Cichanowsky, West Chester East storm back for big win over Unionville
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> With seven-plus minutes left to play Thursday night at Unionville High School, the West Chester East Vikings were down by nine after a Unionville touchdown. The Vikings had a few options open to them, including to play out the string and take a close loss, or just shut it down for the holiday weekend.
Not these Vikings.
West Chester East stormed back to score 13 unanswered points and came away with a thrilling, 27-23, Ches-Mont League American Division win that was not decided until the Vikings’ Kunal Maheshwari intercepted a Blake Charlton pass at the 2-yard line with 26 seconds to play to kill a potential Unionville winning drive.
“We were in trips coverage and we had all their receivers covered,” Maheshwari said. “I just tried to stay in my coverage and I made the play when the ball came to me. We never quit being nine points down. We believe in each other and we never stopped fighting tonight. It is great to beat a good team like Unionville and get a win.”
Unionville (1-1 league, 1-1 overall) looked like it as home free after breaking a 14-14 tie at the end of three quarters. Stefan Twombly drilled a 23-yard field goal to start the fourth, and when the Vikings (1-0, 2-0) fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which was recovered by Ben Martin at the Vikings’ 20, it looked like the Indians would roll to victory.
Four plays after the fumble recovery, Charlton jumped over the pile from a yard out and after the extra point was missed, Unionville had a 23-14 lead with 7:29 to play.
But East came right back.
The Vikings took the kickoff at the 14, and on a third and seven play, quarterback Ryan Duell threw a floater that John Wilieczek went up and grabbed, and then darted 67 yards to score, and it was a 23-21 game with 5:56 to play.
“That was a called play,” West Chester East head coach Scott Stephen said. “Ryan got the ball there and Johnny made a big play. Sometimes you have to have your playmakers make plays and Johnny did that for us three. This group of seniors has been together for four years now and they are great leaders. To come back on a team like that really makes us proud.”
The comeback was not secure yet, however. The Indians took the kickoff and made a first down on the tough running of Connor Schilling, who totaled 70 yards on 18 carries on the night. But, on a second down play, Charlton mishandled a snap and lost eight yards, putting the Indians in a long third down position. Charlton threw incomplete on the next play and the Indians punted.
West Chester East took the ball at its 20 yard line after the punt sailed into the end zone. Two plays later, the remarkable Kyle Cichanowsky, who rushed for an incredible 265 yards on 20 carries, broke a tackle and scooted around the right side of the Indians’ line, going 73 yards to score for a 27-23 Vikings lead.
“We never quit out there,” Cichanowsky said. “The seniors know each other well and have been together for four years, and everybody has each other’s back. That was the case when we were down in the fourth.”
Unionville came right down the field after getting the ensuing kickoff, with Charlton hitting big passes to Schilling and Bryce Whitlock. Whitlock was a thorn in the Vikings’ defense all night, hauling in seven passes for 90 yards and a touchdown.
But, Unionville faced a second down play deep in West Chester East territory with the clock winding down, and Charlton was flushed out of the pocket and his pass over the middle was picked off by Maheshwari. The Vikings ran out the clock before celebrating their big comeback victory.
“These guys had a choice in the fourth period and they chose to fight,” Stephen said. “And Kyle was fantastic. He has a real good burst of speed and he is just so humble and he goes 100 percent all the time. He was great again tonight for us.”
