Coatesville clamps Francis as Young runs wild
CALN — Kevin Francis and Aaron Young entered Friday night’s matchup the top two rushers in the Ches-Mont, getting there in completely different fashions.
Francis, who fits perfectly into Avon Grove’s grind-it-out offense, is the battering ram type, while Young is an explosive breakaway threat in Coatesville’s spread offense.
Avon Grove gave a valiant effort early, but when Young and the Coatesville system got going, there was no catching them.
On Homecoming night at Coatesville, Young ran for 242 yards and three scores as Coatesville handed Avon Grove its first National Division loss, 42-6.
The Red Raiders defense held Francis to 55 yards on 20 carries.
“I saw something in the newspaper (Friday) about (Francis) and I wanted to show who the best back was in the league,” Young said.
Young broke off touchdown runs of 44 and 32 in the first quarter and then a 59-yarder in the second, all the three coming consecutively.
Later in the second Young sprinted down the far sideline for a 90-yard score, but Coatesville (4-0 division, 7-1 overall) was called for a verbal taunt during the play, negating the highlight-reel play. Young now sits at 1,001 yards on 87 carries for the season.
“We felt we’d be able to run the ball,” Coatesville coach Matt Ortega said. “Aaron is such a special player and all our guys on the line and the wide outs are playing well. We’re a hard team to defend right now.”
Francis was effective early, running for 38 of his 55 yards on the opening possession, helping the Red Devils (3-1, 4-4) reach the Coatesville 24. A holding penalty thwarted the drive, but Avon Grove returned to Red Raider territory four more times in the first half, fumbling twice, and got nothing to show for it.
“Not finishing those three drives was the game,” Avon Grove coach Harry O’Neill said. “If we get one of those scores and maybe don’t give up the touchdown pass at the end of the half, it’s 21-7 and it’s a game.”
Up 21-0, Ricky Ortega hit Dapree Bryant in stride on a slant, and the speedy sophomore raced 62 yards for a touchdown with 99 seconds left in the half. Ortega and Bryant connected for two second-half scores of 34 and eight yards, respectively.
Bryant finished the night with 5 receptions for 147 yards.
Coatesville’s defense, meanwhile, clamped down on Francis. The senior led the area with 1,463 yards on 220 carries and 20 touchdowns, but the Red Raiders held him 60 yards less than his previous season-low against Unionville.
“We were focused on the running back,” Coatesville defensive end Tione Holmes said. “We knew he ran hard and they had a crazy running game.”
Avon Grove finished with just 103 yards on 42 carries.
“They did some things early on that took us a couple drives to get figured out, but we made adjustments and from that point on we were great defending the run,” Matt Ortega said.
Avon Grove got on the board when Jordan Paone blazed past the Coatesville secondary and took a pass from Shane Wolford 77 yards for the score.
“We’re playing meaningful games in October, and that’s something we haven’t done since 2009,” O’Neill said. “Some of our guys need to experience that and we’ll see how they respond.”
Coatesville now shifts its focus to undefeated Downingtown East next week in the unofficial National Division championship game.
