Downingtown West drops Kennett

Downingtown >> Whatever Downingtown West’s pregame ritual is, they should stick to it. In their first-four games, the Whippets have outscored their opponent 89-11 in the first quarter. That includes a 41-point opening frame on Friday night at Kottmeyer Stadium that led to a 61-20 Ches-Mont nonleague crossover drubbing over Kennett.

“It’s a good win,” West’s coach Mike Milano said. “I’m proud of the way we played tonight. We have been able to get off to some good starts to begin the season and that’s nice to see.”

It didn’t take long for the Whippets (4-0) to impose their will. After forcing the Blue Demons to go three-and-out on the game’s first possession, the home team scored on its first-offensive play.

Quarterback Thomas Mattioni dropped back and floated a beautiful ball down the left seam, connecting with wide receiver Nate Alleyne for the 62-yard score.

“I saw the safety drop down so I just threw it up there because I knew he would be open,” Mattioni said. “I thought our offense did a really good job.”

It was the first of the senior’s three touchdown passes.

After another Blue Demons punt, West marched 53 yards in 69 seconds. They extended their lead to 13-0 when Mattioni hooked up with running back Jake Barr on a 22-yard touchdown pass.

The senior finished with 53 rushing yards, 55 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

“It was a team effort,” Barr said. “We all did our job and tried to make plays.”

After their starting running back Mike Riddick exited the game with an apparent leg injury, his replacement Braden Harper made it 20-0 on a one-yard run up the middle. Harper led the team with four touchdowns – – three rushing and one on a fumble recovery on defense.

“He’s such a selfless player,” Milano said. “He’s one of our best players on defense and he stepped up and helped us when Mike (Riddick) went out.”

Kennett (1-3) finally got on the scoreboard at the end of the first quarter. Myles Robinson showcased his speed when he received a pitch from quarterback Nick Dunlevy and took it down the right sideline for the 75-yard score.

“My line did most of the work, once I got out into space I was able to explode up the field,” Robinson said.

The junior running back finished with 117 yards and two touchdowns.

When it was all said and done, West possessed a 41-8 lead after the first-12 minutes. The combined 49 points set a Kottmeyer Stadium record of most points in a single quarter. (The previous record was 41, reached twice)

Their 54-14 lead at halftime also set a stadium record for most points scored by a single team in the half.

West’s defense was equally impressive. In the first half they forced six three-and outs, two sacks, and two turnovers.

Next week Kennett returns home against Octorara on Friday at 7 p.m. and Downingtown West hosts traditional rival Coatesville on Saturday at 7 p.m.

DW — N. Allyne 62 pass from Mattioni (kick fail)

DW — Barr 22 pass from Mattioni (Biscardi kick)

DW — Harper 1 run (Biscardi kick)

K — Robinson 75 run (Dunlevy pass)

DW — Barr 90 return (Biscardi kick)

DW — Harper 32 fumble return (Biscardi kick)

DW — Harper 7 run (Biscardi kick)

DW — Harper 10 run (kick fail)

K — Robinson 29 run (pass fail)

DW — Burke 43 pass from Mattioni (Biscardi kick)

No scoring

DW — B. Williams 30 pass from Geiser (Biscardi kick)

K — Wessels 3 run (run fail)

KennettDowningtown West

First downs 6 16

Rushes-yards 21-138 30-219

Passing 12-22-2 7-12-0

Passing yards 137 225

Total yards 275 444

Punts 6-27.3 2-28.0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 4-30 4-45

Rushing — Kennett: Robinson 7-117, TD, Dunlevy 9-24, Wessels 2-4, TD, Finfrock 3-(-7). Downingtown West: Riddick 2-20, Harper 9-63, 3 TD, Barr 4-53, TD, Mattioni 1-4, Willenbrock 1-7, Kyriakos 1-2, Mitchell 1-10, Costello 5-37, I. Alleyne 1-6, Voss 3-4, Woodward 2-13.

Passing — Kennett: Dunlevy 12-22-2, 137 yds. Downingtown West: Mattioni 5-7-0, 175 yds., 3 TD, Geiser 2-5-0, 50 yds., TD, Wetzel 0-0-0, 0 yds.

Receiving — Kennett: Tomasetti 2-30, Boyle 2-28, Perigo 4-19, Finfrock 2-32, Robinson 1-5, Wessels 1-23. Downingtown West: N. Alleyne 2-77, TD, Barr 2-55, TD, Burke 1-43, TD, WIlliams 2-50, TD.

Interceptions — Kennett: none. Downingtown West: Richard, I. Alleyne.

Sacks — Kennett: Wessels, Cairns. Downingtown West: Hammond, Harper, Sarmento.