Downingtown East remains unbeaten

WEST CHESTER >> If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, changing an entire offensive scheme for an opponent is utmost respect.

Downingtown East’s run defense has been downright dirty the past two weeks, and West Chester Henderson knew it. So, Warriors’ coach Steve Mitten broke out a spread offense full of quick, short passes, in hopes of opening up the Cougars’ fortress.

The Cougars may have been caught off guard, but they were simply too much for the host Warriors, and they stayed undefeated with a 42-7 Ches-Mont National Division win, Friday night.

The game was postponed 30 minutes due to lightning in the area, but the delay did not affect East’s front seven. The 33 rush yards by Henderson (0-3 division, 1-5 overall) were the most the Cougars (2-0, 6-0) have given up in the last three games, after surrendering 24 and three the previous two weeks, respectively.

“We have a very good defensive line,” East coach Mike Matta said. “They’re pretty good and so are our linebackers. We feel good about those guys and they played good run defense, but we didn’t rush the passer as well as I would have liked.”

Henderson attempted the most passes (36) by far in the Mitten era, and at first the strategy had East on its heels with the option offense on the back burner. Senior quarterback Matt Dinacci entered the game with 196 passing yards, completing 15 of 40 attempts this season. Against East, Dinacci completed 16 passes and tallied a career-high 213 yards, more than doubling his previous career best of 101.

But the Cougars forced seven punts and added four sacks, as they dialed up edge pressure that left Dinacci battered and bruised in the second half.

“I wasn’t surprised since they weren’t getting anything going on the ground,” said East lineman Will Kiely, who recorded 1.5 sacks and also caught a touchdown pass. “We figured they’d keep passing to get the score up and we just started running pass-rush plays.”

Kiely, along with fellow linemen Shane Hogarth, Chris Harootunian and Pat Matta, and linebackers Matt Boorman, Brody Wilson and Seth Davis have only given up three rushing touchdowns as a starting unit this season, all against North Penn.

Dinacci connected with Nick Mascetti for a 20-yard score in the second quarter to make it 14-7,  but Jack Kincade scored two of his three touchdowns in the first half and Saunders Healy ran and threw for two touchdowns to give East a 21-point lead at halftime.

“You gotta make adjustments against great teams and we had a little bit of success doing things we usually don’t do well,” Mitten said. “That’s due to the kind of defense and kind of program coach Matta runs. It’s a first-class outfit.”

Despite the final score, Henderson made East earn it for much of the game. The Cougars were turned away on a 4th-and-goal from the one and Dinacci put up the second most yards against East this season.

“We didn’t expect them to come out and throw the ball, but they had a great scheme and coach Mitten does a great job,” Matta said. “I was a little disappointed we weren’t able to adjust and they kind of threw the ball pretty well.”

East’s Dan Liaudaitis started the mercy rule with a 50-yard touchdown burst in the fourth quarter. Wilson and Noah Hahn recorded sacks, and Matt Boorman notched a half-sack and an interception.

The Cougars travel to Coatesville Friday to face a desperate Red Raiders team that has lost two in a row.

Scoring

DE- Healy 1 run (Brennan kick)

DE- Kincade 9 run (Brennan kick)

WCH- Mascetti 20 pass from Dinacci (Angle kick)

DE- Kiely 10 pass from Healy (Brennan kick)

DE- Kincade 2 run (Brennan kick)

DE- Kincade 5 run (Brennan kick)

DE- Liaudaitis 50 run (Brennan kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

DE WCH

First downs  21 14

Rush – yards  48-296 26-33

Passing yards  171 213

Total yards 467 246

Passing  13-21-0 16-36-1

Punts-Average  1-38 7-39.4

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 1-0

Penalties-Yards  3-27 6-46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: DE- Kincade 21-117, 3 TDs; Healy 12-75, TD; Liaudaitis 1-50, TD; Carpenter 7-29; Hammond-Green 2-15; Hanford 1-8; Aivado 3-3; team 1-(-1). WCH- Preston 11-25; Dinacci 10-22; Palmer 1-2; Mascetti 2-(-1); Saulino 1-(-6); team 1-(-9).

Passing: DE- Healy 13-21-0 171 yards, TD. WCH- Dinacci 16-36-1 213 yards, TD.

Receiving: DE- Harris 4-82; Hanford 4-27; Hammond-Green 2-27; Angeline 2-23; Kiely 1-10, TD. WCH- Rizzo 5-93; DePhillips 5-52; Mascetti 4-52; Greim 2-16.

Sacks: DE- Kiely 1.5, Wilson, Hahn, Boorman .5 WCH- DePhillips

Interceptions: DE- Boorman. WCH- none.