Coatesville survives scare, tops Cumberland Valley for first win
It took until Week Three but the Coatesville football squad is back to its winning ways.
The Red Raiders notched a crucial 28-7 road victory over Cumberland Valley on Friday to improve to 1-1 on the season. Coatesville dropped its opener to Harrisburg, 14-6, and then had a bye.
“It’s been a long two weeks,” said Raiders’ head coach Matt Ortega. “We felt like we had a good chance with two weeks to prepare. We had our kids ready to play at (Cumberland Valley), which is always a hard place to play.”
Coatesville had a scare in the first quarter when star quarterback Ricky Ortega went down with a bruised foot, but he only missed a few plays. He ended up connecting on 10-for-17 for 216 yards and three touchdowns, but was severely hampered running the football.
“Ricky really couldn’t really run, but our team stayed cool and kept playing,” Matt Ortega said. “We were limited with him running so we had to depend on throwing the ball.
“The injury is not major though – he should be fine.”
Ortega connected with wideout Artie Burgess on a 60-yard-plus TD pass to open the scoring, and then speedy receiver Dapree Bryant scored on a long fake punt to put Coatesville ahead for good.
“We are very happy to be able to correct some errors and play well in all three phases of the game,” Matt Ortega said. “We cut the penalties down, our defense was outstanding and the offense made the plays when we needed them.”
Ortega also connected on two more scoring tosses to Bryant, who finished the day with three total TDs.
“We just need some time to gel,” Matt Ortega said. “It was refreshing for our guys to play the way they did. If Ricky didn’t get hurt we probably would have had a lot more success.”
The Raiders’ defense has allowed just three touchdowns in their first two games against quality competition.
“Two give up 21 points to two of the top 20 teams in PIAA, that’s not bad,” Matt Ortega said. “And we can improve so much more.”
During an undefeated regular season in 2018, the Raiders topped Cumberland Valley 35-19. The Eagles fall to 2-1 this season.
