Daily Local News All-Area Football teams and Coach of the Year
Player of the Year – Dayshawn Jacobs, West Chester Rustin, Sr.
Set Chester County single-season records for rushing yards (2,741) and touchdowns (43), while leading the Golden Knights to the District 1-5A final.
First Team
Offense
QB- Cooper Jordan, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.
Led the area in passing yards (2,244) and passing touchdowns (29), and also ran for 1,188 yards and 15 TDs.
RB- Bo Horvath, Downingtown East, Jr.
The top rusher in the Ches-Mont National, Horvath chewed up 1,741 yards and 14 TDs on the ground.
RB- Isaiah Wright, Malvern Prep, Sr.
A workhorse who averaged just under 23 carries per game, Wright amassed 1,109 rushing yards and 14 TDs.
WR- Pete Detwiler, Conestoga, Sr.
Was tops in the area with 833 receiving yards, catching 46 passes, 11 for TDs, and added 296 yards and seven TDs on the ground.
WR- Colin McGrory, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.
His 51 receptions and 15 TDs were the most in the area, totaling 818 receiving yards and 414 rush yards.
TE- George Bousum, Downingtown East, Sr.
The big target led all area tight ends with 26 receptions and 335 yards, scoring three times.
OL- Cole Deery, Malvern Prep, Sr.
Voted the Inter-Ac League MVP, was dominant on both sides and will head to the University of Maryland.
OL- Drew Shelton, Downingtown West, Sr.
The Penn State-bound tackle was a force on the edge, helping the Whippets average 178.9 rush yards per game.
OL- Kyle Kacmar, Downingtown East, Sr.
Another in a long line of powerful Cougar linemen, Kacmar led East to the fourth-best running game in the area.
OL- Oscar Ortega, Coatesville, Sr.
The Red Raiders had their best run game in a long time, averaging 268.8 yards per game, and Ortega was a big reason why.
OL- Jack Tuel, Unionville, Sr.
The Longhorns averaged the third-highest rush yards per game (228) in the area, thanks in large part to Tuel.
ATH- Harrison Susi, Coatesville, Jr.
Led all area QBs with 1,315 yards and 18 TDs on the ground, adding 1,647 and 26 scores through the air.
K- Jake Reid, Malvern Prep, Sr.
Was a touchback machine who made 26 of 28 point after attempts and also drilled eight field goals.
Defense
DL- Nate Holt, Unionville, Sr.
Committed to play and serve at Army, Holt aided Unionville’s fourth-best run defense in the area.
DL- Josh Reuter, Avon Grove, Sr.
A high-energy defensive end, Reuter was a constant disruption in opponents’ backfields.
DL- Dylan Jones, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.
The Eagles had the top-ranked defense in the area, and it started in the middle, where Jones demanded double teams.
DL- Ryan Massey, Coatesville, Sr.
Stepped up and became the most-reliable lineman for a defense that peaked down the stretch.
LB- Nolan O’Hara, Coatesville, Sr.
An instinctive leader for the Red Raiders, O’Hara averaged nearly 10 tackles per game and picked off one pass.
LB- Ryan Davis, Malvern Prep, Sr.
A top linebacker in the Inter-Ac, Davis led the top-scoring defense in the area and had two interceptions.
LB- Will Mahmud, Downingtown West, Sr.
A cerebral three-year starter, Mahmud had a knack for being in the right spot, and had a pair of interceptions.
LB- Brandon Choi, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.
Returned from an early-season injury as the inspirational leader of the defense that carried the District 1-4A champs.
DB- D’Angelo Stocker, Malvern Prep, Sr.
A speedster and threat on both sides of the ball, Stocker is headed to the University of Richmond.
DB- Kalen Frazier, Kennett, Sr.
Asked to mark opponent’s top receiver each game, all while playing QB, Frazier had three picks as a lockdown cornerback.
DB- LeBron Bessick, Coatesville, Sr.
A playmaker in every facet of the game, Bessick had two interceptions and returned four punts for TDs.
DB- Daimon Jacobs, West Chester Rustin, Jr.
The hard-hitting safety also led the area with six interceptions as the anchor of one of the top defenses around.
P- Evan Wickersham, Downingtown West, Sr.
Doubling as the Whippets QB, Wickersham consistently set his defense up with some booming punts.
Second Team
Offense
QB- Matt McCloskey, Unionville, Sr.
RB- Ashon Wesley, Coatesville, Sr.
RB- Mitch Ragni, West Chester East, Jr.
WR- Tommy Ortega, Coatesville, Sr.
WR- Patrick Reilly, Conestoga, Sr.
TE- RJ Rickabaugh, Coatesville, Sr.
OL- Max Bowman, Malvern Prep, Sr.
OL- Dan McNasby, West Chester Rustin, Sr.
OL- Aaron Meadows, West Chester Rustin, Soph.
OL- Ozzie Ortega, Coatesville, Sr.
OL- Peter Jones, Malvern Prep, Soph.
ATH- Julian Sparacino, Kennett, Jr.
K- Brian Dym, Unionville, Sr.
Defense
DL- Chayse Scott, Coatesville, Sr.
DL- Lawson Haylock, Malvern Prep, Sr.
DL- Nick Richardson, Oxford, Sr.
DL- Chris Yanko, West Chester Rustin, Sr.
LB- Brendan D’Amico, Unionville, Sr
LB- Sam Barton, Downingtown East, Jr.
LB- Connor Jung, Kennett, Sr.
LB- Ryan Waters, Downingtown West, Sr.
DB- Tucker Opdahl, Unionville, Sr.
DB- Mike Waite, Downingtown East, Jr.
DB- Elijah Ford, Downingtown West, Sr.
DB- Andrew Connolly, Malvern Prep, Sr.
P- Eddie Smink, West Chester Henderson, Sr.
Honorable Mention
Thaddeus Binstead, Avon Grove, Jr.; Cooper McDannald, Avon Grove, Sr.; Hunter Traa, Avon Grove, Sr.; Liam Blakely, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.; Kenny Daniels, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.; Zane Dohmson, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.; Evan Kapczynski, Bishop Shanahan, Sr; Nick Romano, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.; Simmi Whitehill, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.; Francisco Hall, Coatesville, Soph.; Dowayne Molina, Coatesville, Sr.; Bryce Beltrante, Conestoga, Jr.; Brody Eaton, Conestoga, Jr.; Christian Lariviere, Sr.; Conestoga, Calvin Shirley, Conestoga, Sr.; Brady Dennis, Downingtown East, Sr.; Jamy Jenkins, Downingtown East, Jr.; Mike Giardino, Downingtown East, Sr.; Xander Hearns, Downingtown East, Sr.; Connor Kelly, Downingtown East, Sr.; Cooper Young, Downingtown West, Jr.; Dylan Cave, Great Valley, Sr.; Brandon May, Great Valley, Sr.; Cullen McDaniel, Great Valley, Sr.; Will Oscar, Kennett, Sr.; John Pardo, Kennett, Soph.; Colin Swed, Kennett, Sr.; Stephen Hollander, Malvern Prep, Sr.; Dale Law, Malvern Prep, Sr.; Maven Brannon, Oxford, Jr.; Dak Jones, Sr.; Oxford, Dustin Long, Oxford, Jr.; Dominic Pantalone, Oxford, Sr.; Seth Pearson, Oxford, Sr.; Ethan Bennink, Unionville, Sr.; Finn Muhly, Unionville, Sr.; Luke Schriver, Unionville, Sr.; John Ammon, West Chester East, Sr.; Tyler Wileczek, West Chester East, Soph.; Dylan Grim, West Chester Henderson, Sr.; Casey Killoran, West Chester Henderson, Sr.; Owen McCarthy, West Chester Henderson, Sr.; Terrance Turman, West Chester Henderson, Sr.; CJ Fisher, West Chester Rustin, Sr.; Chase Hatton, West Chester Rustin, Fr.; Anthony Meadows, West Chester Rustin, Sr.
Coach of the Year
Paul Meyers — Bishop Shanahan
A head coach that that gets the most out of his players and commands the respect of those players is going to be a successful head coach. Four years ago head football coach Paul Meyers welcomed a talented freshman class to Bishop Shanahan.
All that class did was win two District 1 4A titles, and this year the Eagles advanced to the PIAA Eastern Final, won the first two state games in school history and finished with an 11-4 record, a school record for most wins in a season.
It is for reaching those heights that Meyers is the Daily Local News Football All-Area Coach of the Year.
“This senior class was really special,” Meyers said. “They were undefeated as freshmen, won a district title as sophomores, went undefeated as juniors until COVID shut us down and this year as seniors, won another district title and two state payoff games. They were a great group to be around.”
The 2021 version of Bishop Shanahan football put them on the map in the 4A classification and Meyers, who has been head coach since the Eagles started up football in 2001 has been a talented mentor and head coach to his teams. This team made history and Meyers was at the forefront of those records.
