There was a silent confidence in the Downingtown West locker room prior to its PIAA District 1 Class 6A championship game Friday night against two-time defending district champ Coatesville.
The Whippets knew what they had to do—and they knew what they had recover—that intensity that propelled them to score a record 63 points against archrival Downingtown East in early October.
Since then, Whippets coach Mike Milano had been searching for that fire to return.
It did and then some in a 48-36 victory over Coatesville at Kottmeyer Stadium.
The District 1 6A championship was the first for Downingtown West in school history, since Downingtown split into East and West in 2003. Overall, it was first district championship for Downingtown since 1996, when Downingtown was one high school, and third overall district title in school history (1994, 1996 and 2019).
Downingtown West (13-1) will now face Central Dauphin in the PIAA 6A state semifinals next Friday at 7 p.m. at Coatesville.
Coatesville (10-3) saw an amazing three-year run end the careers of Villanova-bound senior standouts Ricky Ortega and Dapree Bryant.
But it seemed from the start, Downingtown West wasn’t going to make the same mistakes it did the first time the teams met in mid-October, a 29-21 Coatesville victory.
Led by Kansas State-bound quarterback Will Howard, and senior two-way starter Alex Rosano, who caught nine for 120 yards and had a pick-six, the Whippets charged out a 21-0 lead and never looked back.
“We jumped on them really quick,” Howard said. “We had a lot of momentum coming out of the gate, and we knew they would storm back. A team like that is used to be up early, and a team like that isn’t used to coming back early.
“Coatesville is a great team. They have great players. But our defense played spectacular, and they were going to come back, but this time, we bounced back from adversity. We came back and clinched it late. Before the game, we had this sense of belief that we would win the game and right the wrong.
“They walked all over us for four years, so there was a lot of added motivation. I never beat Coatesville, even on junior varsity. Coatesville had a really good run and they were the measuring stick. They told us to go and win the state championship.”
Milano knew this game was there. Everything he wanted he received in the district championship.
“When we played Coatesville the first time, they had all of the emotion and they played up the fact that they weren’t the talk of the town, as they had been the last couple of years,” Milano said. “They had suffered a loss. We were undefeated. They took it to us for a half, and we came back.
“This time, we took it to them from the outset. To me, the key drive of the game when they came back in the second half and we fumbled. We stopped them four-and-out and drove 90 yards for a score. My guys played with great resolve.”
Rosano was knocked out of the first Coatesville game and missed the following week, too.
“Alex was phenomenal, and he’s a 165-pound kid playing with his best friends he grew up with,” Milano said.
On Saturday morning, Milano saw his wife for the first time and savored the district championship. Then it was off the work again getting ready for Central Dauphin.
“This was very gratifying,” Milano said. “I’m happy for my kids and it makes all of the hard work worthwhile.”
(Summary)
Coatesville 7 7 7 15 –36
Downingtown West 21 6 7 14—48
D: Will Mahmud 2 run (Spencer Mochulski kick)
D: Mahmud 48 fumble return (Mochulski kick)
D: Will Howard 1 run (Mochulski kick)
C: Ricky Ortega 24 run (Pierce Hadzor kick)
D: Alex Rosano 27 interception return (kick fail
C: Abdul Stewart 80 pass from Ortega (Hadzor kick)
C: Dapree Bryant 70 pass from Ortega (Hadzor kick)
D: Tyriq Lewis 5 run (Mochulski kick)
C: Bryant 59 pass from Ortega (Hadzor kick)
D: Julian Williams 37 pass from Howard (Mochulski kick)
D: Lewis 2 run (Mochulski kick)
C: Artie Burgess 40 pass from Ortega (Derek Seagraves pass from Ortega)
