Chichester overcomes slow start to top Phoenxville

UPPER CHICHESTER — There couldn’t have been a much worse start for Chichester in its non-league game against Phoenixville Friday night.

Failing to cover the opening kickoff and letting the ball roll aimlessly until the Phantoms could recover it is typically a nearly unforgivable sin in football.

Instead of unraveling, however, the Eagles rallied and held strong down the stretch for a convincing 20-9 victory over Phoenixville.

“I looked at our team and I knew something like that was going to happen,” Chichester coach Ryan Smith lamented about the Eagles’ opening kickoff gaffe. “I know these kids well enough and I just knew they were flat. They responded well throughout the game, but right now the penalties are what we have to look at.”

While the Eagles did incur nine penalties over the course of the game, Chichester made it a point to show its resiliency by overcoming each misstep. If that bad start did anything for the Eagles, it woke up their offense, which took out its frustrations on the Phantoms’ defense.

Using the legs of Shaheem Pleasant (84 yards) and Kahsi Jones (30 yards), along with the steady arm of quarterback Nate Decenzi, the Eagles kept Phoenixville guessing all night.

Dylan Clark’s field goal gave Phoenixville a 3-0 lead after the Eagles’ kick return failure, but Chichester gained focus. Jones ripped off an 11-yard touchdown run and Decenzi connected with Jamese Lundy-Byrd on a tremendous catch-and-run that put the Eagles up 13-3.

“(After the opening kickoff) I was on the sideline trying to calm everyone down and make sure everyone’s head was on the right track,” Decenzi said. “Everybody kept their heads up and that’s all I could ask.”

Phoenixville closed the gap to 13-9 behind a four-yard touchdown run by Alex Washington with just 7:56 remaining in the game, but Chichester’s senior quarterback had an answer.

“(Decenzi) continues to grow and grow in that role and we can continue to give him more responsibility,” Smith said.

Decenzi, who finished a perfect 13 for 13 for 157 yards on the night, hooked up with Damian Thompson (eight catches for 77 yards) for an 11-yard touchdown pass to ice the game with 2:22 remaining in the contest.

“I always know that if I put it up for them (his receivers), they’re going to come down with it,” Decenzi said.

Thompson was one of the top performers on the night for the Eagles. The senior complimented his offensive output with some strong defense as he hauled in an interception during the game’s waning moments.

Overall, Chichester’s defense was solid, especially against the Phoenixville’s heavy rushing attack of an inverted wishbone set.

“In game planning for their offense, we knew it was going to give us fits,” said Smith, whose team improved to 3-1. “There are a lot of gaps to defend, but the kids played well and they adjusted well. Due to the nature of that offense they wore us down, though. I think if they had another series of offense we could have been in some trouble.”

The teams had some history coming into the contest, most recently last season when Chichester traveled to Phoenixville and put a 34-7 beatdown on the Phantoms. This year, however, the Chester County squad brought a new challenge with its offensive set-up and rugged style of play.

Even with the disappointing loss, Phoenixville (2-2) knows it can improve and keep moving forward.

“In the first quarter I thought we were undisciplined and a little soft; we weren’t hitting as hard as we normally would,” said Phantoms running back Alex Washington, who finished the night with 97 yards on 25 carries and was an absolute grinder at running back. “We made some stupid errors; I know I dropped a pass, but in the second half we were more disciplined and had some fun.”