Freeman has Chester off and running

CHESTER >> Chester High coach LaDontay Bell said the Clippers’ had a simple game plan for their nonleague matchup with Reading High at Chester Athletic Field Saturday morning.

“We wanted to stick with our running game,” Bell said. “The focus this week was on running the football.”

After calling passing plays on his team’s first two snaps, Bell entrusted the first carry of the contest to senior Devan Freeman, who shortly afterward was handing the ball to field judge Chip Walsh at the back of the end zone after sprinting 45 yards for the first six points in Chester’s 30-13 victory.

The Clippers improved to 2-3 after opening with three losses in a row, while the Red Knights fell to 0-4.
Freeman, who missed a couple of series after being banged up in the first half, would end up with 14 rushing chances, picking up 160 yards and helping Chester roll up 340 yards on the ground.

His third-quarter scoring play was a thing of beauty. With each cut he made, he left a Reading player stretched out on the turf as he ran for 71 yards and six points on the Clippers’ first play from scrimmage after the Red Knights came up empty on a 13-play drive that lasted more than six minutes.

The second Freeman TD gave Chester a 24-13 advantage. The Clippers got the ball just as the fourth quarter began and took nine plays to cover 81 yards with Cahron Wilmore (10 carries, 87 yards) getting gains of 13 and 22 yards for first downs. Lahneir McBride picked up the last four yards for the game’s final touchdown.

“Our (offensive) linemen are getting better each week,” Bell said. “We want them to keep improving and to keep on having fun.”

“Last week we got our first win, and this week we wanted to build on that. Now we know we have to keep up that momentum when we start playing Del Val League games (Friday at Glen Mills).”

Freeman just smiled when asked about the shiftiness he displayed on his second-half scoring run.

“The coaches have told me about getting vertical,” he said, about his ability to point himself toward the goal line and not stop until he finds it. “I’ve learned some things in the drills we run at practice.

“We played a tougher team this week, and we knew we’d have to be able to run if we wanted to beat them.”

Freeman directed plaudits toward Darnell Jones, Khalid Watkins, Ian Jones, Tahmir Wilmore, Keischann King and Nijhee Fassett for the work they did in the trenches on the Clippers’ 57 offensive plays.

Defensively, sophomore linebacker Aasim Muhammad had a couple of big tackles for losses in the first half, including a quarterback sack inside the Reading 5 late in the first half that forced the Red Knights to punt from the end zone.

Tahiaj Cooper-Lundy and Malik Langley chipped in with Chester interceptions, and Tylee Williams-Clark blocked a Reading punt in the first half.

“The coaches just tell me to play my position and be where I’m supposed to be,” Muhammad said. “Some people doubted us, but we’re a different program now.

“We want to be ready for the Del Val League games we’ll be playing now.”

Nothing would make Coach Bell happier than to have his team go on a run to begin league play.