Coatesville pulls away from North Penn, defends District 1-6A Title

EAST ROCKHILL >> It was Black Friday turned red and white, as Coatesville’s track-meet offense and swarming defense took over in the second half.

“We have so many playmakers right now — not just on offense but on defense,” said coach Matt Ortega. “In a game like that, you need somebody to step it up.”

Coatesville had a collection of such players. The Red Raiders sacked and pillaged, on their way to an impressive 42-13 victory over North Penn in the District 1-6A Championship at freezing Helman Field.

“If you look at us right now, the way that we’re meshing, in terms of all three phases of the game, you gotta be happy,” Ortega said.

“It’s a championship game,” said running back Aaron Young, whose touchdowns often came in the form of 50-yard dashes, “and we were expecting to come out hard and play hard. At halftime, we just wanted to come out and dominate, and that’s exactly what we did.”

The victory sends the Red Raiders (14-0) to the PIAA-6A Semifinals, where they’ll face Harrisburg. A tremendous run came to a close for North Penn, which suffered its only loss of the season.

Coatesville turned a tense, 7-6 contest into a runaway, and it was actually just before the half that the screws really started to turn.

In this battle of unbeatens, top-seeded North Penn was driving for a go-ahead score until Young intercepted Evan Spann on a trick play, coming on a fourth-down attempt for the Knights.

Six plays into the ensuing drive for Coatesville, quarterback Ricky Ortega bolted for 50 yards, setting up a 1st-and-Goal at the six. On 3rd-and-Goal from the eight, Young threw for a touchdown, hitting Ortega to extend the lead to 14-6.

North Penn (13-1) had controlled the ball for most of the first half.

“I thought we did a good job of beating blocks and tackling,” Knights coach Dick Beck said. “The only thing that hurt was their last drive in the first half. We got them in a 3rd-and-Long and we kind of got caught inside.

“(Ortega) made a great run, and then we get them 3rd-and-Goal at the eight and they threw in a little trick play and we kind of missed the QB coming out of the backfield.”

Coatesville took its momentum right into the second half.

Kick-starting the third quarter, Young added to his exploits — he rushed for 172 rushing yards and three TD’s and also threw for a score — by returning the kickoff 65 yards to put the Red Raiders in scoring position again.

Just one play later, Dapree Bryant cashed in when he took an inside handoff and dashed in from nine yards out.

“The quarterback’s dangerous in the open field, Young is a very good running back and he finds the hole. And then you put Dapree Bryant in there and he’s special with the ball in his hands,” Beck said. “It’s not just one guy. It’s a lot of guys. It’s tough to keep them in front of you. They have so many guys that can make plays.”

A 53-yard touchdown run by Young dropped the curtain on the third quarter and widened the margin to 28-6. Ortega found a lane and was off to a 47-yard touchdown voyage to start the fourth quarter, and Young’s final TD — four yards — made it 42-6.

R.J. Macnamara’s seven-yard rush closed out the scoring.

In addition to Young’s output, Ortega rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown and also caught a pass for a score.

Not to be forgotten is the play of the defense, especially defensive ends Tione Holmes and Jimmy Limper, and linebacker Nikolas Thompson, who manned the middle.

Holmes and Limper dented the North Penn pass pocket and helped the Red Raiders rack up five sacks.

“The defense played their butts off,” Young said of the unit, which held North Penn to 265 total yards. “That was a special, team win. We just gotta keep building from here.”

“I think it’s as good as 2012, and we had a special group that year,” Ortega said of the defense, asked to compare it to the state final team. “(Holmes and Limper) are just two special guys. We expect them to come into games and dominate, being three-year starters.

“They’re coming out and they’re firing on all cylinders right now. They’re the rocks of our defense along with Nikolas Thompson. So we’re just getting real excited to be playing next week.”

The defense got things started for Coatesville and then the Red Raiders took a 7-0 lead in the final minute of the first quarter when Young broke free up the middle for a 57-yard touchdown.

North Penn answered on its ensuing possession, with Macnamara gathering in a 27-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Solomon Robinson. The Knights had trouble with the snap on the extra-point attempt, leaving the score 7-6.

Coatesville would soon find its way, winning a tough matchup between the last two District 1-6A Champions.

“Dick did a great job with that team this year,” Ortega said.