Downingtown East outlasts Avon Grove to wrap up 9-1 season
LONDON GROVE – It was the de facto battle for second place in the Ches-Mont National on Friday, which shows how far the Avon Grove football program has come, while also illustrating just close Downingtown East was to toppling powerful Coatesville a week earlier.
In the end, the visiting Cougars won it, 35-25, to end the regular season at 9-1 (5-1 in the division). But it certainly wasn’t easy against the upstart, upset-minded Red Devils.
“It wasn’t just us not playing great, (Avon Grove) played well,” said East head coach Mike Matta. “We made some key errors and did some dumb things. I am actually a little disappointed in how we played.”
With senior like Kevin Francis, Tyler Boyd, Dylan Lapham and Shane Wolford leading the way on Senior Night, Avon Grove gave the Cougars – ranked fifth in the latest Pa, PrepLive Top-20 – all they could handle. The Devils’ season ends at 5-5 overall, and an even more respectable 4-2 in the Ches-Mont National.
“(Avon Grove) has it going the right way, so you have to give the credit to (head coach) Harry (O’Neill) and his guys,” Matta said.
“We are 4-2 in the division and I don’t think this program had four wins in the division in the last five or six years combined,” O’Neill added. “Finishing third and going toe-to-toe with Downingtown East gives us something to build on.”
Both sides fell to Coatesville this season, but it was the Cougars who surrendered a one-point lead in the final seconds a week earlier. It was a punch to the gut, but East regrouped on Friday thanks to a punishing ground game that gobbled up 367 yards and featured three runners with each going over 100 yards.
“I think these kids are a lot more resilient than adults are. I don’t think that was a problem,” Matta said.
The Cougars move on to the District 1 Playoffs, but won’t learn their fate until Sunday.
“It was tough to recover from a tough loss, but we still feel like (East and Coatesville) are the two best teams in District 1,” said senior defensive end Joey Janik, who had a pair of sacks. “This was a good test for us going into the playoffs. But I think we know if we play like this with turnovers and stuff, we will be going home early.”
Ahead by eight, Downingtown East coughed up the football on the kickoff to start the second half. The Cougars then compounding things by roughing the kicker on a field goal attempt. A few plays later, Devils’ bruising runner Kevin Francis scored on a short run to slice the lead to 21-19.
“We turned the ball over in crucial situations,” Matta said. “We fumble it away on the kickoff and then we stop them, but then we turn around the rough the kicker.”
With its back to the wall, East responded with a pair of ground-based scoring drives to regain command. Tim Aivado scored on a 10-yard run for the first and quarterback Bryce Laudetta found receiver Jack Riley for a short TD pass on the second, to finish off a 16-play, 80-yard march.
“We’re big and tough, (Avon Grove is) big and tough, so it was important we showed up with the running game,” said Aivado, who ran for 108 yards on 18 attempts.
With just under five minutes on the clock, Francis scored again, this time on a 12-yard screen from Wolford, to cut the lead to 10. But Riley recovered the onside kick and the Devils never saw the football again.
“I was just hoping we could stand in there and slug with them,” O’Neill said. “And I think from a physicality standpoint, we played about as well as we can play.
“Where we were in August and where we stand right now, it’s amazing to me. I’ve never been a part of a football team that grew so much in a 10-week season. We compete on every single play.”
In addition to Aivedo, Brassir Stocker rolled up 120 rushing yards with two TDs, and teammate Garvey Jonassaint chipped in with 112.
“We have three different style backs: we have power, balance and speed. And we have a monster offensive line,” said Aivedo, who added that he represents power in that threesome.
“They all run a little different,” Matta explained. “By design we don’t want to wear guys out like we’ve done in the past. I’m happy with the way we are running it.”
Jonassaint put the Cougars ahead late in the opening quarter with a 20-yard scoring run, but the PAT failed. That enabled the Devils to take a one-point lead on the next possession after Boyd scored on a 28-yard shovel-pass from Wolford.
East regained the lead with a 10-play, 80-yard march, culminated by a 26-yard run by Stocker. And it looked like Avon Grove would bounce right back when Boyd returned the ensuing kickoff 73 yards, but Francis coughed it up inside the Cougars’ 10.
And East made the Devils pay. Following a series of big plays, Stocker went the final 30 to cap a 91-yard drive and open a 21-13 lead. The Devils bounced back to cut the margin to 21-13 at the half when Lapham forced a Lauletta fumble at midfield, and senior linebacker Dillon Estes grabbed it in the air and rumbled the other way to the end zone.
“This was a physical test,” Matta said. “I think Avon Grove is the best of the rest behind Coatesville and us.”
Playing in the final game of his career, Francis ran for 112 yards on 25 carries, and finishes the season with 1,818 yards on 285 attempts.
“He puts his head down,” Janik said. “He’s a workhorse and he’s hard to bring down.”
Boyd had five catches for 73 yards, Lapham added four grabs for 75 yards, and Wolford was 12-for-15 for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
“I decided I’d put it on the backs of those four guys and see what happens,” O’Neill said. “Wolford played an outstanding game. He is so underrated and I wish people would realize he is a really good quarterback.”
