District 1 6A football title game notebook: A night to remember for D-West
Downingtown >> Some random notes from a particularly memorable District 1 6A football championship game for Downingtown West:
– At the helm of Downingtown West’s attack, 6-foot-4 senior quarterback Will Howard stood tall Friday evening, throwing for 301 yards, and his perfectly-thrown pass to senior back Tyriq Lewis for a 37-yard TD and a 41-28 lead was the first touchdown toss the D-West QB has compiled against the Red Raiders. After the game, Howard passed a lot of the credit along to his teammates: “Coatesville is a great team, they’ve kind of walked all over us the last four times we played them – Ricky Ortega, Dapree Bryant, they’re all great, great players, and it took a lot to beat them tonight, it took a team effort. I can’t do what I did without my o-line and receivers getting the job done. The offensive line gave me time, and to have playmakers like Alex [Rosano] and Tyriq [Lewis] means so much. And our defense made some big stops and scored 14 points – that’s the game, right there.”
Downingtown West players hold District 1 championship trophy aloft after defeating Coatesville 48-36 @DLNSports @PaPrepLive pic.twitter.com/BHbdiqBm5w
— Main Line Sports (@MLineSports) November 23, 2019
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– One of those two defensive touchdowns was a 27-yard interception return by D-West senior defensive back Alex Rosano that gave the Whippets a 27-7 lead with 3:24 to go before halftime. “We were in a man-to-man defense, and I was playing safety, I was just lurking there, I wasn’t really covering anyone, I was just a spy,” said Rosano. “Ricky [Ortega] threw the slant that he’s been throwing, and I just stepped in front of it, and took it in. Really, the key today was playing as a team – everything we do, it’s all 11 of us at one time.”
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– Kottmeyer Stadium was jam-packed Friday evening, and one of the brightest sights in the stadium was an orange-clad section in the Downingtown West side of the stands. Those Whippet fans were wearing orange shirts, many of them bearing the words “D-West 22” or “Jaelynn Strong – Beat Ville” in honor of D-West senior tight end/defensive end Sean Pelkisson’s sister Jaelynn, who passed away from leukemia three weeks ago. After the game, Pelkisson said, “It touches my heart that my sister means so much to my friends, and to the community.”
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– Rosano at wide receiver grabbed nine of Howard’s passes for 125 yards, and one of them was a dazzling one-handed catch for a 25-yard gain late in the third quarter which gave D-West a key first down deep into Coatesville territory, and, a few plays later, a 34-21 lead. Rosano gave some credit for his acrobatic catch to his quarterback: “We had to make a big play there, and Will put the ball in the perfect spot for me to go up and get it, and I did.”
Coaches address victorious DWest squad @PaPrepLive @DLNSports pic.twitter.com/gwc1HUvd8E
— Main Line Sports (@MLineSports) November 23, 2019
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– That catch by Rosano was part of a 91-yard, 10-play touchdown drive that was capped by D-West senior running back Tyriq Lewis bolting into the end zone for a 6-yard TD run. Lewis said, “When the game ended, my first thought was that we won this for the city, for Downingtown West alumni, and for our families. We had to match Coatesville’s intensity tonight, and every time we were in the huddle, we kept saying, ‘Let’s give it to [Coatesville].’”
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– Rosano wasn’t the only two-way standout for Downingtown West. Early in the game, Whippet sophomore running back/linebacker Will Mahmud scored the game’s opening touchdown on a two-yard run. A few minutes later, he returned a Ricky Ortega fumble 42 yards for a six-pointer to give the top-seeded hosts a 14-0 lead with 6:15 left in the first quarter.
