Pechin stars as Unionville batters Sun Valley
EAST MARLBOROUGH – Unionville High School’s Alex Pechin has been nothing short of spectular all season and proved again on Friday night that he is one of the better quarterbacks in the Ches-Mont League.
Pechin threw three touchdown passes in Unionville’s 38-0 Ches-Mont American Division win over Sun Valley.
He set the tone early in the Indians’ (2-1) shutout, connecting with fellow team captain Elan Nash twice in the first quarter for touchdowns to give them a 14-0 advantage.
“Alex is one of the best athletes in the county and name your sport with him because he’s a top athlete in any sport,’ said Indians coach Pat Clark. “We were able to get into a rhythm tonight which was good because our games have been a little quirky. Like Week 1, we are trying to
run and hold the lead and Week 2 we are chucking it because we are down. But we had a good night and he (Pechin) found that balance, that’s what makes him dangerous and us dangerous as a team when you can throw it and run it.’
Pechin’s best throw of the night came on his second touchdown pass of the first quarter, a 41-yard pass that found Nash in stride.
“I was just reading the safeties basically,’ said Pechin. “I know Nash has good speed and I have trust in all of my receivers and I try to get it to the open guy.’
Along with three touchdown passes, Pechin was 5-9 passing for 105 yards and picked up 88 yards on the ground.
Austin Hoffman-Reardon picked up the other two touchdowns for the Indians, with two one-yard carries which were part of his 10 touches for 53 yards.
What goes unnoticed is Pechin’s ability to kick. He hit every extra point, made one field goal, and pinned Sun Valley (1-2) deep in the end zone on every kickoff but one.
Those kickoffs set up the defense to shut out the Vanguard offense.
Unionville kept Sun Valley to under 20 yards of offense in the first two quarters, not allowing them to convert a first down untill late in the second quarter.
“They were shutting us down inside and outside,’ said Sun Valley coach Ray Gionta. “They have some nice players, defensively. They did a nice job and had a good game plan. We had a tough time running inside, outside, and throwing the ball. We are inexperienced, but a work in progress.’
Kijana Gordan received most of the touches for the Vanguards compiling 44 yards on 16 carries.
The highlight for Gordon was his 55-yard kick return late in the third.
“I was just trying to go through the middle and I saw daylight on the outside, so I went for it,’ said Gordon.
Following the 55-yard return, Sun Valley made their way to the Indians 20-yard line for the first time and faced a fourth-and-five situation. Sun Valley’s quarterback Gabe Boccella dropped back to pass with seconds winding down in the third only to suffer a sack at the hands of Shane
Jones to preserve the shutout.
“It was a team effort though, it wasn’t just me,’ said Jones. “I can’t take credit for that, our defense has practiced hard all week. We came out and gave one hundred percent tonight and it paid off.’
“We are starting to settle in on defense,’ added Clark. “A lot of guys are first year starters, so know when you look at it, its two scrimmages and four games so they are six games in. Plus we get (linebacker) Quinn Cheyney back who’s one of our leaders and have played without him for a couple weeks. Andrew Jones and Paul Steffy were back also so we have a great nucleus of returning starters plus the new kids that are really coming into their own.’
Pechin and the Indians will face a tougher task next week when they take on West Chester Henderson.
“Henderson is a great team, they are big and are physical,’ said Clark. “(Brian) White is committed to Villanova and he’s 270 (pounds), you have a 280 (-pound) kid up there also. They have Trey Green and everyone back so it’s going to be a good challenge for us.’
Sun Valley will play Kennett at home next Friday.
