Downingtown West rolls to 3-0 with another impressive win, this time over Neshaminy

DOWNINGTOWN >> After wins over Perkiomen Valley and a shutout of Central Bucks South, Downingtown West was already off to a great start.

Saturday night at Kottmeyer Stadium, the Whippets added their most impressive notch in the win column so far.

The fired up Whippets manhandled one of the better teams in District 1, Neshaminy, 35-14, in a very impressive showing. Downingtown West rolled up 410 yards of total offense on the usually stout Redskins defense.

Whippet quarterback Will Howard was superb, completing 17 of 25 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown, while junior running back Tariq Lewis rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns in the beatdown of the Suburban One League invaders.

“We practice hard every day to reach our goals,” Lewis said. “And our goals are to go to states and beat Downingtown East and Coatesville. Coach Milano (Mike) told us we were playing the big boys that play power football these two weeks from the Suburban One. And we beat them paying Downingtown power football. I feel we are like the Suburban One teams. We play tough, Downingtown football.”

The Whippet (3-0) defense allowed Redskins (1-2) quarterback Brody McAndrew 230 yards passing, but most of that yardage came late in the game when the result was decided. Downingtown West got two big interceptions from Alex Rosano, who picked off two passes to give him four on the season, and Marcus Gainer, who intercepted McAndrew late in the game. The Whippet defense also stopped Neshaminy four different times on fourth down plays deep in Whippet territory and stifled any running attack the Redskins tried to mount.

“The defense really has found themselves after the battle in week one with Perk Valley,” said Downingtown West head coach Mike Milano. “And tonight they did the job for us. These kids put a lot into this and it is nice to see them have success.”

Downingtown West took a 21-7 lead into the locker room at halftime as Lewis skirted the left side of the Redskins defense for a 12-yard touchdown run and Dan Byrnes continued his sharp play by hauling in a 30-yard bullet from Howard to give the Whippets a 21-7 halftime edge. The Whippets scored 14 points in the second quarter to break a 7-7 tie. Howard had 181 passing yards in the first half.

The Whippets also received the second half kickoff, and with 4:14 to go in the third quarter, Lewis plowed his way in from a yard out to make it a 27-7 game after the PAT was missed. Neshaminy was having trouble running the football all night as Ryan Wetzel and his defensive friends held the potent Redskins attack to just 83 yards on the ground.

What really showcased Downingtown West football was a five-plus minute drive that covered 80 yards on 12 plays in the fourth quarter that resulted in a Byrnes five-yard touchdown run to seal the deal for the Whippets. Jackson Luneberg came up with a big 49-yard over-the-shoulder third down catch to keep the drive going. Luneberg was fantastic for the Whippets, catching five balls for 122 yards on the night, and suddenly, Downingtown West had stamped itself as a major player on the District 1 Class 6A scene.

“It is really nice to have the running game we have this year,” Howard said. “It helps me out a lot. Last year we had a young offensive line and some young running backs but this year both of those things have come together for us and it is nice to have that and Neshaminy is a real good football team.”