Chester County: Week One Football Previews

Week One of the scholastic football season is finally here and all but four of the area teams start their seasons. West Chester Henderson, West Chester Rustin, Bishop Shanahan and Malvern Prep all begin their seasons next week but everyone else gets it going in Week One. Here is a look at all the Week One action.

Downingtown West vs. Highland Regional at Ocean City (N.J.) High School, 4 p.m.

Downingtown West travels to New Jersey to take on a Highland Regional squad that was 4-5 last season and is relying on junior quarterback Connor Leary, who is the son of head coach Brian Leary.

They have a good complement of skill position players and should test the Whippets defense. Downingtown West will likely play big boy football behind its massive offensive line led by 300-pound guards Ryan Howard and Cooper Young. The Whippets feature junior quarterback Quinn Henicle, who has a strong arm and can also make plays with his feet.

 

 

Downingtown East meets one of the better 6A teams in District 1 as the host Rams have 20 seniors on their roster and  will try to ram West Point Academy commit Brennan Fisher down the Cougars throat.

Fisher is a load and the Rams are now running the spread offense at times and have four returning offensive linemen back. Downingtown East will go with its up-tempo offense, and senior quarterback Jay Jenkins and running back Bo Horvath are one of the better backfield tandems in the district.

 

Pennsbury at Coatesville, 7 p.m.

Coatesville meets a Pennsbury team that has been down since head coach Galen Snyder left the Falcons program five years ago. Snyder is back for his second stint as head man of the Pennsbury program. Snyder went 116-48 in his first tenure at Pennsbury and won two District 1 titles. The Falcons feature 210-pound running back Ganamana Mulbah, out of the new Wing-T offense Snyder has put in. Coatesville has explosive senior quarterback Harrison Susi, who accounted for more than 4,000 yards of offense last season.

Susi should make enough big plays to bedevil the Falcons defense. Pennsbury should become one of the better 6A teams in the district in time under Snyder, but are not ready for the explosive Red Raiders in this game. Coatesvile has many new faces on defense but they are talented.

 

Oxford at Avon Grove, 7 p.m.

Both teams looking to rebound from disappointing 2021 seasons. Avon Grove has a big offensive line with three starters back from last season. The Red Devils will try to open holes for senior running back Thad Binstead, who ran for 420 yards last season and is a tough, inside runner.

Oxford is more explosive than Avon Grove with senior quarterback Dustin Long back as the starter. Long has a strong arm and can make plays when the protection breaks down. The Hornets also feature running back Luke Piksun in the backfield.

Pick: Avon Grove 20, Oxford 14

Phoenixville at Great Valley, 7 p.m.

Great Valley has a new junior quarterback in Braden Melia, who steps in for the graduated Andy Talone, who was most of the Patriots offense last season. Melia has a good arm and running backs Jack Coffey and Anthony Pellicciotta can run the football. Tight end and defensive end Lawron Short will be a key for the Great Valley defense. Phoenixville used a late season push to qualify for the District 1 5A playoffs last season but the Phantoms feature only six seniors on the 2022 roster. Quarterback Ty Romance is back and he threw for 1,007 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Darius Watson is a hard-running fullback and a good blocker for the Phantoms.
Pick: Great Valley 27, Phoenixville 24

Kennett at Upper Dublin, 7 p.m.

Kennett features a very strong running game behind Julian Sparacino and David Lilli and this pair will have to control the clock and move the ball downfield to take the ball away from the Cardinals’ Division 1 quarterback, Colin O’Sullivan.

The Cardinals senior threw for close to 2,000 yards last season and he will be a handful for the Kennett defense. The Blue Demons have to keep the ball out of O’Sullivan’s hands to win this game.

Pick: Kennett 21, Upper Dublin 20.

Conestoga at Owen J. Roberts, 7 p.m.

Conestoga had a very surprising season last year going 7-4 and qualifying for the District 1 5A playoffs before bowing to Ridley. The Pioneers lost a lot of firepower to graduation and new quarterback Peter Costigan is in charge of leading the Pioneers offense. Conesotga has two very tough running backs in Jack Allred and Jon Quici.

Quici ran for 680 yards on the ground last season. The host Wildcats feature three-year starter Michael Reed at quarterback, who threw for 1,020 yards last season. They also feature defensive lineman Brandon Kelly, who is a University of Connecticut commit.

Pick: Conestoga 21, Owen J. Roberts 20

Manheim Central at West Chester East, 7 p.m.

Manheim Central graduated all of its skill players from a team that averaged 38 points per game last season. But the District 3 4A power has five starters back on defense and this program has had only two losing seasons since 1971.

West Chester East gets back running back Mitch Ragni, who missed the entire 2021 season to injury and likely will be called on a lot in this one. Ragni is one of the top backs in District 1 and he should be able to churn up the yards for the host Vikings.

Pick: W.C. East 17, Manheim Central 14.

Academy Park at Unionville, 7, p.m.

This is a rematch of the 2021 quarterfinal district playoff game, where Academy Park eliminated the Longhorns. Academy Park graduated a lot of their skill people.

The Longhorns are not real big up front but they feel their new corps of players can do the job. Look for the Longhorns defense to create a couple of turnovers and win a close game.