Downingtown West stays to task, thumps Bishop Shanahan
DOWNINGTOWN >> With one of the biggest rivalry games in District 1 on the horizon, it might have been easy for Downingtown West to be lethargic during Friday’s Ches-Mont League National Division contest against Bishop Shanahan.
The Whippets, however, stayed to task, scoring on all seven of their first-half possessions as they rolled to a 56-20 victory over the undermanned Eagles at Jack Mancini Field.
“We just stayed focused,” said D-West coach Mike Milano. “There’s usually a lot of emotion in this game for different reasons. We did what I thought we would do. They were beat up. We were better tonight and we showed it.”
The Whippets (2-0 Ches-Mont National, 8-1 overall), received the opening kickoff and immediately went about putting points on the board. Following a return that gave them excellent starting field position at the Shanahan 45, they used a six-play drive to take the lead. A 15-yard pass from Quinn Henicle to Jake Kucera got West going. Four plays later, Henicle snuck in from the 1 to put them up, 7-0.
After a Shanahan three-and-out, A short punt set the Whippets up on the Eagles’ 30-yard line. Kucera got behind the defense, caught the ball at the 3 yard line and waltzed into the end zone.
Kucera’s big night continued with the first of his two interceptions to give the ball back to West.
The Whippets cashed it in five plays later, as John Mulville went in from 13-yards out to balloon the lead to 21-0.
“He’s a dude for us on both sides of the ball,” Milano said of Kucera. “He’s a great player, he’s a ball hawk. He’s got great ball skills, great hands. He’s a big part of our success.”
The scoring parade continued the next time D-West had the ball, on the prettiest-looking play of the night. Henicle hoisted up a pass that Kucera made an over-the-shoulder catch on for a 52-yard score and a 28-0 lead while still in the first quarter.
“We’re playing a Ches-Mont game and we to come out and perform,” said Kucera. “We wanted to come out early and make plays. I had a good night.
“At first, I didn’t think I was going to get there. I flipped my head around and it was right there. Quinn threw a perfect ball.”
It took one play in the second quarter for the lead to go to 35-0 as Henicle threw a strike to a wide open Dean Hangey for a 39-yard score.
Mulville punched in from the five for his second score of the evening to make it 42-0. Late in the half, the Whippets added another score. With the starters out, Mike Taraschi raced in for a 47-yard TD.
Shanahan (0-4, 3-5) finally got some offense going and got on the scoreboard with a minute to go in the first half. QB Zach Ferraro hit Mac Civitella for an 8-yard TD, which made the score 49-6 at halftime.
D-West outgained the Eagles in the first half, 327-47.
Shanahan scored twice in the second half with the running clock in effect. Ferraro connected with Aiden Civitella for a 25-yard score. In the fourth, freshman backup QB Dan Keenan, who showed some promise running the ball, kept the ball and scored from 26-yards out for his first career TD to end the evening.
“We kept battling,” said Shanahan coach Paul Meyers. “I’m proud of our young guys who played in the second half. We were behind the eight ball with injuries, but don’t take anything away from West, they are a really good football team.”
West notched its only score in the half on a 26-yard gallop by Spencer Dunn.
Now the Whippets can turn their attention to Downingtown East in the final game of the regular season.
“We’ve been waiting for that for a while,” said Kucera. “It gets real now.”
Shanahan also has something to play for next week when they visit Chichester. A win most likely will put them in the District 1 4A playoffs.
“That’s our goal,” said Meyers. “We got to get that to have any hopes of making the playoffs.”
