Once Pringle pops, the fun doesn’t stop for Rustin
WESTTOWN >> Coming off a three-game losing streak and trailing early to Sun Valley, West Chester Rustin made a nervous home crowd on Homecoming breathe easier as they emphatically returned to the win column.
The Golden Knights recovered from the early stumble to post a 70-29 rout of the Vanguards in a Ches-Mont League American contest, setting the school’s single-game scoring record.
The Vanguards jumped out to a quick start behind the running of Julz Kelly and Caliph Jones. On the opening kickoff, Kelly put the Vanguards in great field position with a 47-yard return. Two plays later, Kelly took an end around for a 50-yard score.
“(Kelly) is a hell of a football player,” said Rustin coach Mike St. Clair. “He and Caliph Jones are really hard to bring down when they’re running the football. (Charlie) Wendling is, too. They have a good offense that’s hard to stop, you just have to outscore them.”
On the ensuing kickoff, the Vanguards surprised the Golden Knights with an onside kick. Lance Stone recovered on Rustin’s 44-yard line, and Jones punched in a one-yard score.
“Coming out, they surprised us with a couple things,” Rustin’s JT Aloisio said. “They caught us off guard. Their coaches and their running backs are really smart and they read our defense really well. But I think we adjusted very well.”
The Golden Knights rallied within two plays, Ty Pringle scoring the first of five touchdowns, bouncing the handoff outside and running up the sideline 47 yards.
A 14-yard run gave Pringle his second touchdown, and a two-point-conversion gave Rustin the lead, 15-13.
“He came out and was talking a lot of smack in the locker room about how he was going to do all this new stuff,” Aloisio said of Pringle. “He decided to put on a new jersey and went with Tony Dorsett’s number (33), I think that’s the only reason he did that, and plus I’m blocking for him.
“Me and Ty are brothers so every time we score we’re always going back and forth. Me and him are always the first to meet in the end zone.”
The Golden Knights ended the first quarter with a Will Pileggi six-yard touchdown pass to Aloisio.
Sun Valley finally answered with a one-yard quarterback sneak by Anthony Ellis to get within 22-21. But Rustin would completely control the rest of the game.
A five-touchdown performance from Pringle, two from Aloisio, and scores from Michael Covert, Pileggi, and Owen Walsh would seal the deal.
“It doesn’t feel too good because I’m a Sun Valley alum,” St. Clair said. “We didn’t try to do that at all, it just snowballed. They’re a very strong team that runs power at you and they just come at you. We were able to hold up and put some points on the board today.”
