Coatesville’s scoring spree comes at the right time once again

PERKASIE — With two minutes, 21 seconds left in the first half Aaron Young picked off a halfback pass at the North Penn 20 in a 7-6 game, led by Coatesville.

With just under 16 game minutes later, the mercy rule was enacted after the Red Raiders rolled to a 42-6 lead. 

This season, it’s not a matter of if Coatesville will go on one of its scoring sprees, but when.

Coatesville ran away with its second straight District 1-6A championship with a 42-13 win over North Penn. The Red Raiders have continued to blitz opponents week after week, even as the competition increases.

“They’re good,” North Penn coach Dick Beck said. “The quarterback (Ricky Ortega) is dangerous in the open field, and obviously (Aaron) Young is a very good running back. He finds the hole. And Dapree Byrant is special with the ball in his hands. It’s not just one guy, it’s a lot of guys you have to beat.”

The Red Raiders (14-0) have now won 22 straight games against District 1 foes, dating back to the district semifinals against North Penn in 2016. 

It appeared the Knights (13-1) were going to give Coatesville a run as they frustrated the Raiders and prevented them from getting into a rhythm for almost the entire first half. On a third and four at the Coatesville 44, Ortega broke a 51-yard run, setting up Coatesville’s second touchdown to make it 14-6 with 10 seconds left in the half.

With North Penn undoubtedly preaching the importance of a stop on the opening drive of the third quarter, the Knights inexplicably kicked it to Young who raced 65 yards to set up a touchdown run by Dapree Bryant on the next play.

And like that, Coatesville was off. North Penn played as well as anyone had all year, and like that, the Raiders blew the game wide open.

“When you have players on special teams, offense and defense, we feel like we have so many guys who can make a big play,” Coatesville coach Matt Ortega said. “That was very evident (Friday) with our special teams springing that third quarter play for us and Ricky making a long run and Aaron’s runs and our line blocking and our wide outs blocking and Dapree making a play and our D-linemne making sacks. We feel like we have a lot of guys who can make a big play at any given time and I think that’s what happens, teams stay with us but we get those big plays by all those different guys and we spring the game open like we did.”

Coatesville had six plays of 45 yards or more against the Knights, three for touchdowns.

This is far from irregular this season. On Young’s 26 rush TDs this season, he’s averaging 22.9 yards on those carries. On Ricky Ortega’s 35 TD passes, he’s averaging 31.4 yards on those passes. On Dapree Bryant’s 19 total TDs, he’s averaging 39.3 on those touches.

“It feels good,” Bryant spoke on when Coatesville hits on all cylinders. “Special teams, O-line and the defense just all click together. It’s a family thing.”

A 14-6 halftime score was by far the closest margin Coatesville has seen all season. Through the first 13 games, Coatesville outscored opponents 455-58 in first halves. 

North Penn delayed the inevitable until the second half, but when the Red Raiders get going, no one has been able to stop them, or keep up with them.

“Once we adjusted to (North Penn), it was like any other game,” Coatesville offensive tackle Ricky Santiago said. “We just had to keep pounding the rock and one crease opens it was game for us.”

The Knights were used to being in tight games this season. Through their first 13 games they went to halftime leading by an average score of 15.5-9. The Knights were right in their comfort zone, until they weren’t.

Coatesville scored on five straight drives from the end of the second quarter to midway through the fourth. The defense kept pace, dominating North Penn’s offensive line in the second half and keeping the Knights out of the end zone until it was out of hand.
“It’s a great feeling when you can get stops and hand the ball back over to the offense,” Coatesville defensive coordinator EJ Moyer said. “I kind of say to myself, ‘alright, they’re going to score.’ You know you’re going to pad the lead and you’re almost shocked when they don’t.”

The Red Raiders have now scored 642 points on the season, 29 shy of tying the 1996 Downingtown’s Chester County record. 

The way Coatesville can string scores together, that record seems in big trouble.