a four-yard pass on the last play of the first quarter. Including tonight, Pennsbury has only attempted 35 passes this season.

    Downingtown West roared back to tie the game at 14-14 before halftime, on short runs by Jake Barr (two yards), and TJ Simmons (one yard).

    The second half was comparable to a prize fight. Pennsbury would hit a haymaker, Downingtown West would respond with one of their own.

    Rugged Pennsbury fullback Chris Rupprecht bulled his way in from nine yards out, for a 21-14 Falcon lead. A 27 yard pass from Tom Mattioni to Jake Barr tied it up. Pennsbury responded with a Mike Alley snuck one in from two yards out, only to have Jake Barr tie it up at 28-28.

    At the end of regulation, Pennsbury ran a gutsy play. Following a 40-yard pass from Alley to Quenton Davis that put the ball on the Downingtown West 11, the Falcons lined up for a 28 yard field goal attempt. Or one would think so. In a designed fake, Alley’s pass was intercepted by Whippet defensive back Mike Anderson to force overtime.

    On the only possession of overtime for Pennsbury, Mike Alley scored from two yards out. The Whippets failed on their drive when Mattioni was intercepted.

    After the game, a somber West head coach Mike Milano stated, ”The game was a war. No doubt it was physical. The Suburban One mega schools play big boy football. After our last score, we considered going for two. Give them credit. They made plays.”

    Pennsbury coach Galen Snyder stated, ”Both teams played great. Both teams battled and made plays. We do not quit. The fake field goal was a designed play. I felt more confident in my senior quarterback vs my sophomore kicker.”

    Falcon quarterback Mike Alley stated, “Downingtown West is a great team. The Suburban One League is physical, and we stick to it. The fake field goal was a designed play.”

    Statistically- Pennsbury was led by Mike Alley who was 3-6 passing (94 yards & a score), and ran for 131 yards & two scores on 24 carries. Chris Rupprecht had 108 yards on 17 carries, and Rob Daly ran for 93 yards & had 53 receiving. As a team, Pennsbury had 431 yards (334 rushing) on 66 plays.

    For Downingtown West, Tom Mattioni threw for 141 yards & ran for 66. Jake Barr had 147 total yards (62 rushing, 85 receiving).

    Fifteenth seeded Pennsbury (8-3) plays at tenth seeded Perkiomen Valley (10-1),  while Downingtown West’s season ends at 9-2.

  • Cougars survive and move on, Down Colonials

    paulweek112015Tonight in the opening round of the District 1 4A playoffs, history did not repeat itself.  Three years ago, the Downingtown East Cougars went 10-0, had the top seed in districts and were upset by a Suburban One school in Wissahickon.  This year the script was flipped, as the top seeded Cougars grinded out a 35-28 win over the Colonials from Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School.

    It did not come easy for Downingtown East, as they found themselves in an early 21-7 halftime hole.  Plymouth Whitemarsh was able to gash the Cougars on multiple big runs by Nafeese Nasir out of the wildcat early on. Nasir scored on a 41-yard run on his third carry of the game from five yards out following a fumbled kickoff by Downingtown East.

    Downingtown East cut the lead to 14-7 on a Saunders Healy eight-yard pass to Cary Angeline, but Joe Stoberl scored on a one-yard run to get the lead back to 14.

    From here the floodgates opened and swallowed up the Colonials from Plymouth Whitemarsh.  A poor punt following a three and out gave Downingtown East the ball well into plus territory. Healy found Angeline again to cut the lead to 21-14.  An interception by Cougar defensive back Jeremy Jennings gave the Cougars the ball again.They were able to tie it up at 21-21, when Saunders Healy hit Noah Hahn from 31 yards out.

    Plymouth Whitemarsh successfully answered the Downingtown East touchdown drives with an 80 yard scoring drive of their own, when Nafeese Nasir hit Luke Mascio from nine yards out.  From there, Downingtown East was able to tie the game again, when Healy connected with Noah Hahn again (12 yards) and Cary Angeline for the third time from 45 yards out.

    Saunders Healy threw for over 180 yards and five touchdowns for Downingtown East tonight. Cary Angeline had three catches for 61 yards (three touchdowns). Noah Hahn had 71 yards and two touchdowns (three catches).  Naseer Nafise ran for over 200 yards and accounted for three of Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s four touchdowns.

    Up next for Downingtown East (11-0) is a rematch from week three with North Penn (9-2), which was won by Downingtown East, 28-24.

    SCORING SUMMARY-
    Downingtown East           00-7-14-14-35
    Plymouth Whitemarsh     14-7-  7- 00-28

    PW- Nafeese Nasir 41 run (Zygmunt kick)
    PW- Nasir 5 run (Zygmunt kick)
    DE- Cary Angeline 8 pass from Healy (Brennan kick)
    PW- Storbel 1 run (Zygmunt kick)
    DE- Angeline 8 pass from Healy (Brennan kick)
    DE- Hahn 31 pass from Healy (Brennan kick)
    PW- Mascio 9 pass from Nasir (Zygmunt kick)
    DE- Hahn 12 pass from Healy (Brennan kick)
    DE- Angeline 45 pass from Healy (Brennan kick)

  • Cougars take down Whippets in thriller

    paulweek102015Most sporting events billed as a “game of the year” turn into a dud.

    Not tonight’s rendition of the Downingtown Civil War between East and West.

    The Cougars from East won a tight affair over their cross town rivals, the Downingtown West Whippets, 21-14.

    With the win, the Cougars lay claim to their second league title and top district playoff seed in four years.

    The game was billed as West’s fast paced offense against East’s stifling defense. It lived up to the billing, as the Cougars held West to 64 yards rushing.

    It started out with West moving the ball like a hot knife through butter. Whippets coach Mike Milano reached into his bag of tricks for a fake punt, to take a 7-0 lead. The drive was capped off when Quarterback Thomas Mattioni drove into the end zone on a four-yard run.

    Following a turnover by West, Saunders Healy hit Cary Angeline on a four-yard pass to tie the game. The Cougars blew an opportunity to take the lead following another turnover by West, but a sack allowed time to expire at half, with a 7-7 tie.

    Following a Whippet punt, Downingtown East took a 14-7 lead on another Healy to Angeline connection (28 yards), which was answered in three plays by West on a Mattioni to Braden Harper connection of 46 yards. Harper’s play skirting the sidelines was truly amazing.

    A sneak by Saunders Healy put an end to the scoring, but not fourth quarter drama. West put together a frantic drive at the end of the game, which ended on an intentional grounding penalty on Mattioni on the last play of the game.

    East coach Mike Matta heaped praise on his offensive line referring to them as, “…fantastic. They and Kincade are warriors. Our defense had a good scheme & played very well.”

    Saunders Healy threw for 207 yards & two scores to Cary Angeline (113 yards, 6 catches), and Jack Kincade ran for 165 yards to pave the way for the Cougars.

    West was led by Thomas Mattioni who threw for 290 yards, Braden Harper (98 yards receiving & 130 total), and Jake Barr (119 yards receiving).

  • Preview: Downingtown East vs. Downingtown West

    paulweek102015East vs. West. Cougars vs. Whippets.

    No matter how you say it, Chester County sports fans can’t say one without mentioning the other.

    There is more on the line this year than bragging rights in the Downingtown area. Far more.

    Both teams are 9-0 (5-0 Ches-Mont National), so an undefeated regular season and league title are on the line. District One playoff seeding is also affected, the Cougars have 1260 points, and the Whippets have 1230, the two highest totals. One game,with a 10-0 regular season, league title, top seed in districts, up to 3 home playoff games await the winner. The loser still likely gets a top 4 or 5 seed.

    Downingtown East is led by a defense that has not given up an offensive touchdown in six weeks, since beating North Penn (28-24) in week 3. The leaders on defense are ball hawk defensive back Jeremy Jennings and linebacker Brody Wilson. In previous years, the Cougars had a solid defense, with a glaring hole. Not this year.

    Offensively, Downingtown East is led by a massive offensive line, anchored by Maryland commit Mike Clark. Granted Cary Angeline (USC commit) and Saunders Healy get a lot of press, but the offense goes as their line goes.

    On the other side, Downingtown West has a underrated defense that gets little press, anchored by linebacker Braden Harper and Jake Barr.

    The Whippets’ offense needs no preview, their stats speak for themselves. Thomas Mattioni put together an amazing season. Jake Barr, Harper, and Michael Riddick have had great years. Unfortunately for West, Riddick is out (knee) for the remainder of the year.

  • Red Raiders use late score to pull away from Eagles

    paulweek92015Tonight, in the second ever night game at Jack Mancini field on the campus of Bishop Shanahan High School, two teams in dire need of wins to qualify for the District 1 AAAA or AAA playoffs faced off, in the Coatesville Red Raiders and Bishop Shanahan Eagles.  It was the Coatesville Red Raiders who came away with a win in a hard fought 23-14 win. This game was far closer than the score indicated.

    Football on any level, is a game of momentum and Coatesville’s first score tonight was a perfect example.  Bishop Shanahan was driving down the field rather easily. While quarterback Nick Skulski was fighting for extra yardage inside the Coatesville 10 yard line, he was stripped of the ball and the fumble was returned 91 yards by Jelil Norman.

    This kind of swing in any game is huge and loomed large, as it was the only scoring of the first half.  After a backbreaking play like this, most teams could have packed it in and folded.  This group of kids from Shanahan is unlike most teams, as they are the definition of grit. They are the only 3A team in the National Division of the Ches-Mont League.

    Coatesville would expand their lead to 10-0 midway through the third frame, when Ibrahim Kallie booted a 32 yard field goal.  On Shanahan’s next possession, they cashed in on their ability to move the football, when Nick Skulski hit Dan Neuhaus on a 55 yard wheel route, to cut the lead to 10-7.

    The teams traded scores in the fourth quarter, when Jordan Young put Coatesville ahead 16-7 on a 13 yard run.  Shanahan fired back on another Skulski to Neuhaus connection (25 yards) to put the Eagles within two at 16-14.  Coatesville would need a late touchdown drive, and a conversion on fourth and two along the way, before Jordan Young scored from a yard out.

    Shanahan mounted a late drive, riding the hot arm of Skulski. There was a dirty play by a Coatesville defensive back, who hit a defenseless Shanahan receiver, after the ball was clearly past him.  The drive ended in a Skulski interception to seal the game.

    After the game, Coatesville coach Matt Ortega stated, “Our defense carried us in the first half.  They played their butts off all game.  The second half our offense was able to answer all half, our line was clicking, and it wound up winning the game.”  Quarterback Jordan Young said, “Tonight was all heart and effort.  That fourth down call was the players’ call, the coaches wanted to kick a field goal, but the coaches trusted in us to put the game away.”

    Shanahan coach Paul Meyers lamented the huge momentum swing early on that changed the momentum early, ”The strip and return for them was huge. There was a point swing right there.  We also had a score called back due to a holding penalty.  Those were HUGE momentum changers. Instead of putting the game away, it would have been different.”

    Statistically Nick Skulski threw for 297 yards and two scores. Dan Neuhaus had 162 yards receiving and two scores (8 catches) for the home team. Jordan Young ran for 50 yards and threw for 86. His brother Aaron ran for 88 yards and had 108 total yards for the visitors.

    Bishop Shanahan (4-5 overall, 2-3 league) travels to Avon Grove (4-5 overall, 1-4 league).  The Eagles need a win to have a shot at the AAA playoffs.  Coatesville (6-3 overall, 3-3 league) plays West Chester Rustin in their crossover game, in which the winner likely goes to the playoffs.

  • Cougars down Eagles 34-2, Advance to 8-0

    paulweek82015In a rare Saturday night Ches-Mont National Division game, the Cougars of Downingtown East downed the Bishop Shanahan Eagles by a score of 34-2.  Tonight’s game was uncharacteristically played in sloppy spurts by both teams.

    They combined for four turnovers and some very uncharacteristic chippy play to the tune of 20 accepted penalties, 9 of which were personal fouls.  The Downingtown East defense continued their outstanding play, as they held a potent Shanahan offense to no points.  This is the second week in a row the Cougars’ defense has not given up points.

    The way the game started, most thought the mercy rule would come into play at some point.  Downingtown East’s offense looked very crisp, piling up 28 points in the first frame.  The first of four touchdowns came when Saunders Healy scampered 30 yards on a draw play.

    Following a Jake Guinan fumble on the Shanahan 15 yard line, it took the Cougars two plays to double their lead to 14-0, when Healy hit Cary Angeline on a nine yard scoring play.

    From there, the Downingtown East scoring deluge continued.  Jack Kincade scored from three yards out to make it 21-0. Saunders Healy hit Ethan Harris on a 19 yard pass to make it 28-0.  Downingtown East squandered a huge opportunity to go up five scores in the second frame, when Healy threw an interception in the end zone.

    Shanahan was able to drive down the field. A missed opportunity of their own led to their only score on the night.  That score came on a safety two plays after a blocked field goal.  A Saunders Healy pass to Ethan Harris (50 yards) closed out the scoring on the night.

    Tonight’s game did have a little bit of controversy as well, as Bishop Shanahan had what should have been a touchdown nullified by a questionable call by the referees.  Bishop Shanahan quarterback Nick Skulski hit a receiver on a slant pattern who looked to catch the ball in the end zone, got pushed out and had the ball stripped.  The play was ruled a fumble, and recovered by Downingtown East in the end zone for a touchback.

    Downingtown East improved their record to 8-0 (4-0 league), and plays at West Chester East next Friday.  Bishop Shanahan falls to 4-4 (2-2 league), and hosts Coatesville next week.

    After the game, Downingtown East coach Mike Matta stated, ”Well done is always better than well said. Our defense pitched a de facto shutout tonight.”  Shanahan coach Paul Meyers added, “They (Downingtown East) are a very good football team, and will go far in the playoffs.  We did not play well at all, never found a rhythm on offense.  They are far bigger than we are, and they wore us out.”

    DE         28-0-6-0- 34
    BSHS      0-2-0-0-   2

    DE- Saunders Healy 30 run (Brennan kick)
    DE- Cary Angeline 9 pass from Healy (Brennan kick)
    DE- Jack Kincade 3 run (Brennan kick)
    DE- Ethan Harris 19 pass from Healy (Brennan kick)
    BS- Safety
    DE- Harris 50 pass from Healy (conversion failed)

    BS                                 DE
    First Downs                                                10                                  24
    Penalties-Yards                                        8-85                              12-122
    Fumbles-Lost                                            3-3                                NONE
    Punts-Average                                        6-25.7                             2-37.5
    Rush-Yards                                              26-67                             48-276
    Comp-Att-Int                                         10-23-0                           12-20-1
    Yards Passing                                           135                                172
    Total Yards                                                 202                                 448

    Passing-
    Downingtown East- Healy 12-20-172 yards-3 TD-1int
    Bishop Shanahan- Skulski 10-23-135 yards

    Receiving-
    Downingtown East- Angeline 2-25-td, E Harris 5-94-2tds, Hanford 4-28, Jennings 1-28
    Bishop Shanahan- Guinan 1-17, Burke 1-(minus 6), Neuhaus 4-74, McNulty 2-44, Guierera 1-7

    Rushing-
    Downingtown East- Healy 17-122, Kincade 20-106-td, Liauditis 6-26, Aivado 5-22
    Bishop Shanahan- Skulski 2-4, Guinan 12-28, Burke 7-32, McNulty 1-(minus 4), Smyth 2-10, Dearing 2-(minus 3)

  • Cougars claw way to 7-0

    paulweek72015Overcoming adversity seems to be the mantra on a regular basis during the 2015 football season in Chester County.

    Tonight was Downingtown East’s turn. On the night: the Cougars overcame a safety, an interception returned for a touchdown, and a total of three rare interceptions by quarterback Saunders Healy, in the second quarter alone. Downingtown East showed they are to be feared for the last three weeks of the regular season, after downing the Coatesville Red Raiders by a 22-12 score.

    After a scoreless first quarter, the Red Raiders took a 3-0 lead on a 31 yard field goal by Ibrahim Kallie.  Coatesville’s defense joined in on the fun after a poor kickoff return, when the Red Raiders stuffed Cougar tailback Jack Kincade in the end zone for a 5-0 advantage to Coatesville.

    Downingtown East was able to drive down the field to take a 7-5 lead, when Jack Kincade scored from a yard out. The highlight of the drive was a 41 yard pass play from Saunders Healy to Cary Angeline.  The Cougars’ lead would be short lived, due to an opportunistic Coatesville defense, when Kevin Kirk jumped a route and took a Saunders Healy pass 19 yards to the house for a 12-7 Coatesville lead at halftime.

    That would be the last time the Red Raiders would lead tonight.  After the Cougars blocked an Ibrahim Kallie field goal, the Cougars drove 87 yards to take a 15-12 lead; when Nik Aivado scored from 10 yards out and Healy hit Angeline for a two-point conversion.

    Once Downingtown East took the lead, Coatesville ran into a major issue. Already without Avery Young who did not play tonight, Quarterback Jordan Young went down with a ankle/leg injury.  The extent of the injury is currently unknown.  The Red Raiders were unable to muster any offense with backup quarterbacks Mekhi Alexander, or Dominic Macolino.  After Downingtown East recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the Cougars took a commanding 10 point lead, when Saunders Healy hit Angeline for a 13 yard pass.

    After the game, Downingtown East coach Mike Matta was happy with his team and their leadership, “We faced adversity and handled it well.  I can not say enough about how well we responded.  Our defense played well. The secondary tackled well, which was our top key.  We kept their offense out of the end zone, which says a lot, Coatesville has a very strong offense year in and year out.” Tight end Cary Angeline stated, “They played man coverage all game.  Our pass game set up the run well.  It’s great to finally beat Coatesville. We were 0-3 against those guys before this season.”

    NOTABLE- Tonight was the first time in 21 games that Coatesville’s offense failed to score a touchdown.  The last time this occurred was the first round of the 2013 district 1 AAAA playoffs, in a 31-0 loss to North Penn.

    STATS
    DE- 0- 7 -15-0- 22
    CV- 0-12- 0- 0- 12

    CV- Ibrahim Kallie 31 FG
    CV- Safety, Kincade tackled in end zone
    DE- Jack Kincade 1 run (Brennan kick)
    CV- Kevin Kirk 19 yard interception return (Kallie kick)
    DE- Nik Aivado 10 run (Angeline pass from Healy)
    DE- Cary Angeline 13 pass from Healy

    CV                      DE
    First Downs                                     9                        15
    Penalties-Yards                          5-50                      2-10
    Fumbles-Lost                               2-1                       1-0
    Punts-Average                          9-39.3                   8-31.3
    Comp-Att-Int                           12-28-2                 14-28-3
    Yards Passing                           168                      166
    Rushes-Yards                           24-37                  44-93
    Total Plays-Yards                   52-205                  72-259

    Passing-
    Coatesville- J. Young 9-20-127 yards-1 int, Alexander 0-2, Macolino 3-6-41 yards- 1 int
    Downingtown East- Healy 14-28-166 yards-1 td, 3 int.

    Receiving-
    Coatesville- Alexander 1-22, Kirk 1-9, Aaron Young 2-32, Hudson 7-106, Hammond 1-(minus 2)
    Downingtown East- Angeline 7-127-td, Hammond-Green 1-(minus 3), Hanford 4-32, Day 1-4, Harris 1-6

    Rushing-
    Coatesville- Macolino 2-(minus 15), Alexander 1-(minus 8), Aaron Young 7-18, Hudson 5-7, Jordan Young 9-35
    Downingtown East- Healy 12-26, Kincade 22-46-td, Aivado 1-10-td, Liauditis 7-8, Hanford 2-3

  • Whippets wins “Character Building” game, Down Shanahan 27-16

    paulweek62015In week 6 of High School football in District 1, the Downingtown West Whippets earned what most people would consider a “character building” win over the Eagles of Bishop Shanahan High School.  The Whippets were punched in the mouth early and often tonight. They faced a two score deficit in the third quarter, did not pack it in, and “won ugly” against the smallest school in the Ches-Mont League’s National Division (Bishop Shanahan is the only AAA school on that side).  Despite being 3-3, Bishop Shanahan proved that they will be a difficult battle for the rest of the league and are capable of making some trouble in the AAA playoffs.

    Both teams played short handed tonight. Both teams were missing a key offensive player.  The Whippet’s bruising tailback Michael Riddick was held out due to a bruised knee. Eagle receiver Mike Sprague was held out with a couple of injuries from the Henderson win.

    Downingtown West set a physical message on the game’s first drive, and put themselves in a 7-0 lead after a 80 yard drive.  Running back Jake Barr (who had a game sealing interception as well) made an impressive catch of a Thomas Mattioni pass and scored from 20 yards out.

    Bishop Shanahan would not go away. The Eagles capitalized on two Downingtown West turnovers in the second quarter.  A lost fumble by Jake Barr turned into a Brendan Dearing 44 yard run to cap off a two play, 51 yard drive to tie the game.  On Downingtown West’s next possession, Shanahan linebacker Dan Neuhaus made an one handed interception that would impress Odell Beckham Junior.  The Eagles turned that into a 25 yard field goal by John George, to make the lead 10-7 at halftime.

    When Bishop Shanahan scored on a three yard run by Jake Guinan to go up 16-7, the possibility of an upset was very real.  When Guinan scored, the silence in Kottmeyer Stadium was deafening.

    Downingtown West then went on a tear offensively, as they systematically wore the Eagles out.  The Whippets’ offense ground out three touchdowns, and forced two crucial turnovers.  Quarterback Thomas Mattioni’s seven yard run closed the deficit to 16-13. Former Shanahan Running Back Braden Harper scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Mattioni to put the Whippets up 20-16. Kevin Kyriakos scored the game’s final touchdown on a six-yard run.

    The sequence that set up Kyriakos’ run was huge.  While preserving a 20-16 lead, Downingtown West intercepted Shanahan quarterback Nick Skulkus in the end zone to set the clinching drive up.  An interception by Jake Barr put the nail in the coffin.

    After the game, a frustrated by very upbeat Shanahan coach Paul Meyers felt his team, “…played hard.  The interception in the end zone killed us. Our game plan worked. We hit them in the mouth early. We were able to run the ball on them.  I am very proud of our team.”

    Paul Meyers deserves a HUGE amount of credit for the building and evolution of football at Bishop Shanahan High School.  Meyers started that program from scratch 16 seasons ago, and built the Eagles into a battle for anyone.  Last season, the Eagles won their first district playoff game on the gridiron.  The evolution continues next week, as Bishop Shanahan hosts Oxford in the first night game in Shanahan’s history on it’s new turf field.

    Downingtown West improves to 6-0 (2-0 Ches-Mont National), and plays West Chester East.  Shanahan hosts Oxford.

    STATS-
    DWHS- 7- 0-13-7-27
    BSHS-  0-10- 6-0-16

    DW- Barr 20 pass from Mattioni (Biscardi kick)
    BS- Dearing 44 run (George kick)
    BS- George 26 FG
    BS- Guinan 3 run (kick failed)
    DW- Mattioni 7 run (kick blocked)
    DW- Harper 28 pass from Mattioni (Biscardi kick)
    DW- Kyriakos 6 yard run (Biscardi kick)

  • Whippets use big second half to halt Coatesville

    paulweek5a2015Going into tonight, the Coatesville Red Raiders had multiple regular season win streaks, an overall regular season win streak of 14 games, and a league win streak of 7 games.  Both came to a screeching halt at the hands of the Downingtown West Whippets (who are the last team to beat Coatesville in league and in the regular season), by a score of 31-16.  Most would have considered this an upset, but it was by no means an upset of any kind.  Downingtown West was 4-0 heading into tonight’s game and have wins over quality programs in Neshaminy, and an up and coming Haverford squad.

    Considering the rainy weather, and the 7-3 score at halftime, nobody would have thought these two teams would have combined for 47 points.  The score was not indicative of how well both teams offenses looked, as both teams combined for over 850 yards of offense and 47 first downs.

    The game started off slow, as both teams offenses struggled to find a rhythm offensively.  Coatesville quarterback Jordan Young threw a tip drill interception on their first possession, but the Red Raiders turned back Downingtown West’s offense on a missed field goal on the Whippets’ first possession.  After the break that Coatesville received on a missed field goal, the Red Raiders systematically moved the ball, but stalled inside the 10 yard line, and settled for an Ibrahim Kallie field goal of 22 yards for a 3-0 advantage.

    Downingtown West would answer Kallie’s field goal on the ensuing possession, when Michael Riddick plowed his way into the end zone from two yards out.  Riddick’s touchdown seemed to fire up the Whippets, as they held Coatesville on downs on the next possession.

    Downingtown West expanded their lead to 14-3 on the first drive of the second half, when Thomas Mattioni scored from a yard out.  Another touchdown run by Michael Riddick (6 yards) put the Whippets up 21-3.

    Coatesville was able to close the score to 21-9 on a four-yard Jordan Young run, but the Whippets were able to keep the Red Raiders at a two score deficit when Massimo Biscardi hit a 25 yard field goal, to get the lead to 24-9.

    Aaron Young, the youngest member of the Young brothers, scored Coatesville’s final touchdown on the night from two yards out.  However, Jordan Young’s third interception on the night, led to Downingtown West’s final touchdown, a 36-yard run while trying to run the clock out.

    A disappointed Coatesville coach Matt Ortega stated after the game that he felt, “Downingtown West did a few things differently.  They ran a different scheme with their counters.  It was the mark of what a quality program Downingtown West has. They’re well coached.  We left a lot out there in the first half.”

    Downingtown West standout Jake Barr stated, ”It was great to beat Coatesville.  Our line set up huge holes all night.”  Quarterback Thomas Mattioni commented, “We did a lot of different motions.  Our line is stronger. We hit the weight room over the summer.”

    Whippet coach Mike Milano said, ”The offensive linemen are difference makers.  They are all returners from last season, and some have played for three years.  The seniors beat them two years ago, but were stung by last year.  This is the first time in seven years that we felt that we didn’t have to trick people to win.”

    STATS/SUMMARY
    DW-0-7-7-17-31
    CV- 3-0-0-13-16

    CV- Ibrahim Kallie 22 FG
    DW- Michael Riddick 2 run (Biscardi kick)
    DW- Thomas Mattioni 1 run (Biscardi kick)
    DW- Riddick 6 run (Biscardi kick)
    CV- J. Young 4 run (Conversion failed)
    DW- Massimo Biscardi 25 FG
    CV- Aaron Young 2 run (Kallie kick)
    DW- Jake Barr 36 run (Biscardi kick)

    First Downs
    DW- 24
    CV- 23

    Penalties (Yards)
    DW- 4 (45 yards)
    CV- 9 (75 yards)

    Fumbles (lost)
    DW- 2 (1 lost)
    CV- 2 (NONE)

    Punts
    DW- 2 (19.5 avg)
    CV- 2 (30.5 avg)

    Rushing-
    DW- Mattioni 10-85 (td), Barr 12-120 (td), Riddick 15-69 (2td), Kyriakos 6-30, Harper 4-33.  TEAM 43-337
    CV- J. Young 15-104 (td), Aaron Young 19-104, Hudson 2-15, Kirk 1-0.  TEAM 37-223

    PASSING
    DW- Mattioni 10-17- 93 yards
    CV- J. Young 18-35-206 yards-3 int

    Receiving
    DW- Alleyne 2-16, Barr 2-17, Riddick 1-8, Kyriakos 2-18, Burke 1-16, Harper 2-18.
    CV- Kirk 5-72, Avery Young 4-57, Aaron Young 4-37, Hudson 2-15.

  • Cougars show no mercy on Indians

    paulweek52015Tonight at Kottmeyer Stadium, the Downingtown East Cougars had their final tune up in preparation for their Ches-Mont League National Division non league slate. This came in the form of their mandatory cross over game against the Indians of Unionville.

    Downingtown East played nearly a complete game in a 49-13 shellacking of Unionville.  This game had touchdowns in all three facets of the game- offense, defense, and special teams.  Of the game’s nine touchdowns four came on offense, three on special teams, and two on defense.  Two of the three special teams touchdowns were scored by Unionville tonight.

    The game started off poorly for Unionville, as the Indians found themselves in a 14-0 hole less than two minutes into the game.  Kameron Hammond-Green returned the opening kickoff 88 yards for Downingtown East’s first score.  Following a three and out by Unionville, it took Downingtown East two plays to score again, when Saunders Healy hit his tight end Cary Angeline for a 46 yard touchdown pass.

    Unionville did catch a break on special teams later in the first frame, as Indians’ sophomore defensive back Joe Zubillaga recovered an errant snap in the end zone, to cut the lead in half at 14-7.  When one thought that Unionville seized momentum after the score, Downingtown East forcefully took it back in the second quarter.  A Jack Kincade one-yard run put Downingtown East up 21-7, and a one-yard quarterback sneak by Saunders Healy on fourth and goal put the Cougars up 28-7 at halftime.

    The saying “when it rains, it pours” held true for Unionville tonight.  On their first possession of the second half, Downingtown East’s defensive back Jeremy Jennings successfully jumped a route, intercepting a Jason Hagen pass and returning it 53 yards for the first of his two pick sixes on the night.

    Fortunately for Unionville, the 35-7 hole was short lived, as Elan Nash took a Drew Brennan kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to get the Indians back to 35-13.  The fact that one of Brennan’s kickoffs was even returned is a rarity in and of itself, as he leads the county in touchbacks with a minimum of eight on the season.

    Unfortunately for Unionville, 35-13 was as close as they would get on this night.  Jack Kincade scored his second touchdown (four yards) to put Downingtown East up 42-13, and Jeremy Jennings’ second pick six (73 yards) with 2:23 left in the game, put the Cougars up 49-13, and invoked the mercy rule at that point.

    After the game, Unionville coach Pat Clark stated, “Downingtown East hit big plays in all phases of the game, opening kickoff, two pick sixes, the 46 yard touchdown pass.  They’re a good team, and well coached.”

    Downingtown East coach Mike Matta was pleased with his team’s effort, “It was a total team effort tonight.  We did a good job picking each other up. Defensive Coordinator Omar Montalvo put together a great game plan. That opening kickoff set a tone early.”

    Up next for Downingtown East (5-0, 1-0) is Ches-Mont National Division opponent West Chester Henderson.  Unionville (3-2, 1-0 Ches-Mont American) plays Oxford next week.

    SCORE SUMMARY/STATS
    DEHS- 14-14-7-14-49
    UHS –     7- 0- 6- 0- 13

    DE- Kameron Hammond-Green 88 yard kickoff return (Brennan kick)
    DE- Cary Angeline 46 yard pass from Saunders Healy (Brennan kick)
    U- Joe Zubillaga recovered snap in end zone (Barrett kick)
    DE- Jack Kincade 1 yard run (Brennan kick)
    DE- Healy 1 run (Brennan kick)
    DE- Jeremy Jennings 53 yard interception return (Brennan kick)
    U- Elan Nash 90 yard kickoff return (kick failed)
    DE- Kincade 4 yard run (Brennan kick)
    DE- Jennings 73 yard interception return (Brennan kick)

    First Downs-
    Downingtown East- 12
    Unionville- 9

    Penalties-Yards
    Downingtown East- 9 (86 yards)
    Unionville- 6 (60 yards)

    Fumbles-Lost
    Downingtown East- 3 (0 lost)
    Unionville- NONE

    Punts-Yards
    Downingtown East- 2 (18 yard avg)
    Unionville- 6 (33.2 average)

    Passing-
    Downingtown East- Saunders Healy 7-11-181 yards-1 td
    Unionville- Brendan Boyle 7-16-92 yards, Joe Hagen 0-6-2 interceptions.  TOTAL 7-22-92 yards-2 interceptions

    Rushing-
    Downingtown East- Healy 9-27 (td), Kincade 24-77 (2tds), Hanford 1-2. TOTAL 34-106
    Unionville- Boyle 17-2, Boon 11-1, Hagen 2-(minus 6), Dante Graham 6-31. TOTAL 36-28

    Receiving-
    Downingtown East- Angeline 4-96 (td), Hanford 1-50, Hammond-Green 1-9, Hahn 1-26
    Unionville- Tyler Marmo 2-33, Boon 1-(minus 4), Nash 1-11, Clark 3-52

    TOTAL YARDS
    Downingtown East- 287
    Unionville- 120

  • Big third quarter lifts Coatesville in league opener over Henderson

    paulweek42015After three weeks of non-league action, the proverbial “second season” kicked off for most Ches-Mont National Division schools tonight. For the defending National Division champion Coatesville Red Raiders, it started the right way, downing the West Chester Henderson Warriors.

    It was not easy for Coatesville in the first half, as Henderson’s reliable defense held the Red Raiders to 14 first-half points. While Henderson’s vaunted triple option offense struggled to get going, it took Coatesville one play on their second possession to establish a 7-0 lead, as Jordan Young hit Jadan Hudson on a 72 yard wide receiver screen. The Warriors answered back with a Ryan Angle field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.

    Coatesville and the Warriors would trade touchdowns before the half, as Jordan Young scored on a five-yard run putting Coatesville up 14-3. Henderson answered when Nick Masetti scored from two yards out, for the 14-10 halftime score. Jordan Young threw for 149 yards and a score at halftime, but he (and his brothers Avery and Aaron) kept the scoring onslaught going.

    Coming out of halftime, the Red Raiders of old came out and hammered the Warriors for 20 points in the third quarter. The third quarter was the Aaron Young show, as the youngest of the Young trio scored three rushing touchdowns (29, 17, and 4 yards), putting Coatesville up 34-10, and instilling fear into defenses around the Ches-Mont League and District 1 for three more years. Aaron is a freshman.

    From what most would think would be a blowout, Henderson showed a lot of heart in coming back. Matt DiNacci led the Warriors down the field scoring from a yard out. With Nick Mascetti’s two-point conversion run, Coatesville’s lead was cut to 34-18.

    A recovered on-sides kick by Henderson led to a short field for the Warriors, which led to CJ Preston’s two-yard touchdown run. Another two-point conversion run, this time by CJ Preston, and Coatesville’s lead was down to a score at 34-26.

    After recovering a second attempted on-sides kick by Henderson, Coatesville showed why they are the defending league champions, and District 1 runners-up. Once Henderson clawed their way back, Coatesville showed the killer instinct in putting Henderson away.

    Despite multiple penalties that put the Red Raiders in a second and 29 hole, they were able to grind out a final touchdown, when Jordan Young hit his sophomore brother Avery Young on a 53 yard fly pattern. Coatesville also showed why they are defending champions in the way they overcame adversity, as they overcame penalties (13 penalties for 124 yards).

    Despite the loss- Henderson coach Steve Mitten was proud of the way his team played, “We played with more heart than they did. We do have some things to fix, from administrative things. If we play like this next week, we will win. Coatesville is extremely talented, and well coached.” Regarding fullback CJ Preston, “He’s a sophomore, and we expect a lot of him. In our offense, the fullback touches the ball a lot.”

    Stats/Summary-
    CHS- 07-07-20-07- 41
    WCH- 00-10-00-16- 26

    CHS- Jadan Hudson 72 pass from Jordan Young (Kallie kick)
    WCH- Ryan Angle 30 FG
    CHS- J. Young 5 run (Kallie kick)
    WCH- Nick Mascetti 2 run (Angle kick)
    CHS- Aaron Young 29 run (Kallie kick)
    CHS- Aa. Young 17 run (Kallie kick)
    CHS- Aa. Young 4 run (kick failed)
    WCH- DiNacci 1 run (Mascetti run)
    WCH- CJ Preston 2 run (Preston run)
    CHS- Avery Young 53 pass from J. Young (Kallie kick)

    Passing-
    CHS- J. Young 12-21-267 yards- 2tds-1int
    WCH- DiNacci 7-21-89 yards-1int

    Rushing
    CHS- J. Young 6-28 (td), Aaron Young 11-87 (3td), Avery Young 1-4, Alexander 1-7, TEAM 19-126
    WCH- DiNacci 9-15 (td), Preston 34-116 (td), Mascetti 5-71, Palmer 1-2, TEAM 49-204

    Receiving
    CHS- Avery Young 6-133 (td), Hudson 3-104 (td), Hammond 3-30
    WCH- Greim 2-22, Rizzo 1-15, DePhillips 4-52

  • Cougars claw out of a hole, beat the Knights

    paulweek32015In what could be an early contender for game of the year in District 1 as a whole, the Downingtown East Cougars beat a perennial District 1 powerhouse in the North Penn Knights.  There could possibly be a rematch down the line, during the District 1 AAAA playoffs.

    Early on, it seemed that North Penn would run the Cougars out of their own stadium, as the Knights cashed in on two early miscues.  Downingtown East fumbled the opening kickoff in their own territory, and North Penn used the short field to take a 7-0 lead on a 1 yard plunge by Nick Isabella.

    Things went from bad to ugly for Downingtown East, as Saunders Healy & Jack Kincade fumbled an exchange on 4th down and short.  Justin Ostopowicz took an end around 43 yards to the Downingtown East 1 yard line, and Reece Udinski snuck it across the goal line to put North Penn up 14-0.

    Downingtown East would answer back, as Healy hit Jake Hanford twice with passes into the flat to pick up crucial first downs.  Healy hit Hanford on a screen pass from 10 yards out to cut the lead to 14-7. North Penn got their lead back up to 14 points, as the Knights hit a big play in their run game when Delaware State bound running back Nyfease West scampered 47 yards for a 21-7 lead.

    From here it was all Downingtown East, as the Cougars relied on their huge offensive line to run over North Penn’s smaller defense.  A second Saunders Healy touchdown pass, this one to Cary Angeline from 5 yards out, cut the lead to 21-14 at halftime.

    Following a North Penn three and out, Downingtown East drove down the field to tie the game at 21, when Saunders Healy scored on a sneak two plays after a 29 yard pass to Noah Hahn.  Another empty possession by North Penn, and the Cougars completed the comeback when Jack Kincade scored from 25 yards out for a 28-21 lead.

    The Knights would add a field goal by Brett Bealer to cut the lead to 28-24, which set the game up for the late game drama.  After a failed fourth down conversion by Downingtown East deep in North Penn territory, the Knights had a little over 2 minutes to drive down the field.

    They were successful in reaching Downingtown East’s 10 yard line, when Cary Angeline intercepted a Udinski pass to end the threat.  In this sequence North Penn had a 7 yard touchdown pass nullified by an illegal procedure penalty on Keith Earle (a North Penn team captain) as he started towards the line before the snap.

    In a game that had many big plays by many star players (Jack Kincade ran for 125 yards on 25 carries, Nyfease West ran for 191 yards for North Penn), an unsung hero tonight was Downingtown East’s kicker and punter, Drew Brennan.  Brennan nullified any chances at kickoff returns by North Penn when all five of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.  On top of that, Brennan’s two punts tonight averaged 57 yards (66 and 48 yards).

    After the game, Downingtown East’s coach Mike Matta was pleased with his teams performance. “They played well, and believed in themselves.  We stumbled out of the gates early, because we were too jacked up.  North Penn is a quality team led by a quality coach in Dick Beck, it’s a great win”.

    He singled out Jack Kincade as being “…tough, and a hard worker.  As soon as we get him out for a breather, he wants back in.  He works hard in the weight room.”  Regarding Cary Angeline’s interception, “Big time players make big time plays.  He freelanced on the interception. He was supposed to jam the tight end.  He read the play, and made the play. He’s that kind of an athlete.”

    Tailback Jack Kincade stated, “We killed them with our tempo and hard work.  We were able to use our size to wear them out.”

    STATS
    NP- Nick Isabella 1 run (Bealer kick)
    NP- Udinski 1 run (Bealer kick)
    DE- Hanford 10 pass from Healy (Brennan kick)
    NP- N. West 47 run (Bealer kick)
    DE- Angeline 5 pass from Healy (Brennan kick)
    DE- Healy 1 run (Brennan kick)
    DE- Kincade 25 run (Brennan kick)
    NP- Bealer 32 FG

    DE        NP
    First Downs-                 17         18
    Penalties-Yards        2-15       6-35
    Fumbles-Lost              3-2        1-0
    Rushes-Yards         46-217   54-293
    Comp-Att-Int       10-13-0      9-23-1
    Yards Passing          107        115
    Total Yards                324        408

    Individual Stats
    Rushing-
    DE- Kincade 25-125 (TD), Aivado 3-20, Healy 16-51 (TD), Hanford 2-19
    NP- Udinski 12-22 (TD), Ostopowicz 8-55, West 18-191 (TD), Isabella 5-16 (TD)

    Receiving-
    DE- Hahn 1-29, Hanford 3-27 (TD), E. Harris 2-19, Angeline 4-31 (TD)
    NP- West 3-16, Isabella 2-41, Johns 1-12, Ostopowicz 1-8, Harrison 1-9, Earle 1-26, Bevan 1-12

  • Knights Golden in Domination of Warriors

    In an annual three way battle for supremacy in West Chester, the Golden Knights ofpaulweek22015 West Chester Rustin took the first step towards repeating as the top team in the borough; by downing the Warriors of West Chester Henderson, by a score of 28-0.

    Although both teams looked fairly sloppy, Rustin was able to shake off their sloppy start and churn out 338 yards of offense (243 rushing).  Sophomore Tyrone Pringle looks like he will carry on the tradition of great running backs at Rustin as well, following in the footsteps of Rondell White, and more recently Terry Loper.

    After a Warrior punt, the Golden Knights took to the air for their first score of the game, as second year starter Evan Wlock hit Ryan Loucks on a 36 yard pass play.  The lead doubled to 14-0 before halftime, as Evan Wlock scored on a quarterback sneak.

    From there it went from bad to brutal for Henderson, as their vaunted triple option offense could not move the ball all night.  Matt DiNacci only ran for 55 yards. The steady production they’ve received from fullbacks in recent years disappeared tonight as well as sophomore CJ Preston was held to less than 4 yards a carry (67 yards on 17 carries), and their offense only managed 10 first downs on the night.

    While the Warriors were desperately trying to get on track, Rustin tailback Tyrone Pringle scored touchdowns on runs of 26 and 42 yards.

    After the game, Henderson coach Steve Mitten was clearly frustrated at his team’s lack of effort.  He stated that, “Rustin is a fundamentally sound team that played hard.  We did not play hard or match their intensity.  It’s back to square one now.”

    Rustin’s 10 year head coach Mike St. Clair was pleased with his signal caller and top receiver, ”Wlock has a nice arm, and Loucks is an all around athlete.  Loucks is also a basketball player who has nice hands, works hard, and his overall work ethic is top notch.”  As for Pringle being the next in a long line of star Rustin backs, “The jury is still out on that.  He needs to continue working hard.”

  • Patriots struggle with Phantom opener

    What a difference a year makes. Last year, you can make the argument that the paulweek1a2015“Route 29 series” between the Phoenixville Phantoms and the Great Valley Patriots should be re-named the Rout 29 series.

    Last year, Great Valley eviscerated the Phoenixville Phantoms 54-0 in the opener. Great Valley went 12-2, and won the District 1 AAA championship, while Phoenixville stumbled to a 1-9 record under first year coach Evan Breisblatt.

    This year looks like it will be much different. The Patriots won the opener with the Phantoms by a score of 28-19. The score was not indicative of the improvement of Phoenixville, as it was much closer than 28-19.

    At the start, it seemed like it would be more of the same, as Patriot cornerback Mark DeRobertis intercepted Troy Rossman’s pass and scampered 24 yards to start the scoring. On Great Valley’s first offensive possession, Robert Geiss hit Ryan Hubley (not the same Hubley that graduated from Oxford) on a 7 yard pass.

    The route 29 rivalry was on, or as Lee Corso would say “not so fast my friend”. Matt Palubinsky put Phoenixville on the scoreboard on a 3 yard run out of the Wildcat formation. The Phantoms moved the ball again, and a 30 yard Biron Ramirez field goal cut Great Valley’s lead to 14-10. The Patriots lead would be deflated to 14-13, as Ramirez hit another field goal from 25 yards out.

    In the final quarter, Great Valley scored two more touchdowns, both on big plays (a 36 yard screen pass from Geiss to Nick Cionci, and a 39 yard run from DeRobertis). Undaunted, the Phantoms would not go away, as Nasir Green hauled in a 52 yard scoring pass from Rossman. Great Valley recovered the onsides kick, and ran out the clock.

    After the game, Phoenixville coach Evan Breisblatt encouraged his kids to keep their heads held high. We played hard, but we just beat ourselves. The mistakes we made are correctable. We moved the ball on them. They’re the District 1 AAA champions until someone knocks them out.

    Great Valley coach Dan Ellis stated that they got unraveled a bit mid game. They made mistakes that a younger team makes.

    Robert Geiss threw for 212 yards and 2 touchdowns. Mark DeRobertis ran for 139 yards and had a score on offense and defense. Ryan Hubley added 81 total yards. For Phoenixville, Troy Rossman threw for 181 yards and a score. Matt Palubinsky ran for 54 yards. Jonavin County added 41 on the ground. Matt Garcia had 91 yards receiving, and 114 total yards.

  • Whippets put the brakes on Fords

    Week one of the high school football season produced numerous blowouts across paulweek12015Chester County.

    Tonight’s game between Downingtown West and Haverford High School was no different- as the Whippets rolled to a 41-3 halftime lead and 41-3 final. West’s offense rolled to 412 yards in the first half.

    It did not take long for the Whippets to lay claim to a 7-0 lead after a Fords punt. One play to be exact, as Thomas Mattioni hit Nate Alleyne on a 63 yard touchdown pass.

    Haverford did cut the lead to 7-3 on a 30 yard field goal. One play later, Mattioni hit Jake Barr on a 80 yard throwback screen.

    The floodgates opened, as it took the Whippets all of three plays to score again. Mattioni connected with Alleyne again (36 yards) to make it 21-3.

    Another Fords punt, and 3 plays later- 21-3 became 28-3. Michael Riddick got in on the scoring on a 69 yard run. Then West put together their only drive over 3 plays, but the result was the same- a Whippet touchdown. Riddick scored on a 19 yard run.

    Mattioni’s fourth touchdown pass and third to Alleyne covering 58 yards closed out the scoring.

    Mattioni threw for 266 yards (6-6 passing) and 4 touchdowns. Nate Alleyne had 157 yards & 3 touchdowns (3 catches). Michael Riddick rushed for 128 yards (8 carries) & 2 scores.

    Quotable
    Mike Milano (Coach-Downingtown West)- The main difference is that we are bigger this season. We saw Haverford scrimmage last Saturday, and Donaghy threw the ball all over on Henderson. Scoring so quickly on them like that is discouraging, it’s happened to me before.

    Summary & stats.

    DW- Alleyne 63 pass from Mattioni
    HH- Boyce 30 FG
    DW- Barr 80 pass from Mattioni
    DW- Alleyne 36 pass from Mattioni
    DW- Riddick 69 run
    DW- Riddick 19 run
    DW- Alleyne 58 pass from Mattioni

    Total yards-
    DW- 454 (187 rush, 277 pass)
    HH- 169 (95 pass, 74 rush)

    Comp-Attempts-interceptions
    DW- 8-9 (Mattioni 6-6, Geiser 2-3)
    HH- 13-22 (Donaghy 11-18 85 yds int, Klee 2-4 10 yards)

    Receiving-
    DW- Barr 2-92 (TD), Riddick 1-17, Alleyne 3-157 (3td), Voss 2-13
    HH- Corbitt 3-37, Bernard 2-(-6), Guilfoil 1-10, Trainor 2-0, Romanofsky 3-7, Hallowell 1-6, Weiss 1-4

    Rushing
    DW- Voss 2-1, Costello 10-43, Riddick 8-128 (2td), Barr 3-2, Mattioni 4-16.

  • Valor Bowl Milestone- West beats east on FG

    Tonight at West Chester University, the senior all star game for Chester County was played for a good cause: the County Special Olympics.

    This being the 17th edition of the Valor Bowl, a milestone of $500,000 was surpassed for this cause.

    The game was just as great, as the West beat the East 16-13, when Jake Geiger from Bishop Shanahan made a 31 yard field goal as time expired.

    Defense from both teams set the tone of the game. Case in point, star Rustin tailback Dwayne “Terry” Loper led all rushers with 97 yards and a score. Yet he averaged 5.4 yards a carry (half his season average). Stephen Pawling (Coatesville), Kevin DiStefano (Downingtown East), Jack Dingfelder (WC Henderson), and Hammie Hungerbuhler (Great Valley) had outstanding individual games.

    It was also good to see the county’s newest program in Octorara account for the West’s two touchdowns (Alex Gooden & Corey Cooper), and Matt Schmeltzer open holes up front.

    Scoring-
    East- Gianniscoli (Malvern Prep) 25 FG
    East- Loper (Rustin) 1 run (Gianniscoli kick)
    West- Gooden (Octorara) 26 run (Jake Geiger kick)
    West- Cooper 7 run (kick failed)
    East- Giannascoli 38 FG
    West- Geiger 31 FG

  • Chester County Coach of the year

    What a difference a year makes. The last 3 years that former coach Mike Choi ran the Great Valley High School football program, the Patriots went 19-14 (2011- 5-6, 2012- 6-5, 2013- 8-3). Before the 2013-14 school year ended, Choi left for Pequea Valley in District 3, and Dan Ellis left West Chester East to take the Great Valley job.

    A 12-2 season later, which included a defeat of previously undefeated Springfield (Delco) High School in the District 1 AAA title game, victories of 2 Ches-Mont League national division schools in Downingtown West and Bishop Shanahan during their march to glory made my decision easy. Dan Ellis is my choice for Chester County coach of the year.

    It took all of one year to turn the attitude of the Patriots into one of a serious winning mentality. Case in point- after giving up 34 points in the second half of a 54-13 loss to West Chester Rustin (their only regular season loss, and cost them the American Division title), they turned around and defeated Downingtown West 41-35 in overtime on a short week (Saturday game-Thursday game) of practice. That attitude, combined with senior leadership by Ryan Buchholz and Nasir Adderley took the Patriots far.

    Unfortunately, their season came to an end at the hands of powerhouse Archbishop Wood. The case of the public school going up against the parochial powerhouse.

    PLAYER OF THE YEAR- Dwayne “Terry” Loper (WC Rustin)
    All County-
    QB- Tim Miller (Junior- Conestoga)
    RB- Dwayne “Terry” Loper (Senior- WC Rustin)
    RB- Tre Green (Senior- WC Henderson)
    WR- Martin Dorsey (Senior- Conestoga)
    WR- Pat Downey (Senior- WC East)
    TE- Cary Angeline (Junior- Downingtown East)
    OL- Doug Costin (Junior- Bishop Shanahan)
    OL- Bryan White (Senior- WC Henderson)
    OL- Caleb Fell (Senior- Downingtown East)
    OL- Ray Bordley (Senior- WC Rustin)
    OL- Phil Vecchioli (Senior- WC Rustin)
    Kicker/Punter- Alex Pechin (Senior- Unionville)

  • Raiders defeat another league rival, advance to District title game

    paulweek132014No matter what the sport is, the Ches-Mont League schedule is a grind.  This especially holds true in football.  The Coatesville Red Raiders ran the table in winning the National Division Championship this season.  The way the district 1 AAAA playoffs played out, Coatesville had to defeat league rival West Chester Henderson a second time to end the Warriors’ season at 8-4 last week.  Another round in the playoffs presented another Ches-Mont rival in Downingtown East.

    The first game with the Cougars was a grind, with the Red Raiders pulling out a solid 15-9 win over the Cougars.  The second game with the Cougars was supposed to be another grind.  For the first 36 minutes of the game, the game was a grind, as the Red Raiders established a 13-12 lead, and were clinging to it.

    Fortunately for Coatesville, dominating performances by Temple bound Ahkeema Evans, Jalen Hudson, and Division 1 recruit Amir Ealey helped the Red Raiders pull away from Downingtown East in the fourth quarter by a score of 31-12 to secure a date in the District 1 championship game against Pennsbury (who beat Upper Dublin 25-14).

    Coatesville knew the re-match with Downingtown East would be a war right away.  Following a Jordan Young punt that went minus three yards due to a bad bounce, the Red Raiders’ defense stifled the Cougars, but were on the wrong end of a 3-0 score, due to a 32-yard field goal by Drew Brennan.

    Showing their resiliency and steely resolve, the Red Raiders answered right back, when Jalen Hudson scampered 44 yards for a touchdown on an option play (which was available all game) that was used successfully by Coatesville regularly tonight.  Downingtown East re-claimed the lead at 10-7 on Keith Conner’s 2-yard run, which was set up by an amazing 61-yard catch and run by Cary Angeline.  After a turnover by Downingtown East, it took Coatesville one play to go back ahead 13-10, when Jordan Young hit Coleman on a 35-yard pass.

    From there, it looked like the shootout was on.  This was proven wrong, with a safety by Downingtown East right before halftime. Jalen Hudson recovered a botched handoff between him and Jordan Young and tried to make too much happen.  Instead of falling on the fumble, Hudson tried to bounce it out and make a positive play out of something that was not there. He was tackled in the end zone for a safety.

    Neither team could do much offensively in the third frame, as both teams’ defenses were stifling the other.  It was only a matter of time before either team broke through for a big play and score, and that team was Coatesville.  Jordan Young scampered 15 yards to paydirt, to increase their lead to 19-12.  Jalen Hudson scored on a 33-yard run to make it 25-12, and Ahkeema Evans returned an interception 33 yards to paydirt to squash any shot the Cougars had at any comeback.

    For Coatesville, Amir Ealey had four sacks on defense, and 52 yards receiving.  Jordan Young accounted for two touchdowns (1 passing, 1 running), threw for 171 yards, and ran for 65 more.  Jalen Hudson ran for 166 yards and a score on 18 carries.

    After the game, Coatesville’s coach Matt Ortega said that this is, “A different team than the team that won districts in 2012. We relied on a high powered offense that year.  This year, we rely more on our defense.  We realized we had something special here after the Roman Catholic game, and we have won 35 out of our last 40 games.  On film the last couple years, when we beat them, the game was won up front.  The only concern I had was with our kicking game- which we will work on this week.” Amir Ealey stated, “Our D like to get dirty and grind out wins.  Our coaches get all the credit, they put us in positions to make plays.”

    Downingtown East’s comeback season ends at 9-4.  Meanwhile, Coatesville improves to 13-0, and has the opportunity to bring a second district on title to the Ches-Mont League (Great Valley beat Springfield-Delco 21-0 in the AAA final tonight), when the Red Raiders play Pennsbury in the AAAA finals at a site to be determined.

  • Cardinals fly to Fairless Hills, down Golden Knights

    paulweek122014In what people from around the state may view as a mild upset in the District 1 AAAA playoffs, the sixth seeded Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals downed the third seeded Golden Knights from West Chester Rustin High School.  On the outside, this would be viewed as an upset due to the degree of difficulty in their schedules.  Upper Dublin’s only loss was to Abington (5-5), and some of their wins were against weak competition (ex: 3-8 Hatboro-Horsham, 2-9 Upper Merion, 2-8 Wissahickon).  Meanwhile, the Golden Knights’ only loss to this point was to Downingtown East (who is playing in the 4A semi finals next week).

    The way that Upper Dublin moved the ball through Rustin’s defense tonight, proved that the end result of this game was not really an upset.  Add on the fact that the Flying Cardinals shut out Rustin’s high powered running game the entire second half.

    Things started to look like a runaway for Rustin, as Dwayne Terry Loper broke away for a 70-yard touchdown run on the Golden Knights’ first play from scrimmage.  Unfortunately for the Golden Knights, their defense could not make  enough plays to get off the field.  For example, Upper Dublin converted a second and 14, and a third down on their first possession (a 12-play, 82-yard drive) to tie the game at 7.  Key plays in the drive were John Barrett’s 16-yard reception on second and 14, Michael Cottom’s 22 yard reception, and Barrett’s 6 yard touchdown catch.

    The mantra of a shootout looked to be on, as Rustin was able to answer Upper Dublin’s tying score with another.  The Golden Knights had an eight-play, 66-yard drive converted into a 14-7 lead, when Evan Wlock hit his tight end Matt Hosking on a 30-yard touchdown pass on fourth down and five.  Not to be outdone by Rustin, the Flying Cardinals tied the game back up at 14 (on a fourth down conversion of their own), as John Lee scampered 41 yards for a score.

    Once Upper Dublin tied it back up, it looked like Rustin would pull away, as Upper Dublin could not convert a lost fumble by Loper, and Rustin took a 21-14 lead on an Evan Wlock one-yard run to cap off a 12-play, 76-yard drive.  The lead was increased to 23-14 on a rare Rustin defensive stand, and a snap that went over the punter’s head.  Undaunted by the miscue, the Flying Cardinals were able to cut the lead to 23-21 at half, when Kalief Lee scored from a yard out.

    In the second half, Upper Dublin took a 28-23 lead on Evan Stover’s 63-yard touchdown pass to Matt Thompson.  From there, they put the game away on a 13-play, 99-yard drive, capped off by the second touchdown pass from Stover to Thompson (16 yards) to go up 34-13.  This drive included a conversion on third and five from their own six, and a fourth and one conversion at Rustin’s 34.

    The celebration started after Upper Dublin capped off a 12-play, 73-yard drive, when Stover and Thompson connected from 21 yards out.  From here, Upper Dublin’s (11-1) playoff run continues next Friday in Fairless Hills against 11-1 Pennsbury.  Rustin’s season ends at 10-2.

    Dwayne “Terry” Loper closed out his High School career, with 188 yards (21 carries) and a touchdown.  For Upper Dublin, Ryan Stover completed 22-31 passes (291 yards, four touchdowns).  Other Upper Dublin offensive standouts were: John Lee who had 126 all purpose yards (97 rushing on 8 carries, 29 receiving on 2 catches), and Matt Thompson (10 catches, 128 yards, 3 touchdowns).

  • Eagles make history, stomp Upper Moreland

    paulweek11a2014In fifteen years, there are few things that the Bishop Shanahan Eagles never accomplished on the gridiron.  You can cross off winning a District One AAA playoff game and hosting a playoff game off the list tonight, as the Eagles hammered the Upper Moreland Golden Bears by a score of 37-7.  The game was pushed back to 4:15pm and the location was changed to Great Valley High School’s Valley Stadium, due to SAT’s and a school play at Bishop Shanahan.

    Not only is Bishop Shanahan the smallest (only AAA) school in the National Division of the Ches-Mont League, but head coach Paul Meyers is the only coach the Eagles have had since re-starting football in 1999.  Meyers is among the classiest coaches in District 1. He and his team handle themselves with class no matter the result.

    The Eagles got off to a bit of an auspicious start, due to a bad call to end their first drive.  The Eagles drove the ball 66 yards in 13 plays down to the Upper Moreland two-yard line, when Dan Murphy appeared to at least have a first down (and a Shanahan touchdown to boot), only to have the referees rule that he fumbled the ball, and it was Upper Moreland ball on their own 11-yard line.

    That possession, and Shanahan’s defense set a tone of domination all game.  In the first half, the Golden Bears had six possessions.  They had four punts (three of them were three and outs), a turnover on a one-play drive, a kneel down, minus three yards of offense, and one first down.  Nor did the Golden Bears cross midfield.

    On Shanahan’s third possession (second one was an interception on a trick play), the Eagles drove 69 yards in nine plays, capped off by Kevin Stine’s 18-yard run.  It didn’t take long for the Eagles to double their lead, as Pat Corcoran returned a punt 47 yards to paydirt, after Upper Moreland’s only drive over three plays.

    It took all of three plays for Shanahan to nearly double their lead from 14-0 to 27-0.  Princeton-bound Tight End and Linebacker Cody Smith hauled in a Murphy pass, and went 65 yards for a score to make it 21-0.  After another punt, Kevin Stine rumbled 28 yards to pay dirt to cap off a two- play drive.  Geiger put the Eagles up 30-0 on a 28 yard Field Goal.

    The Golden Bears did get on the scoreboard when Tyler Whitmore plowed in from four yards out.  Murphy capped off the scoring on a 41-yard run.

    After the game, Paul Meyers continued to preach to his team to, “Focus and be smart.  Although this is the school’s playoff game ever, it belongs to you guys, not me.”  Regarding the game he said, “Our defense set a tone early tonight.  The change of venue did not bother us one bit.  We just kept focused, watched our film, and realized that we are more physical than them.”

    Regarding the smothering Shanahan defense, the Eagles held Upper Moreland to 104 yards of offense, led by dominating performances by Doug Costin and Cody Smith. For Shanahan, Murphy was 6-7 passing for (126 yards, 1 score), and ran for 58 yards and a score (8 carries).  Kevin Stine ran for 101 yards (16 carries), Nick Pasvanis had 59 yards (13 carries), Sprague had 49 yards (3 catches).  Upper Moreland’s lone bright spot on offense was Tyler Whitmore, who ran for 110 yards on 25 carries.

    Up next for Bishop Shanahan (8-3) is the District 1 AAA semifinals at Great Valley (10-1), the second game in a row at Valley Stadium.  This is also one of two District 1 playoff games involving Ches-Mont teams playing each other- Coatesville (11-0) hosts West Chester Henderson (8-3) in the AAAA bracket.  The only difference is that Shanahan and Great Valley are in opposite divisions in the Ches-Mont.

    For Upper Moreland (7-4), their next game is Thanksgiving Day against Hatboro-Horsham (3-8).

     

    Scoring

    BSHS- 0-27-3-7- 37

    UMHS-0- 0- 0-7 – 7

     

    BSHS- Kevin Stine 18 run (Geiger kick)

    BSHS- Corcoran 47 yard punt return (Geiger kick)

    BSHS- Smith 65 pass from Murphy (Geiger kick)

    BSHS- Stine 28 run (kick failed)

    BSHS- Geiger 28 FG

    UMHS- Whitmore 4 run (Meale kick)

    BSHS- Murphy 41 run (Geiger kick)

  • Cougars down Vikings in thriller, 27-24

    paulweek112014In an opening round District 1 AAAA playoff game, the Downingtown East Cougars did not earn any style points.  Nor did they win pretty.  Not to mention the game going down to literally the final seconds.  However ugly and style-less the game was, the Cougars eliminated the Perkiomen Valley Vikings by the score of 27-24, on a Drew Brennan 25-yard field goal as time expired.

    Although Perkiomen Valley was able to hit some big plays in the passing game, Downingtown East’s defense was solid throughout the game. They forced three and outs on five of Perkiomen Valley’s first six possessions and a fumble on the Vikings’ seventh possession.  In the first seven series covering the first half, the Vikings’ offense managed only four first downs.

    After both teams traded three and outs to start the game, Downingtown East only had to move the ball 49 yards (on 16 plays) to take a 7-0 lead, when Andrew Hudson hit Cary Angeline on a two-yard pass.  Following Perk Valley’s second straight three and out, Downingtown East moved the ball 25 yards down to the Vikings’ 23 yard line before passing on a roughly 40 yard field goal. They turned the ball over on downs.  Although the Cougars didn’t score, they set the tone in the first half, showing that their offensive line could control the Vikings.

    After the third three and out by Perkiomen Valley, the Cougars moved the ball 32 yards in six plays, when Drew Brennan put Downingtown East up 10-0, on a 38-yard field goal.  Perkiomen Valley did threaten to get points before halftime, on a 12-play drive, which included a conversion pass on a fake punt from Liam Grande to Justin Jaworski that covered 33 yards.  The drive bogged down at the Downingtown East 25-yard line, when a pass fell incomplete.

    Once Downingtown East got the lead to 10-0, their offense started to bog down.  A menagerie of mistakes plagued the Cougars on their next few drives including a turnover on downs, a cross up on a shotgun snap reminiscent of the Broncos’ first drive in Super Bowl 48 plus two three and outs and an interception where the defensive back undercut Cary Angeline. These all left the Cougars unable to put the Vikings away.  On top of that, the Vikings were able to take a 17-10 lead.  Stephen Sturm hit Justin Jaworski on a 39 yard pass to cut the deficit to 10-6, Garrett Patla made a 21 yard field goal to make it 10-9. Sturm hit David Williams on a five-yard pass (and Ryan O’Donnell on the two-point conversion) to put Perk Valley up 17-10.

    This is where the fun started. The first three quarters featured a total of 19 points.  The final quarter featured 32.  Jack Kincade’s two-yard run capped off a six-play, 70-yard drive to tie the game at 17-17. The big play was a 57-yard pass from Hudson to Ben Davis.  Undeterred, Stephen Sturm hit Taiyir Wilson for a 69-yard touchdown.  Downingtown East re-tied the game on Andrew Hudson’s second touchdown pass to Cary Angeline (58 yards).  Once the Cougars’ offense was able to tie the game, the defense took control (forcing a fumble at midfield) of the game, and set up Drew Brennan’s heroics at the end.

    Both quarterbacks threw for over 200 yards, but the receivers had drops at crucial times.

    After the game, Mike Matta (Downingtown East’s coach since the split) stated that “This is just like the NCAA Tournament, there are no style points here.  The objective is to survive and advance.  Two years ago, a team more talented than this team was faced with adversity and did not rise up.  This year’s team rose up, and I am proud of them.  Our defense played great all night, we had a few breakdowns, but the kids stepped up.  We had kids who were injured fighting to get back in.”

    Regarding Taiyir Wilson, “… 21 is a Temple commit.  The kid is a baller, and he can play.  We put a sophomore on him.”  Regarding Keith Conner’s foot, “He will be ready to play next week.  On offense, we had three sure touchdowns dropped.”

    Offensively Andrew Hudson threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns on 11-31 passing. Cary Angeline had 102 yards and two touchdowns (seven receptions), and Ben Davis had 65 yards on two catches.  Caleb Fell, Adam Stata, and the Cougars front seven made a boat-load of crucial plays in crunch time.

    For Perk Valley, Stephen Sturm threw for 296 yards on 22-37 passing.  Justin Jaworski had 118 yards receiving (seven catches), Taiyir Wilson had 118 yards on five catches.  Brett Capobianco had an outstanding game for Perk Valley.

    Up next for fifth seeded Downingtown East (8-3), is a second round game against fourth seed Quakertown (10-1), who downed their Thanksgiving Day rival Pennridge 14-10.  Perkiomen Valley’s season ends with a 9-2 record.

     

    SCORING SUMMARY

    DEHS- 7-3-0-17- 27

    PVHS- 0-0-9-15- 24

     

    DE- Angeline 2 pass from Hudson (Brennan kick)

    DE- Brennan 38 FG

    PV- Jaworski 39 pass from Strum (kick blocked)

    PV- Patla 21 FG

    PV- Williams 5 pass from Strum (O’Donnell pass from Sturm)

    DE- Kincade 2 run (Brennan kick)

    PV- Wilson 69 pass from Sturm (Patla kick)

    DE- Angeline 58 pass from Hudson (Brennan kick)

    DE- Brennan 25 FG

  • Fernandez and Friars fry Churchmen

    In a rare Saturday night game at Malvern Prep, Zac Fernandez and the Friars put a defensive clinic on the Episcopal Academy Churchmen, 21-7.

    Fernandez ran for 185 yards and accounted for two touchdowns, to offset an off night by Pittsburgh recruit Alex Hornibrook (14-29, 162 yards, 2 TD).

    The teams traded scores by the quarterbacks, as Hornibrook hit Morris on a four-yard score, and Ryan Whayland scored on an eight-yard run.

    Zac Fernandez scored his two touchdowns on a 27 yard reception and 13 yard run.

  • Avon Grove pounded by Eagles

    Bishop Shanahan is in the midst of their most successful run in school history, as the Eagles clinched their first home district 1 playoff game ever.

    They capped off a 7-3 regular season with a 39-6 demolition of winless and punchless Avon Grove.

    Shanahan could not do much wrong, rolling to 503 yards on offense, and held the Red Devils to 205 yards.

    Following an Avon Grove three and out, it took the Eagles three plays to go 39 yards, when Kevin Stein raced from 39 yards out to put Shanahan ahead 6-0. The snowball kept rolling after another punt, as Dan Murphy hit Sprague for a 78-yard completion. Nick Pasvanis capped off another drive with a short run.

    Shanahan’s 12 to 0 lead expanded from the 18, 25, then 32, on 2 runs by Stine (21, 40 yards), and a Pasvanis five-yard run.

    Avon Grove held off the 35 point mercy rule, when Nate Jones scored from two yards out to make the score 32-6. He scored from one-yard out to close out the scoring at 39 to 6.

    Dan Murphy had a decent game passing the ball for the Eagles, pleading eight of 15 passes for 181 yards. Nick Pasvanis ran for 113 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns, and Kevin Stein ran for 148 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries for the Eagles. Meanwhile, yet again, Doug Costin was a dominant force on defense.

    Shanahan coach Paul Meyers stated that his team looked like a playoff team for the second week in a row. “We saw a bunch of things on film, and we are more physical than they are. We just wanted to run the ball right at them.”

  • Cougars win ugly, get him playoff game

    paulweek102014In the final week of the regular season here in District 1 territory, the Downingtown East Cougars clinched a top seven seed in the upcoming district 1 playoffs (one of the rare times a 7-3 team gets a home game). They downed the Warriors of Henderson High School.  Despite the defeat tonight, the Warriors’ 7-3 record should keep them in the playoffs.

    One would expect the Cougars to come out fairly flat, after last week’s win in a rivalry game. That is only partially true, in what was a fast moving game.

    For a good part of the game, Downingtown East had the proverbial “bend but don’t break” style of defense, as Henderson was able to move the ball with their triple option attack, led by fullback Tre Green picking up yards in chunks.

    The Warriors’ first two drives went 10 plays (49 yards) and 13 plays (70 yards) respectively, before giving the ball up on downs, and an interception by Adam Stata, who had a crucial interception for the second game in a row.

    Fortunately for Henderson, the Cougars only cashed in with points on the first of the two drives, on a Andrew Hudson pass to Cary Angeline (5 yards).  The second drive stalled at the Henderson two-yard line, when Nik Aivado lost a fumble trying to get extra yards.

    With the ball at their own one-yard line, Henderson went three and punt, and the 19-yard punt gave the Cougars a 27-yard field.  Downingtown East cashed in this time with a Keith Conner one-yard run.  Conner turned in his second 100-yard game in a row (112 yards tonight), combined with his 165-yard game last week, and an ankle injury to Jon Kincade, gave the Cougars a lot of run/pass balance.

    Coming out of the half, Downingtown East continued the run/pass balance, employing Saunders Healy as a run/pass threat (2-2 passing for 15 yards, and 6 rushes for 14 yards), which gave the Cougars a few clutch first downs, en route to Healy keeping on a one-yard sneak, to make the lead 21-0.

    Another Henderson turnover gave Downingtown East a 40-yard field, and Keith Conner capped off a seven-play drive with a six-yard run.  Henderson was able to avert the shutout, when Matt Dinacci hit Noah Richard on a 17-yard pass.

    After the game, Cary Angeline and Mike Matta stated that they’re, “Peaking at the right time.  Our defense is playing well.”  Matta added, “Our defense’s solid performances started after the West Chester East game.  Stata is an athletic kid, who also doubles as a lacrosse player.  We made a few adjustments. DiStefano changed positions from DB to LB, he’s an unselfish player.”

    In the defeat, the Warriors accumulated 304 yards of offense (103 passing, 201 rushing), and 16 first downs.  Henderson’s rushing attack was led by Tre Green, who had 169 yards (29 carries).  Noah Richard had 47 yards receiving (3 catches) and a score. James Bady had 34 yards (2 catches).

    Andrew Hudson turned in another solid game at quarterback for Downingtown East (12-17 passing, 135 yards and a score). Keith Conner churned out 112 yards and a score (19 carries).  Cary Angeline (6 catches, 52 yards & a score) and Dan Chisena (3 catches, 31 yards) were East’s top receivers.

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

    paulweek92014Based 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.”

     

  • Knights hammer Indians, 41-20

    paulweek82014Tonight, the Golden Knights of Rustin High School made another huge statement and cleared the final major hurdle on their side of the Ches Mont League, when they hammered the Unionville Indians, 41-20.

    It was a night that Rustin could do little wrong- no turnovers, one three and punt, one punt, and 1 penalty. Offensively, the Knights churned out 20 first downs en route to 416 yards.

    Rustin was able to score three touchdowns on three first half possessions- first on a 14 play drive that bled 8:04 off the clock right away, capped off by Evan Wlock’s 1 yard sneak. Following a Unionville 3 and punt, Terry Loper got into the action from 7 yards out. Rustin’s lead hit 21-0, when Wlock hit Mike McKnight on an 82 yard pass.

    Unionville finally got on the scoreboard before the half, when Alex Pechin scored from 3 yards out.

    In the second half, it was more of the same. Rustin would give the Indians a steady dose of Terry Loper (33 carries, 236 yards, 3 tds), who had 125 yards in the second half.

    Unionville keyed on Loper so often, that Wlock hit Andrew Chobany on a 29 yard pass, to make it a 28-7 lead. Chobany was so wide open on the play, he could have read War and Peace on his way in.

    The teams traded touchdowns from here. Pechin hit Brandon Boon from 29 yards out to make it 28-14, Terry Loper scored his second touchdown to put Rustin’s lead back to 21 on a 13 yard run. Austin Hoffmann-Reardon scored on a 1 yard run, and Loper scored on a 5 yard run at the end.

    Tonight for Unionville, Alex Pechin threw for 235 yards and a score. Brandon Boon had 117 yards receiving (5 catches), and Élan Nash had 81 yards (6 catches).

    Terry Loper had 33 carries, 236 yards and 3 scores. Evan Wlock threw for 117 yards and two scores on 3-4 passing.

    After the game Mike St. Clair spoke well of Unionville “they’re a sound team, who are well coached. We put in a good week of practice.”

  • Unionville shows no mercy on Octorara

    paulweek72014Tonight, the Unionville Indians won a tribal battle with the Octorara Braves, by a score of 49-6. The Indians’ win improves their record to 5-2 on the season and sets up a crucial week eight showdown at Rustin high school with the 6-1 Golden Knights.

    It was a night where Unionville could do no wrong. They converted 14 points off two special teams plays, scored 14 points off of defensive turnovers in plus territory, and hit big plays in their offense.

    After Octorara lost a fumble on their first possession, it took all of six plays for Alex Pechin and the Indians to strike first, on a 65 yard pass to Brandon Boon on third and 20.

    Octorara was able to establish a running game with Alex Gooden and Corey Cooper for a couple first downs, but Unionville forced a punt. Five plays later, Austin Hoffmann-Reardon dashed 39 yards to pay dirt, and a 14-0 lead.

    Then Unionville’s special teams joined the fun. Thinking that Alex Pechin’s kick was going out of bounds, the Octorara kick returner delayed a decision on fielding the ball, and Unionville capitalized on the uncertainty in the red zone. The next play Pechin to Boon struck from 16 yards, and the rout was on.

    The Braves cut the lead to 21-6, on their lone bright spot, Corey Cooper’s 4 yard run. The Braves did have some success using the single wing offense.

    Any momentum quickly evaporated into a 71 yard kickoff return by Tyler Marmo, to put the Indians up 28-6 at half. It was clear that Octorara didn’t have the athletes to compete, as Unionville ran a 16 play drive to start the second half, capped off by Boon’s third score.

    The mercy rule kicked in with 4.6 seconds left in the third, as Austin Hoffmann-Reardon scored on a 1 yard plunge.

    Dylan Thompson ended the scoring on a nine yard run.

    Corey Cooper rushed for 71 yards and a score on the night for Octorara.

    Alex Pechin threw for 99 yards & two scores, Hoffmann-Reardon ran for 81, Brendan Boyle added 69, Boon 30, and Thompson added 46.

  • Red Raiders capitalize on opportunities, defeat Downingtown East

    paulweek62014Most games that are hyped to be “games of the year”, turn out to be major disappointments. Not tonight’s Ches-Mont National division game between Coatesville and Downingtown East. For the third year in a row, the game was decided by seven points or less, and the Red Raiders won for the second year in a row, this time by a score of 15-9.In an interesting trend, the visiting team is 10-2 in this series.

    The game was expected to be a showcase of two high octane offenses, where neither team scored fewer than 24 points in a game this season. Until tonight, where both defenses stole the show.Downingtown East scored the first half’s only points, on a four-yard run by John Kincade, who ran for 55 yards tonight.

    Coatesville took the lead in the third, on a four-yard run by Ahkeema Evans, to cap off a nine-play, 80 yard drive. Ibrahim Kallie’s extra point put Coatesville up 7-6.

    Drew Brennan capped off a 14 play, 63-yard drive with a 31-yard field goal, to put the Cougars up 9-7, and set up a fun finish. Following a 45-yard punt by Drew Brennan, putting Coatesville at their 22-yard line. It took the Red Raiders ten plays to score on Evans’ second touchdown tonight. The completed conversion pass, forced the cougars to get a touchdown in 47 seconds. They got to midfield, where a Hail Mary fell incomplete.

    My thoughts on tonight’s game were this: It was a case of both opportunities converted (in Coatesville’s case), or squandered (in Downingtown East’s case). Coatesville converted a fake punt on the game winning drive, a 23 yard run by Jordan Young, and 44 yards passing on the ten-play drive to put Coatesville up.

    Downingtown East squandered at least three opportunities for points, a missed field goal following an intercepted pass, lost a fumbled snap inside the Coatesville five, and a missed extra point.

    Jordan Young completed 14-27 passes (212 yards), and ran for 99 yards on 14 rushes. Coleman had 53 yards on 4 catches and Amir Ealey had 63 yards (2 catches).

    For Downingtown East, Andrew Hudson was 10-19 passing (144 yards). Cary Angeline had five receptions (60 yards), Dan Chisena had four catches (66 yards).

  • Warriors down Unionville in crossover game

    paulweek52014Warriors down Unionville in crossover game.

    In the second crossover game played between Ches-Mont National and American divisions, chalk up another win for the National side as the Warriors from B. Reed Henderson, downed the Unionville Indians 30-12.

    This game was much closer than the score indicated as it was 14-12 at half, and 16-12 after three. Henderson’s opportunistic defense created opportunities, and their option based offense ground out another dominant second half performance.

    The stories in the first half were the do it all play of Unionville QB and kicker Alex Pechin, and Henderson’s big plays.

    On Henderson’s second possession, Tre Green got loose on a 49 yard run for a short lived 7-0 lead. The Indians cut the lead to 7-6, as Pechin led drives of 35 and 38 yards- capping them off with field goals of 46 & 39 yards respectively. The 46 yarder is the third made field goal of 45+ yards that Pechin has made this year, his longest is 50.

    The one point deficit Unionville was in, expanded to eight at 14-6, when Nick Dinacci scampered 63 yards for another score. From there, Unionville was able to run off the clock and get points on Hoffmann-Reardon’s 7 yard run, that capped off a 10 play drive.

    Once the second half began, the Warrior defense clamped down, and special teams took over. An errant shotgun snap went through the end zone, to double Henderson’s lead to 16-12. Another bad snap led to a 55 yard drive, that was capped off by Tre Green’s 6 yard run. Following a great punt return, Green got his third score on the night.

    Although only going 4-9 in the air, Dinacci ran for 100 yards on 15 carries, and Green had 14 totes for 125 yards and 3 scores. The Warriors ran for 247 yards.

    Tre Green stated post game that “our offense does a lot of precision plays in practice, as precision and repetition are keys to the option.”

  • Conestoga marches on, downs Lions

    paulweek42014Tonight in week four action, the Conestoga High School Pioneers continued their white-hot start to the season, downing the Penncrest Lions at Teamer Field in Berwyn. In past years, Conestoga experienced a letdown following a big win (2010- losing 34-13 to Garnet Valley after a 35-20 win over Upper Darby, 2011- a loss following a 21-20 win vs Ridley, 2013- came out flat after a win over Ridley). This season, the early season letdown did not occur after the Ridley game two weeks ago, as the Pioneers blew out Lower Merion last week.

    Tonight, the Pioneers thoroughly dominated the Lions in the first half in all facets of the game. They jumped out to a 12-0 lead- on a three-yard run by Parke Schweiter that capped off a 14 play 88 yard drive. Tim Miller had a 16 yard pass to Martin Dorsey that capped off a 16 play, 83 yard drive (aided by a personal foul). In the first half alone, the Pioneers ran almost three times the number of plays (44-15) as Penncrest and outgained the Lions 225-42.

    The lead expanded to 20-0 on Conestoga’s first possession of the second half, as Corey Manning broke loose on a 45-yard touchdown. The Lions kept the game from being a blowout, with two touchdown runs by Joe Quintilliano covering eight and 15 yards. A blocked extra point and a failed two-point conversion run kept the Lions’ deficit at 20-12 and prevented the possibility of taking the lead for the time being.

    Unfortunately for Penncrest, Conestoga’s two headed monster of Corey Manning and Parke Schweiter scored on runs covering 21 yards (Manning) and 30 yards (Schweiter), to expand the Pioneer lead to 34-12 early in the fourth frame. Penncrest showed some heart in coming back, cutting the Conestoga lead to six with the score being 34-28- with runs by Dave Fisher and a 30 yard pass from Fisher to Bobby McCaffrey. Parke Schweiter put the game away for Conestoga and solidified a 4-0 start, on another 30 yard run.

    On the evening, the Pioneers rolled to over 480 yards of offense, and held Penncrest to 297.

    After the game, tailback Parke Schweiter commented that the offensive line, “…worked, worked, and worked hard all year. They’ve improved by leaps and bounds. They get credit for all the tough yards.” Coach John Vogan concurred, “They get better and better each week. Penncrest has a big and physical line. Tim Miller had a big game for us converting many third downs. He was beaten up last year by these guys, so the line vowed to do a better job tonight. Our O did a great job, and D flew around.”

    Up next for Penncrest (1-3, 1-2 Central League), is Haverford High School (2-2, 1-1). Conestoga (4-0, 3-0 Central League) travels to Springfield who is also 4-0 (3-0 league)

    SUMMARY & STATS
    Conestoga- 6-6-15-13-40
    Penncrest- 0- 0-12-16-28

    CON- Schweiter 3 run (kick failed)
    CON- Dorsey 16 pass from Miller (Conv failed)
    CON- C. Manning 45 run (Jean pass from Miller)
    PEN- Quintilliano 8 run (kick blocked)
    PEN- Quintilliano 15 run (conv failed)
    CON- Manning 21 run (Rueger kick)
    CON- Schweiter 30 run (Rueger kick)
    PEN- Fisher 3 run (Horne pass from Fisher)
    PEN- McCaffrey 30 pass from Fisher (Fisher run)
    CON- Schweiter 30 run (conv failed)

    First Downs-
    Conestoga- 28
    Penncrest- 14

    Penalties-
    Conestoga 4 (42 yards)
    Penncrest 6 (65 yards)

    Fumbles-
    Penncrest 1
    Conestoga 1 (lost)

    Rushes (yards)
    Conestoga- 44-269 (C Manning 10-89-2td, Schweiter 28-171-3tds, Miller 5-9)
    Penncrest- 27-185 (Fisher 10-21-td, Kinnard 9-38, Quintilliano 5-112-2td, Kaut 2-14)

    Passing-
    Conestoga- 14-29-213 yds-1td (Miller 14-28-213 yds-td, Loncantore 0-1)
    Penncrest- 11-15-112 yds-1td-1int (Miller 11-15-112yds 1td 1 int)

    Receiving-
    Conestoga (McClane- 2-28, Coleman 2-28, Schweiter 1-16, Dorsey 7-99-td, Jean 2-42)
    Penncrest (Moppert 2-12, McCafferty 6-64-td, Horne 3-38)

  • Red Radiers squeak by Cahillites thanks to Kallie

    paulweek32014In one of the most exciting non-league games of the young season, the Red Raiders of Coatesville High downed Philadelphia’s own Roman Catholic Cahillites by a score of 24-21 on a 45 yard field goal by Ibrahim Kallie as time expired. It was the second hard luck loss in a row for Roman, as they lost two straight to the Ches-mont League.

    Both teams were slow to get out of the gates, as they amassed only one first down a piece. Kudos to the Coatesville’s defense, as they bottled up Phillip DiWilliams to 92 yards passing, and Dmetri Kelly to a paltry three to four yards per carry (42 rushes, 141 yards).

    Both teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter, as much improved junior quarterback Jordan Young hit Amir Ealey on a 13 yard score, and Dmetri Kelly tied it on a two-yard run.

    Jordan Young hit Jalen Hudson on a shovel pass from 20 yards out for the only score in the third, and a 14-7 lead.

    The Cahillites made it 14-13 on DiWilliams’ one-yard sneak (kick failed on a bad snap), and took a 21-14 lead on John Chaney’s 19 yard run & Kelly’s successful two-point attempt.

    Here’s where things got fun. Coatesville tied the game at 21, on Young’s one-yard run. Roman Catholic was unable to run out the clock to set up overtime, so the Red Raiders got the ball back to set up Kallie’s heroics, and did he deliver.

    Jordan Young threw for 243 yards on 18-30 (60%) attempts (2 tds, 1 int), James Clark had 115 yards on 5 catches.

    After the game, Matt Ortega spoke highly of his quarterback’s improvement, referring to him having ice water in his veins. On his kicker, he’s only been kicking for three weeks, and to do this is amazing. I’m at a loss for words, I trust him with any kick at any time. He’s a better soccer player than kicker. If you believe that. The sky’s the limit.

  • Cougars down Cahillites in overtime

    paulweek2a2014In a rare non-league Saturday night football game- the Downingtown East Cougars downed the Philadelphia Catholic League’s Roman Catholic Cahillites, in a game that quite literally had everything from a lightning delay of over an hour, to overtime, and just about every kind of crazy occurrence in between. In the end, it was the Cougars advancing to 2-0 on the season, with a 40-38 win.

    This fit the prototype “whomever has the ball last, will likely win the game” type of feeling to it. AJ Frazier started his monster evening early, and got Roman Catholic on the board first, when he took a fumble 11 yards in for a touchdown. The kick was no good, and from there it was off to the races. Downingtown East took a 14-6 lead, on the strength of Andrew Hudson’s arm on tosses to Cary Angeline (10 yards), and Dan Chisena (51 yards). Roman’s prized recruit Dimetri Kelly got the Cahillites to 14-12 at halftime, as he ground out three yards to paydirt.

    Before the craziness that occurred in the third period, Phillip DiWilliams put Roman Catholic ahead by 13 points to 25-12 on two touchdown passes to AJ Frazier, covering 35 and 42 yards. The two connected for 12 completions, totalling 220 yards on the evening. After the extended delay, Keith Conner’s 17 yard run & Jon Kincade’s two-point conversion cut the lead to 25-22. Phillip DiWilliams got Roman’s lead back to 10 (32-22) at the end of the third period, on a quarterback sneak.

    Between the fourth quarter and overtime, the Cougars showed their resolve. Drew Brennan kicked a 25 yard field goal to get their deficit back to a score, and Andrew Hudson scored on a one-yard run to tie it at 32-32.

    In overtime, Keith Conner took over. Conner put the Cougars ahead on a 10 yard run on the first play from scimmage, and a two-point conversion following a Roman offsides penalty on the extra point conversion. The Cahillites made it interesting, however, as DiWilliams hit John Chaney (grandson of the retired Temple basketball coach) on a five-yard score, but the Cahillites were denied on their two-point attempt.

    Standout players on the evening: the quarterbacks on both teams. Andrew Hudson threw for 274 yards and two scores while Phillip DiWilliams threw for 411 yards and three scores. Receiver AJ Frazier had 220 yards for the Cahillites, and Cary Angeline had 65 yards for the Cougars.

  • Whippets rout Redskins in home opener

    paulweek22014

    In a game that could send shock waves through followers of District 1, and Eastern Pennsylvania high school football for that matter- the Downingtown West Whippets hammered the defending District 1 champion Neshaminy Redskins 28-7 at Kottmeyer Stadium.

    The game featured two teams heading in completely opposite directions to start the season, as the Whippets raced out to a 2-0 start (defeating Haverford High School out of the Central League 31-2 last week), and only allowing nine points in two games. The loss sends the Redskins back to Langhorne with an uncharacteristic 0-2 start, only scoring ten points in their first two games. Whether it’s adjusting to a new coaching style, losing a lot of last year’s team, or a combination of both remains to be seen.

    To add a little more shock to the casual observer, the script was flipped from last season when Neshaminy mercy ruled the Whippets 39-0 last year.

    Following a fast moving and scoreless opening twelve minutes, the Whippets and Redskins traded touchdowns. Downingtown West drew first blood on a Jake Barr two-yard run, and Matt Magdelinskas tied the score at seven on a four-yard run. Jake Barr would add another touchdown to put Downingtown West up 14-7 at halftime, as he hauled in a 28-yard pass from Tyler McNulty.

    From then on Downingtown West dominated Neshaminy in the second half under relentless pressure from their offensive and defensive lines. Jake Barr added his third touchdown on the night with a ten-yard run, and Jimmy DiSantis closed out the scoring on a 16 yard pass from Tyler McNulty. The Whippets ground out 252 yards on 44 carries, and had a total of 365 yards of offense.

    Downingtown West also did a solid job defending against all district running back DeAndre Pollard on the evening. Granted, Pollard got over 200 all purpose yards (177 rushing, 25 receiving) tonight. The Whippets were able to limit the big plays and kept him out of the end zone.

    After the game, Downingtown West head coach Mike Milano stated that he was, “Happy with the win. One of the big differences between us and them tonight was experience at quarterback. Their’s is young and made some plays. Tyler McNulty saw a lot of playing time last year. He makes plays and always finds a way to put us in good positions. The kids rally around him and believe in him. We have three great and high quality running backs. They’re not the 4.3 speed guys, but they grind out yards. As for our defense, we have a scrappy bunch that made plays tonight. This was also a revenge game for us. They beat us 39-0 last year. It was 14-0 at half and got away from us in the second half.

    STATS-
    DW- Jake Barr 2 yard run (Bowler kick)
    NH- Magdeliskas 4 yard run (McDonald kick)
    DW- Barr 28 pass from McNulty (Bowler kick)
    DW- Barr 10 run (Bowler kick)
    DW- DiSantis 16 pass from McNulty (Bowler kick)

    First Downs-
    DW- 22
    NH- 15

    Penalties-Yards
    DW- 2-15
    NH- 4-32

    Fumbles (Lost)
    DW- 4 (1)
    NH- NONE

    Punts (Avg)
    DW- 1 (13)
    NH- 2 (33)

    Rushes-Yards
    DW- McNulty 11-63, DiSantis 3-6, Barr 15-90 (2td), Harper 12-71, Riddick 3-22. Team 44-252
    NH- Jones 1-(minus 8), Pollard 25-177, Kitchenman 1-2, Dogba 3-14, Magelinskas 4-25 (td), Goetz 1-(minus 25). Team 35-185

    Passing-
    DW- McNulty- 9-16-133 yards-2 td-1 int.
    NH- Jones 10-28-111 yards- 1 int

    Receiving-
    DW- Bowler 1-7, Riddick 1-18, Mattioni 1-20, DiSantis 3-44, Barr 2-24, Harper 1-20
    NH- Pollard 1-25, Stevens 1-9, Treadway 2-21, Hughes 3-25, Ritchey 3-31

  • Downingtown East over Frankford

    In an effort to prove that last season’s 4-6 record was nothing more than a hiccup in the fairly new tradition of Downingtown East football, the Cougars had a lot to prove against the Frankford Pioneers tonight in their season opener. Last season was the first time since the inaugural (2003 when they went 5-7) season of Cougar football, that they had a losing season.

    The Cougars wanted to get the monkey off their back, and boy did they ever. Calling their 45-6 rout of Frankford is an understatement. The Cougars’ longest touchdown drive of the night was 52 yards, and only needed 219 yards of offense to jump out to a 45-0 halftime lead. About the only positives that Frankford could take away from tonight’s game- were that they were to avert a shutout, and one of the top juniors in the state of Pennsylvania in Cary Angeline was held to 1 catch (15 yards) on 2 targets.

    The game got off to a bit of an ominous start for Downingtown East, as Tommy Hockenjos lost a fumble after a completed pass from Andrew Hudson. It took all of 5 plays for the Cougars to get the ball back on an interception, and forcing Frankford to abandon their passing game for the night. Jack Kincade put Downingtown East on the board with a 3 yard run. After a Pioneer three and out, Nik Aivado doubled the lead to 14-0 on 6 yard run.

    Following yet another Frankford 3 and out, and the teams trading turnovers, Drew Brennan kicked a 35 yard field goal to make the lead 17-0 in East’s favor.

    From that point on, the game got away from Frankford…. Badly. A short punt gave Downingtown East a 41 yard field- two plays later, it was 24-0 on an Aivado 30 yard run. Another 3 and out by Frankford- 5 plays and 52 yards later, and Hudson hit Keith Conner for a 27 yard touchdown to make it 31-0. Adam Behrndt recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown (38-0) to make the second half mercy rule a distinct possibility, then Jack Kincade scored from 8 yards out to solidify the fact that there would be a mercy rule.
    Mikey Morrell did score on a 3 yard run, with the extra point being blocked.

    After the game, it was obvious that East’s coach Mike Matta was pleased with his team’s performance. He stated their defense took advantage of many opportunities (2 turnovers led to 10 points, and special teams led to 7), got a lot of young kids to play. He wanted to re-establish the defense, and have kids fly around to the ball. The kids were dying to play, and get the bad taste of last season out of their mouths, Brennan’s kicking has improved. Last year, they never got that “complete” game, and tonight they played as a team. Frankford has a lot of athletes who place in space, and our defensive line’s aggressiveness led them into a lot of procedure penalties.

     

    SCORING SUMMARY-
    Downingtown East- 14-31-00-00- 45
    Frankford High Sch- 00-00-6-00- 6

    DE- Kincade 3 run (Brennan kick)
    DE- Aivado 7 run (Brennan kick)
    DE- Brennan 35 FG
    DE- Aivado 30 run (Brennan kick)
    DE- Conner 27 pass from Hudson (Brennan kick)
    DE- Behrndt recovered blocked punt in end zone (Brennan kick)
    DE- Kincade 8 run (Brennan kick)
    F- Morrell 3 run (kick blocked)

    First Downs
    DE- 10
    F- 11

    Punts-
    DE- 28 yard avg (2 punts)
    F- 25.5 (4 punts)

    Fumbles (lost)
    DE- 3 (3 lost)
    F- 4 (3 lost)

    Penalties
    DE- 5 (35 yards)
    F- 7 (35 yards)

    Passing
    DE- Hudson 6-7-104 yards-1 td, Walsh 0-2
    F- Morrell 2-4- 24 yards- 1 int

    Receiving
    DE- Angeline 1-15, Hockenjos 1-24, Chisena 2-23, Hanford 1-14, Conner 1-27 (td)
    F- Reed 1-4, Lee 1-20

    Rushing
    DE- Hudson 2-14, Kincade 11-48 (2td), Hockenjos 3-16, Aivado 2-37 (2td), Walsh 1-0, Liauditis 5-10, Crowley 1-3, Mullin 4-0. Total 29-133
    F- Morrell 6-17, Allen 7-21, Hyland 13-31, Simmons 6-27, Womack 13-34, Graham 2-18. Total 47-148.

    Total Yards
    DE- 237
    F- 172