Downingtown West quarterback Cole Bricker jumps to complete a pass Friday against Coatesville.
(Photo: Owen McCue/For EasternPA Football)
DOWNINGTOWN — Coming off its first loss of the season last week, Downingtown West didn’t have much time to lick its wounds.
The Whippets had a matchup with perennial power Coatesville on Friday night and needed a win to keep their Ches-Mont title dreams alive — as if a matchup with the Red Raiders needed any extra motivation.
“We love the rivalry, we love the competition. We love what it brings out of us,” Downingtown West senior running Spencer Dunn said.
The Whippets’ offense spotted the team an early lead and the Whippets defense held Coatesville scoreless for the first 43 minutes of play as Downingtown West bounced back in a big way with a 14-7 win over the Red Raiders.
Dunn led the ground attack with 126 yards rushing, while junior quarterback Cole Bricker completed 11-of-18 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown to go along with a rushing score in the win.
“After last week, bad loss, but we came came out, we had a great practice all week and we really brought it to them,” junior quarterback Cole Bricker said. “That’s why we won the game.”
The Whippets (8-1, 1-1 Ches-Mont) went 80 yards in 10 plays on their second drive, taking a 7-0 lead with 1:54 left in the first quarter when Bricker powered his way into the end zone from six yards out.
Downingtown West spoiled two other first-half opportunities with a dropped touchdown pass and a fumble in the red zone. But the Whippets’ defense held the Red Raiders (5-3, 1-1 Ches-Mont) to just 39 total yards in the first half and got an interception from senior Darian Smith that helped them keep a touchdown lead heading into the break.
After halting Coatesville near midfield on the opening drive of the second half, Downingtown West powered its way down to the Red Raiders’ three-yard line. Coatesville’s defense came up with a stand to keep its deficit at seven entering the fourth.
The Red Raiders came up with a first down on the ensuing drive, but back-to-back sacks by Whippets senior Andrew Brown helped give Downingtown West the ball back with good field position.
“We knew it was a big drive, so we put our heads down and we worked together,” Brown said. “Our coaches worked their tails off too all week and put together a defensive scheme and we perfected it.”
It looked like the Whippets may have landed the putaway punch a few moments later when Bricker hit junior JD Weller for a 25-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-15 with 6:26 left in the fourth.
“I liked my matchup, tall guy vs a shorter guy. I gave JD a chance and he came down with it,” Ricker said of the score.
Coatesville finished with 134 total yards in the game. The Raiders’ 12 penalties for 90 yards didn’t help the matter. After getting bottled up all day, Coatesivlle finally broke free when junior Matt Ortega Jr. completed a 38-yard pass to Anthony Kelly, setting up a one-yard, fourht-down touchdown run for Ortega Jr. with 4:30 left to make it 14-7.
“We lost our team captain, center (Tommy McAnally) first play of the game,” Coatesville coach Matt Ortega said. “The one thing we knew this season was our lack of depth up front on both sides of the ball. That kind of got things in a tailspin for us because we really wanted to come in and run the football, but the guys battled back.”
Downingtown West didn’t give the Raiders a chance to tie. Dunn, Bricker and senior Tommy Miller (nine rushes, 33 yards) helped run the clock down. The Whippets ran for four first downs on their final drive before taking a knee to finish off the win with Dunn and Miller finishing off the game with some powerful running.
“We work on keeping our shoulders down and just running through people, so it feels good,” said Dunn, whose 13-yard run sealed the game.
“Tommy can play everything,” he added. “He’s a dog. He puts his heart into practice and our team. We give him the ball in clutch moments and he delivers.”
Coatesville came in at No. 13 in the District 1-6A power rankings, knowing a victory could solidify their district playoff position (16 teams). The Raiders ended the night at No. 15, likely needing a win over Bishop Shanahan (7-2) next week to play their way into the postseason
“We’ll get back to the drawing boards on Monday and try to sneak in the playoffs and get a second season,” Ortega said.
“These guys have stayed together the whole time, and they’ll stay together and we’ll move forward.”
Downingtown West looked the part of a District 1 favorite in Friday’s win. Despite the one score difference, the Whippets had 11 more first downs (23-12) and more than doubled Coatesville’s yardage total (307-137).
The victory bumped the Whippets, last season’s district runner-up, to the No. 2 spot in the District 1-6A power rankings behind undefeated Central Bucks South, last year’s champion.
West had its unblemished mark ruined by a 28-22 loss to Bishop Shanahan last Friday, which marked the start of Ches-Mont League play. But after the Eagles fell to Downingtown East 63-28 on Friday, the Whippets will have a chance to capture a Ches-Mont League North Division title with a win next week against the rival Cougars before heading into district play.
“We’re hoping to win Ches-Monts,” Brown said. “That was our goal at the beginning of the year and that’s our goal still. We know we had a little mishap last week, and we got better. The boys just got better and we put our heads down and worked even harder. Our goal is the same. It’s been the same since Week 1 in the summer. We just want to win Ches-Monts and win districts.”
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Coatesville 0 0 0 7-7
Downingtown West 7 0 0 7-14
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
DW: Cole Bricker 6 run (Mason Sharp kick) 1:54
Second Quarter
None.
Third Quarter
None.
Fourth Quarter
DW: (Mason Sharp kick) 6:26
C: Matt Ortega Jr. 1 run (TJ Sinkus) 4:30
Team Statistics
………………………..C………………DW
1st downs………..12…………………23
rush-yds……….30-43……….48-196
comp-att-int….9-17-1…………..11-18-0
pass yds……….94………………111
total yds…………137……………….307
fumb-lost……..3-1………………1-1
pen-yds…………12-90…………..8-90
Individual Statistics
Rushing- Coatesville: Nasir Jordan 15-44; Matiss Clouser 7-14; Josh VanOrden 1-3; Matt Ortega Jr. 7-(-18), TD.
Downingtown West: 23-129; Tommy Miller 9-33; Mike Taraschi 6-16; Cole Bricker 7-13, TD; Darian Smith 3-5.
Passing- Coatesville: 9-17-1, 94 yards.
Downingtown West: 11-18-0, 111 yards, TD.
Receiving- Coatesville: Anthony Kelly 1-38; Josh VanOrden 3-33; Elias Hanson 3-20; Nasir Jordan 1-2; Lawrence Beckett 1-(-2).
Downingtown West: JD Weller 4-55, TD; Brendon Goode-Kimble 3-31; Tommy Miller 1-7; Mike Taraschi 1-7; Spencer Dunn 1-6; Darian Smith 1-5.
Interceptions: Downingtown West: Darian Smith.
Sacks: Coatesville: Magnuss Clouser; Downingtown West: Andrew Brown 2, Brian Carter, Max Wolfington (0.5), Isaac Russell (0.5)
