Mattioni stars in debut as Downingtown West rolls over Haverford

DOWNINGTOWN >> There’s a silver lining to everything, and if you were on the Haverford High side of things, Friday night, you could point out that the Fords held Downingtown West to just 18 rushing yards in the first quarter and possessed the ball for all but 1:11 of that frame.
The reality is, the Whippets were flat-out unstoppable in the season opener, scoring on their first two offensive plays and a third time on their fifth play, on their way to a 41-3 home drubbing of Central League’s Haverford.
West (1-0) had the ball for just 6:46 in the first half, but piled on 410 yards on 21 offensive plays, scoring from 63, 80, 36, 69, 19 and 58 in that span. The Whippets first-half drives consisted of one, one, three, three, 12 (for 96 yards) and one play, with touchdowns capping each.
Thomas Mattioni completed all six of his passes for 266 yards and four scores in his first career start at quarterback for the Whippets, who won their fifth straight season opener.
“I didn’t expect it to go that well, but we started well and just went from there,” Mattioni said.
West forced a quick three-and-out on the initial drive by Haverford (0-1), and Mattioni found a streaking Nate Alleyne wide open for a 63-yard touchdown pass. Haverford went 68 yards on its next drive but settled for a 30-yard field goal by Evan Boyce.
Before the Fords’ offense could even catch its breath, Zach Barr took a screen pass from Mattioni off the right side and zoomed through the defense for an 80-yard score.
Mattioni, who was 4-for-9 for 99 yards and a touchdown in his limited time at QB the previous two seasons while playing receiver, one-upped Tyler McNulty’s 11-for-12 for 215 yards and two score unveiling a year ago against Haverford.
“It’s an unbelievable debut as a first-time quarterback,” West coach Mike Milano said. “He’s a three-time letter winner and he knows what Friday nights are about, but I couldn’t imagine a better start for him.”
Haverford’s four-year starter at QB, Jack Donaghy, completed 11 of 18 passes for 88 yards, but the Fords were simply outmatched. In the two-game series including last year, West outscored Haverford 72-5.
“It was just obvious we weren’t ready to play a team of this level of competition at this point in the season,” Haverford coach Joe Gallagher said. “But traditionally we get better and do it every year.”
“(West) is a really good team and they looked fast on film but in person they look even faster.”
Mike Riddick continued his hot finish from a season ago with 127 yards on eight carries, including a 69-yard run where he pulled away from the defense.
While Mattioni broke out in his new position, Alleyne busted out of nowhere. The junior caught all three targets for 157 yards and three TDs, while making all spectators check their rosters to find out who this No. 19 kid is.
“He’s a state track star and he can run,” Milano said. “His hands have developed and he struggled to catch in the spring, but he worked and worked and worked and made great improvement and it’s nice to have a kid who can take the top off of a defense like that.”
In the last five season openers, West has outscored opponents by an average of 43.4 to 5.2. The Whippets will head east to Neshaminy, who they beat 28-7 a year ago.

Downingtown West 41, Haverford High 3
Haverford High    3   0 0  0  —- 3
Downingtown West    21   20 0 0 — 41
Scoring
DW- N. Alleyne 63 pass from Mattioni (Biscardi kick)
HH- Boyce 30 yard FG
DW- Barr 80 pass from Mattioni (Biscardi kick)
DW- N. Alleyne 36 pass from Mattioni (Biscardi kick)
DW- Riddick 69 run (Biscardi kick)
DW- Riddick 19 run (Biscardi kick)
DW-N.  Alleyne 58 pass from Mattioni (Biscardi kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
HH    DW
First downs         8    8
Rush – yards         25-78    27-181
Passing yards     98    279
Total yards        176    460
Passing         13-22-1    8-9-0
Punts-Average     5-34.8    3-33.3
Fumbles-Lost        3-0    1-0
Penalties-Yards     6-60    7-60
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: HH- Donaghy 7-39; Romonofsky 3-37; Weiss 6-6; Bernard 5-3; Klee 1-2; Hallowell 3-(-9). DW- Riddick 8-127, 2 TDs; Costello 10-38; Mattioni 4-16; Barr 3-1; Voss 1-1; team 1-(-2).
Passing: HH- Donaghy 11-18, 88 yards; Klee 2-4, 10 yard, INT. DW- Mattioni 6-6, 266 yards, 4 TDs; Geiser 2-3, 13 yards; Micale 0-0.
Receiving: HH- Corbitt 3-36; Romonofsky 3-12; Trainor 2-38; Bernard 2-(-6); Guilfoil 1-8; Hallowell 1-6; Weiss 1-4. DW- N. Alleyne 3-157, 3 TDs; Barr 2-92, TD; Riddick 1-17; Voss 1-12; Costello 1-1.
Sacks: DW- Celommi, Harper .5, Gainer .5
Interceptions: DW- I. Alleyne