Column: Downingtown West hopes to have rebound season
Football, like life, is not always fair. It can be a cruel reminder for all those who choose to put themselves out there for all of us to critique and pick apart when things do not go the expected way.
And no area high school football team had such an unfair season in 2021 than Downingtown West. The Whippets had life hit them in the face with a roundhouse punch when one of their teammates tragically died in the spring of 2021.
The shocking death shook all of these young men to the core and gave them worries no person their tender age should have to deal with. Then, on the football field, things did not go the expected way as Downingtown west limped to a 5-5 record and missed the District 1 6A playoffs by one game.
This was not acceptable to the Whippets faithful, as the expectations are always high for a program that year after year is at or near the top of the District 1 landscape. The Whippets suffered two agonizing last-minute losses to rivals Downingtown East and Coatesville.
In a matter of about 50 seconds of playing time, the Whippets 2022 football season went from one of euphoria to despair and left those already beleaguered young men searching for answers.
This season no area team wants the football season to begin more than Downingtown West. As fast as they can get a victory, they hope to expunge the bitter taste in their mouths that life and football left them with in 2021.
And Downingtown West has the tools to make this another one of the Whippets successful seasons under the only head coach the school has ever had in Mike Milano. The Whippets head man is excited for junior quarterback Quinn Henicle, an enormous offensive line, some good skill players and a tough-as-nails defense.
Yes, the 2022 season should be one of redemption for the Whippets. If life is fair, Downingtown West should be on the right side of those last minute losses, and the balls that did not bounce their way in 2021 should cradle in the warm hands of a Whippets player this fall.
The big thing about the 2021 season and the 5-5 record was the way the Whippets players and coaches handled the off-the-field real world tragedy of losing a young man, and the on-field losses.
The Whippets, to a man, held their heads high and just kept on fighting and pushing forward. They did not bemoan their tragic luck, they just kept battling. They were not talking too loud this past offseason, but you can bet they cannot wait for the season to begin and to get that bitter taste of 2021 out of their mouths and settle some scores.
The events of the 2021 season, on and off the field, were something no young man should have to endure. but it is what it is and the Whippets are stronger because of it. They did not shrink or cry about their fate. I do not know how the 2022 Downingtown West season is going to play out on the football field but I will guess the Whippets cannot wait for things to begin and to forge a new history.
They were knocked down on and off the field in 2021 and are ready to knock someone else down in 2022. It is what young men who are wiser and more mature than their years do. Just get up, dust yourself off and keep fighting. It is the only way they know and we can all learn from it.
