[tps_title]Coatesville Red Raiders [/tps_title]
NATE HECKENBERGER — FOR DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA
Aaron Young (4) and his older brother, Avery Young, left, are two of the top recruits in the area.
High-flying Red Raiders trying to stay grounded
CALN >> It’s often said that success breeds success.
If that’s true, then Coatesville is well ahead of schedule.
The 2016 Coatesville football team had a ton of success, one season before most thought the Red Raiders would flourish. Last year the Red Raiders had a freshman quarterback in Ricky Ortega, a sophomore running back in the mercurial Aaron Young and a squad littered with sophomores and juniors. 
All that young Coatesville squad did was blow through the Ches-Mont National Division and advance to the District 1 Class 6A semifinals before bowing to North Penn with a 11-2 record. This year the preseason word is out on the Red Raiders, and Coatesville head coach Matt Ortega is constantly warning his team to stay grounded.
“We do not coach the kids any differently because of the ratings,” Matt Ortega said. “We tell them all the time in the offseason that we have to stay grounded and take one week at a time and to get better every day at practice.
“We really have talked to the kids about that and they are aware of it,” Ortega said. “If we stay on the right path we can be a pretty good football team. The kids are a year older and they are hungry to be the guy. that makes the plays for us.
“And our quarterback Ricky is working hard on getting the ball out earlier and I have talked to him about becoming a leader on and off the field because that is what is expected from the quarterback position. We just tell the kids that you can’t worry about the next 10 games, just the next one.”
The younger Ortega took the Ches-Mont League and District 1 by storm last season as he threw for 25 touchdowns and rushed for 12 more. Coach Ortega said his signal caller is faster and stronger than last year because of playing basketball and running track after the football season ended. Ricky is certainly learning the quarterback position ropes with his hard work under quarterback guru Jim Cantafio.
“We are working on getting the ball out quicker and having a good release point,” Ricky Ortega said. “We just want to be the best football team we can be and we know if we stay humble and work hard every day in practice that good things will come our way. We learned a lot from last year and we want to take the next step and get a district title but we know we have to work at it.”
Coatesville’s defense really came on last season and with six starters back and a year’s experience under its belt it should be a great complement to the high-flying Red Raider offense. One of the main cogs of that defense is senior defensive back Avery Young, who knows he and his teammates have heard all the glowing talk about the Red Raiders in the preseason.
“We are well aware that a lot is expected of us,” Young said. “But, if we do not put in the work nothing will happen. We feel we can have a special year because our defense is bigger, faster and stronger than last season and we have a lot of weapons on offense. We just need to stay focused, stay together and work hard every day.”
Coatesville will start the season with a road trip to play Philadelphia Public League squad Simon Gratz and then the Red Raiders head to Cumberland Valley to take on one of the best teams in the state in what will be the marquee game of the week in Pennsylvania. The Red Raiders close out their nonleague slate with a home game against Reading. The Ches-Mont League crossover game for Coatesville will be West Chester Rustin.
By Peter DiGiovanni; pdigiovanni07@gmail.com
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