Westtown – Having advanced to the PIAA District 1 5A championship final in each of the last three years, West Chester Rustin returns a solid core of starters and should once again be in title contention.
The Golden Knights traditionally have a strong running attack, and this fall should be no different, with four returning starters on the offensive line – senior tackles Brock Cummings (6-foot-6, 250 pounds) and Steven Bernard (6-3, 220), senior center Noah Kitabjian (5-9, 200) and junior guard Charlie Covington (5-9, 200). Sophomore Nick Santangelo (5-11, 220) will hold down the other guard spot, and junior Billy Tigue is the tight end.
“I feel really good about our offensive line,” said Rustin head coach Mike St. Clair. “They’re not the biggest kids in the world but they’ve got a lot of experience, they know what they’re doing, and our (offensive) scheme is based on angle blocking, so as long as they follow the rules and know what they’re doing, we should be in good shape.”
Leading the Rustin ground game will be junior running back Chase Hatton (5-10, 180), who ran for 1,123 yards and 15 touchdowns despite missing two-plus games due to injury.
“Chase can do it all,” said St. Clair. “He can run, he can catch, he can hit. He can run over you, he can run through you, he can run past you. He’s the ultimate high school football player.”
Hatton said, “Last year, the only reason I was able to do what I did was because of good coaching and the hard work of the offensive line up front – it’s a whole team thing, it’s 11 players on the field, it’s not a one-person thing.”
Other Golden Knight running backs are juniors Jojo Magolon (5-10, 160), Nate Pechin (5-10, 155) and Ryan Loper (5-6, 150).
At quarterback will be junior David McClain (5-10, 180), a second-year starter.
“David did a phenomenal job running our offense last year, running the ball and passing the ball – he’s the strongest kid on our team,” said St. Clair. “He’s a stud catcher in baseball, he’s just a great athlete. We’re really looking for big things from him this fall.”
Defensively, the Golden Knights will go with a 4-4-3 formation.
“I particularly like our back seven on defense, they have a lot of experience,” said St. Clair. “We’re going to be really young up front, so the sooner our defensive line can pick up our system the better off we’ll be. So it’s going to come down to whether our defensive line gels or not.”
At linebacker will be junior Pat Maychak (5-8, 160), junior David Jacobs (5-10, 170) and sophomores Will Garner (6-1, 195) and Kalief Cunningham (5-9, 185). Maychak is a returning starter.
In the defensive backfield, Hatton is a third-year starter at safety, and senior Joey McCallaster (5-10, 180), a returning starter, will hold down one of the cornerback spots.
“Chase is the captain of our defense,” said St. Clair. “He’s very, very good against the pass, very good against the run. He’s makes all of our checks on defense so it’s good to have a kid with that much experience back there.”
Up front, senior defensive tackle Colin Riley (5-11, 235) is a returning starter, and the defensive ends will be Santangelo and junior Nick Hornbach (5-10, 185), who took on a starting role toward the end of last season.
Last fall, Rustin posted an 11-2 record and finished second in the Ches-Mont American Division with a 6-1 record. They lost only one game during the regular season, a 24-14 defeat to Kennett, and followed that loss by winning their final six regular season games. In the District 1 5A playoff opener, the Golden Knights beat Radnor; then got revenge on Kennett, beating them 31-7; then edged No. 2 seed Strath Haven in overtime, 28-27; then lost to top seed Upper Dublin 21-7 in the district final.
The Golden Knights advanced to the District 1 5A championship final in each of the last three years, and both Hatton and McClain were asked what the winning tradition of Rustin football meant to him.
“(Tradition) means that, no matter what, we never give up,” said Hatton. “It’s a brotherhood, so we always strive to be better together. We always have three goals every year – win West Chester (beat WC Henderson and WC East), win our division and win Districts. Hopefully we can do all three this year.”
McClain said, “It means that we make sure that everyone knows what we’re doing on every play, making sure that we’re fighting together, it’s not a one-man show out there. Whatever the stat sheet shows at the end of the game, we know that the big guys up front are doing most of the work, blocking for the guys who get the ball.”
St. Clair said, “Our goals are always the same every year – win West Chester, win our league, and get in the district playoffs and hopefully be in contention for a district title. We’re only going to be as good as our offensive and defensive lines, so if they can perform, we’re going to be in good shape.”
Hatton said, “We always strive to be better. We always have big aspirations so we always want to be playing in November, hopefully we’ll be playing in December and I think we’ll be able to do that.”
West Chester Rustin
Thurs., Aug. 31 – at West Chester Henderson, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 8 – at West Chester East, 7 p.m.
Thurs., Sept. 14 – vs. Kennett, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 22 – vs. Chichester, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 29 – at Coatesville, 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 6 – at Oxford, 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 13 – vs. Sun Valley, 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 20 – vs. Great Valley, 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 27 – at Unionville, 7 p.m.
Coach: Mike St. Clair
2022 record, 10-2 overall, 6-1 Ches-Mont American
