Bishop Shanahan beats W.C. Henderson for first time
WEST CHESTER >> Coming into Friday night’s Ches-Mont League National Division clash with West Chester Henderson, the Bishop Shanahan football team had defeated every other Ches-Mont League team in the 15 years of varsity football except the Warriors.
Check that one off the to-do list, Shanahan dominated the game up front from the outset, rushing for 304 yards and cruising to a impressive 27-6 win in rainly, windy conditions.
“Our offensive line coaches challenged our guys up front this week to get 250 yards on the ground and they would take them out to breakfast,” Shanahan head coach Paul Meyers said. “And they did great job for us tonight. Our quarterback Nick Skulski ran the offense really well and made all the right adjustments for us.”
The Eagles (2-0 Ches-Mont National, 3-2 overall) got on the scoreboard fast as speedy senior running back Jake Guinan rolled 58 yards on a pitch from Skulski to score the game’s first touchdown. Guinan led the Eagles with 160 yards on 16 carries.
It was evident early on that the Henderson (0-2, 1-4) offense would have trouble running the football against Shanahan’s defense. Led by Doug Costin, who had 12 tackles, along with strong games from Brendan Deering and Dan Neuhaus, the Warriors had just 107 yards of total offense — all on the ground. The Warriors attempted just two passes on the cold, rainy, windswept night.
Guinan scored his second on a nine-yard run to give the Eagles a 12-0 lead, The Henderson offense got in gear, thanks to a 35-yard run from C.J. Preston to put the ball at the Eagles 25-yard line. Nick Mascetti then took a pitch from quarterback Matt Dinacci and rumbled to the 4. Two plays later, Dinacci went in from the one and it was a 12-6 game.
But, the night belonged to the Eagles, Meyers even inserted Costin in the fullback position, and he pushed the pile back enough to score from two-yards out to cap an eight-play drive to score with just eight seconds left in the first half for a commanding 20-6 advantage at the break.
“I have known Doug for a long time and it is something to see the type of player he has become,” Henderson head coach Steve Mitten said. “Give all the credit to the Shanahan kids and coaches. They controlled the game tonight, and dominated the line of scrimmage.”
Henderson still could not get anything going in the second half as they were forced into two straight three-and-outs. It appeared that Shanahan would score again when Deering picked off a Dinacci pass and returned it to the Henderson 19. But, the Henderson defense held, and gave the ball at to its offense.
Along with his 12 tackles and touchdown, Costin blocked a punt and recovered a fumble.
“He is some kind of player,” Meyers said. “He really does it all for us, and tonight, he just took over.”
The all-state tackle and his teamamates celebrated the historic win.
“It is an awesome feeling to finally beat Henderson,” Costin said.”And we will have a bond together forever because of this. It was a dream come true to carry the ball and score a touchdown. This was a great feeling to beat Hendereson and do it with all my teammates.”
Shanahn completed the scoring when Guinan galloped 29 yards around the left side for his third touchdown of the game with just over a minute to play.
“We needed this game a lot for our playoff hopes,” Meyers said. “And now, we look ahead to Downingtown West next week and try to get ready.”
Bishop Shanahan 27, West Chester Henderson 6
Bishop Shanahan 12 8 0 7 — 27
W.C. Henderson 0 6 0 0 — 6
First Quarter
BS — Guinan 58 run (kick fail)
BS — Guinan 9 run (kick fail)
Second Quarter
WCH — Dinacci 1 run (kick fail)
BS — Costin 2 run (Deering pass from Sprague)
Third Quarter
No scoring
Fourth Quarter
BS — Guinan 29 run (George kick)
Team Statistics
BS WCH
First downs 16 5
Rushes-yards 49-304 32-107
Passing 5-7-0 0-1-1
Passing yards 76 0
Total yards 380 107
Punts 2-25.0 6-34.5
Fumbles-lost 3-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 11-105 5-55
Individual Statistics
Rushing — Bishop Shanahan: Guinan 16-160, 3 TD, Burke 4-40, Smyth 6-30, Costin 3-10, TD, Deering 5-11, Skulski 11-40, Riccardo 2-5, Gueriera 2-8. W.C. Henderson: Preston 20-65, Walton 1 (-3), Mascetti 7-39, Dinacci 5-6, TD.
Passing — Bishop Shanahan: Skulski 5-7-0, 76 yds. W.C. Henderson: Dinacci 0-1-1, 0 yds.
Receiving — Bishop Shanahan: Sprague 2-45, Neuhaus 2-22, Guinan 1-9. W.C. Henderson: None.
Sacks — Bishop Shanahan: Costin. W.C. Henderson: Brida.
Interceptions — Bishop Shanahan: Deering. W.C. Henderson: none.
