Young brothers shine in Coatesville rout
PHILADELPHIA >> Just four years separate the Young brothers: Jordan, Avery and Aaron. But on Friday, the Coatesville High School trio got together on the football field for the first time ever, and it was a memorable family moment.
The Young brothers accounted for all six touchdowns in the 2015 season opener to lead the Red Raiders to a rather routine 42-14 victory over host Martin Luther King at Ben Johnston Stadium in Philadelphia.
“They are three special kids,” said Coatesville head coach Matt Ortega. “They’ve never had a chance to all play together at the same time until now. Their father, Anthony Young, has been waiting his whole life for this.”
Jordan – a senior quarterback – threw for two scores, ran in two others and accounted for 210 yards of total offense. His youngest brother Aaron, a freshman, made his high school debut a smashing success with a pair of TD runs, and sophomore Avery chipped in with a couple big catches, including a score.
“I didn’t know we (scored all of the touchdowns), but it feels good,” said Jordan Young. “It was great to play with both of them for the first time.
“We have pretty good chemistry because we are always playing catch in the backyard and stuff, so we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Three early forced turnovers helped Coatesville take command quickly against the Cougars. Jordan Young opened the scoring with a 12-yard TD scamper set up by a Brandon Talbott interception. And two plays after Rashaan Alston pounced on a first quarter fumble, Aaron Young powered in from the three-yard line.
Jordan Young also connected with wideout Jaden Hudson for a 60-yard aerial strike to make it 21-0 heading into the second quarter. Coatesville then capitalized on the first of two botched punts on the next possession as Jordan Young found Avery for a 35-yard toss to the end zone.
“We wanted to create some turnovers and take advantage of those and we did that tonight,” Ortega said.
The Raiders made it 35-0 when Aaron Young hit paydirt for the second time from 12 yards out to cap an epic 15-play, 75-yard march. But the Cougars halted the potential shutout with a 41-yard scoring toss in the final 10 seconds to make it 35-6 at the half.
Coatesville admittedly lost some focus in the second half, but had no trouble moving to 1-0 overall. A second botched punt set up the Raiders at the Martin Luther King 13, and on the next play Jordan Young ran 13-yards for Coatesville’s final score midway through the third quarter.
On the ensuing play, however, the Cougars’ Rob Harris took the kickoff 92 yards to make it 42-12. The Raiders surrendered a safety in the final minutes to finish off the scoring.
“We thought we were going to get a mercy rule and we came out a little flat,” Ortega said. “And that kick return kind of gave them a little life.
“We have so much youth right now. We played a lot of sophomores, and we saw some of the young kids making plays. We are excited about our young guys.”
Hudson led all receivers with five catches for 101 yards, and even though Aaron Young did not start, he finished with 60 yards on the ground. Avery Young chipped in with 44 yards through the air.
“I thought it would take them a couple games, but I always knew they would be something special,” Jordan Young said of his younger siblings.
“They played very well for their first varsity game. I wasn’t expecting it. I just told them to play with confidence, do what they know they can do, and they did it.”
The young Red Raiders defense limited Martin Luther King to 115 yards of total offense, including just 27 yards on 25 attempts. Sophomore middle linebacker Alex Raimondo led the way with three sacks.
Coatesville 42, Martin Luther King 14
Coatesville 21 14 7 0 — 42
M.L. King 0 6 6 2 — 14
First Quarter
C — J. Young 12 run (Kallie kick)
C — Hudson 60 pass from J. Young (Kallie Kick)
C — Aa. Young 3 run (Kallie kick)
Second Quarter
C — Av. Young 35 pass from J. Young (Kallie kick)
C — Aa. Young 12 run (Kallie kick)
MLK — Ross 41 pass from Pegues (kick blocked)
Third Quarter
C — J. Young 13 run (Kallie kick)
MLK — Harris 92 kickoff return (pass failed)
Fourth Quarter
MLK — safety
team statistics
Coatesville MLK
First downs 18 7
Rushes-yards 33-178 25-27
Passing 12-20-1 8-22-1
Passing yards 177 88
Total yards 355 115
Punts 1-47 4-38.5
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-2
Penalties-yards 3-25 4-41
Individual statistics
Rushing — C: Knight 6-44; J. Young 7-30, 2 TDs; Hudson 2-11; Aa. Young 8-60, 2 TDs; Talbott 6-53; Schulz 1-(-4); Query 1-5; Alexander 2-(-21). MLK: Scott 3-(-3); Pegues 12-(-10); Yates 5-34; Robinson 1-10; Riley 1-(-7); Williams 1-6; Davis 2-(-3).
Passing — C: Young 11-18-1, 2 TDs, 180 yards; Alexander 1-22-0; Schulz 0-1-0. MLK: Peues 8-21-1, 88 yards.
Receiving — C: Hudson 5-101, TD; Alston 1-9; Av. Young 2-44, TD; Hammond 2-16; Norman 1-6; Chesnet 2-17. MLK: Patterson 2-10; Taylor 1-(-1); Mathis 1-13; Sutton 1-9; Ross 3-57, TD.
Interception — C: Talbert.
Sacks — C: Raimondo 3; Hall, Lentz.
