Downingtowns dominate first half in Ches-Mont League

It’s time for the annual midseason report, and we may be in the midst of the best season of Downingtown football since the Whippets won the Class AAAA state title in 1996.

Nineteen years later, the school district is split and East (5-0) and West (5-0) have set the bar in the Ches-Mont League, and even District 1, through the first half of the season.

The most comparable season is 2009, when the Whippets and Cougars went 9-1 in the regular season and shared the league title with Avon Grove. As if the schedule-makers knew the potential of these squads in 2015, the “Battle of the Brandywine” is set for a week 10 grand finale.

There is much to get through before then, however. West enters the second half of the season as the current No. 1 seed in District 1 4A, with East 30 points behind. The Whippets knocked off Coatesville (4-1), 31-16, last week and will be favored in their next four contests leading up to East. West has outscored opponents 195-67 and is averaging 394.8 yards of offense per game.

The Cougars are no slouch scoring points either, totaling 187 points, but their defense is arguably their better side. East has shut out opposing offenses the past two games, surrendering just 27 total rush yards in those contests. East has 18 sacks and has forced 11 turnovers, both tops in the area.

A trip to Coatesville next Friday looms for East, who tangles with West Chester Henderson (1-4) tonight. The Red Raiders are tied for 11th in the district standings after taking their first regular season loss last week since the 2013 season finale, also against West.

Coatesville does not have the depth of talent it’s had in the past few seasons, but there is still plenty of skill to make noise into November. Jordan Young has two 100-yard games on the ground this season and younger brothers, Aaron Young (385 rush yards, seven touchdowns) and Avery Young (17 receptions, 260 yards, three TDs) are in the top 10 in the area in their respective categories.

In an intriguing interleague game in week 10, Coatesville hosts West Chester Rustin, which will likely have playoff implications for both teams. At 3-2, it’d be easy to say Rustin is having a down year. That’s only by comparing this year to the Golden Knights’ previous seven campaigns in which they lost no more than once each regular season.

Rustin may not look like its old self, but it is still very much in the playoff picture at No. 21. Tomorrow’s contest against 5-0 Great Valley will dictate Rustin’s second half of the season. A win against the Patriots, which has happened eight straight seasons, and the Golden Knights head to the Coatesville game with three teams with a combined record of 2-13 in between. A loss to Great Valley and that Coatesville game may be a do-or-die game for Rustin.

The American Division’s lead horse appears to be Unionville (3-2), who beat Rustin two weeks ago. The Indians had a challenging first half against five opponents with a combined record of 19-6. The two losses were against two undefeated teams, Exeter and Downingtown East.

Getting three wins in the first half was huge for Unionville, who’s No. 9 in District 1. The Indians travel to Great Valley next Saturday, but their other four opponents in the second half have three wins combined.

Great Valley is No. 3 in 3A in District 1, and we will get a look at who the Patriots really are the next two weeks against Rustin and Unionville. The Patriots’ first five opponents are a combined 4-20, so while the defending District 1 3A champs have looked good, they’ve hardly been tested. Regardless, Great Valley is a pretty safe bet to be back in the 3A playoffs.

Also in the top eight of the 3A standings is No. 6 Bishop Shanahan (3-2). A Ches-Mont team has won a 3A playoff game in each of the past three seasons, and Shanahan has at times looked like a team who could make a run in this year’s bracket.

The achilles heel for the Eagles has been turnovers. In their two losses — to Germantown Academy and Penn Charter — they’ve turned the ball over seven times. An impressive 27-6 win over Henderson last week sets the Eagles up for a much more difficult second half. Shanahan travels to West tonight and then has consecutive match ups against Downingtown East and Coatesville in weeks eight and nine.

If Shanahan can pull off a win against one of the big three, it would all but seal a playoff berth. Losses to all three would set up a week 10 date with Avon Grove in a battle of quarterbacks who were Red Devil teammates last year. Going 5-5 could still get the Eagles into the playoffs, but there are currently 13 3A teams with three or less losses in the district.

Conestoga (3-2) sits tied with Rustin at No. 21 in the playoff ranks. The Pioneers are looking for a second straight playoff berth, but have four teams with winning records in the next five weeks. Senior Corey Manning leads the area with 662 rushing yards, but ‘Stoga will have to find a passing game to knock off some of the Central League’s finest.