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)
