Downingtown West overcomes penalties, Chester
DOWNINGTOWN >> If there is a Louvre Museum for high school football, Friday night’s game between Chester and Downingtown West would probably not be in it.
The fashion accessory for the night was a yellow flag, and it was shown early and often. The two teams combined for over 300 yards in penalties as Downingtown West used two huge fourth-quarter special team plays to help pull away for a 34-19 nonleague victory at Kottmeyer Stadium, handing the Clippers their first loss of the season.
But, the talking point for the evening was the penalties. Visiting Chester was docked 19 times for 125 yards, while D-West was hit 18 times for 200 yards. And it was something neither coach was happy about.
“There was a lot of stuff going on and they missed a lot of stuff,” said Chester coach LaDontay Bell. “I told our kids to have a short memory and move on.”
“I’ve never seen such a thing,” said D-West coach Mike Milano. “Most of those were kids reacting to stuff on the field. It was embarrassing. I’ve been involved in games all around the country and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The Whippets improved to 6-1 overall after coming off an off week following the cancellation of their game against Coatesville.
D-West didn’t take long to get on the board. After getting the Clippers off the field in four plays in their first drive, West started with a bang. Quinn Henicle faked a handoff, kept the ball, and broke into the open to race 76 yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead. The Whippets scored three times on one-play drives.
“It was in the gameplan all week,” said Henicle. “Guy jumped outside, I took it, cut back, got some great blocks from the o-line and I took it to the end zone. Great way to start the game.”
After recovering a fumble, Henicle found a wide open Jake Kucera for a 22-yard score and a 14-0 advantage as the second quarter opened.
Chester came back the next time it touched the ball, marching 57 yards — helped by three D-West personal fouls.
They finished the drive as standout freshman QB Jalen Harris hit Dominic Toy for a 15-yard score to cut the deficit to 13-6.
West actually took its time to score later in the quarter, They went four plays to get into the end zone. Henicle ripped off another long run — this time, it was 29 yards to the one-yard line. He then dove over on the next play, the extra point missed and the Whippets had a 20-6 lead, which they held going into halftime.
The third quarter was scoreless, but the Clippers (7-1) were in the midst of a drive as the fourth quarter started. They cashed in on a 4th-and-11, Harris kept the play alive long enough to find Toy in the back of the end zone for his second TD reception of the evening. The play covered 30 yards and Chester was trailing, 20-13.
The first of two big plays on special teams happened, as Kucera found a lane and almost took it all the way, covering 75 yards before being pushed out at the 3 yard line.
“I let up a touchdown the play before the kickoff return, so I just tried to clear my head and come back and make a great play,” said Kucera. “Everyone was making great blocks and it opened up for me.”
John Mulville bulled in from the 3 on the next play to make it 27-13.
Chester went three-and-out on its next possession and punted the ball away. Kucera found open space on the right sideline and raced 51 yards untouched as the lead balloned to 34-13.
The Clippers mounted one more charge and scored with under five minutes left, Harris hit Malachi Holmes for an 18-yard score.
The Whippets then gained three first downs on the ground to run out the clock and come out with 34-19 victory.
“We won,” said Milano on his takeaway from the game. “We had a couple of special kids who made special plays. Our defense played outsanding and they really got after it.”
Harris completed 10-of-20 for 132 yards and three touchdowns.
“He a good player,” added Milano. “He’s elusive, he’s got a great arm. He’s impressive.”
