Downingtown East
UWCHLAN >> Like it or not, quarterback is the glamour position on any football team. And in the last decade, the Downingtown East Cougars have had their share of great quarterbacks, including NFL players, Pat Devlin and Kyle Lauletta.
This season, Cougar head coach Mike Matta has handed the reins for a team that advanced to the District 1 Class 6A quarterfinals to an unproven senior in Luke Davis, and Matta could not be any happier.
“Two other quarterbacks in the league, Ricky Ortega and the Howard kid (Will) at Downingtown West, have gotten all the accolades, and with good reason, but we are very happy with Luke,” Matta said. “He has great leadership skills, can run the football and a great understanding of the offense. In any other year he would be getting all the ink but we are very excited to see Luke lead our offense.”
Davis has a world of confidence despite losing four offensive linemen to graduation, but the Cougars return all-league receivers Connor Noble and Jack Riley to go along with 1,000 yard rusher Garvey Jonassaint.
“I guess you could call me the comeback kid,” Davis said. “No one knows me and no one expects much of me outside this locker room but we have a lot of weapons and I certainly embrace the challenge of leading this football team. I know the quarterback legacy here.”
Riley was All-Ches-Mont last season as a junior, and he thinks losing four offensive linemen will not be a problem.
“We have a lot of confidence in those young guys,” Riley said. “And Luke will be great out on the field and we have Garvey and Connor so we will be as good as we usually are around here.”
The one offensive lineman the Cougars have returning is Weston Menzie, who Matta says is one of the top lineman in southeastern Pennsylvania.
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Downingtown East’s Garvey Jonassaint is one of two returning 1,000-yard rushers in the Ches-Mont. (NATE HECKENBERGER)
Defensively, the Cougars only bring back three starters, linebackers Stuart Regitz and Kyle Egan and cornerback James Basilli, but Regitz is not expecting any drop-off for the Cougars.
“We feel the young guys will top us,” Regitz said. “And defense has always been a strong suit at Downingtown East and defenses have been good here for a very long time and I feel that will continue this season.”
As usual, Downingtown East has a tough non-league schedule and Regitz likes the fact the Cougars do not duck anyone.
“I really like playing talented teams because it is fun and it gets us ready for the league games, which are always tough.”
Downingtown East’s non-league slate includes Plymouth-Whitemarsh, Perkiomen Valley and Roman Catholic.
Offensive player to watch
Luke Davis: The Cougars senior signal caller seems to embrace the Cougars long line of quality quarterbacks and is a dual threat for the Downingtown East offense.
Defensive player to watch
Stuart Regitz: The senior linebacker is the leader of the Cougars defense and roams sideline to sideline to knock down opposing ball carriers.
-By Peter DiGiovanni, pdigiovanni07@gmail.com, @PeteDLN on Twitter
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