In final tune-up, Coatesville blasts Shanahan 41-17

CALN – In its final tune-up before facing unbeaten Downingtown West, the Coatesville football squad fine-tuned its way to a never-in-doubt 41-17 victory over visiting Bishop Shanahan on Friday.

It wasn’t perfect, and the Eagles scored a pair of late touchdowns to make it look more respectable. But the Red Raiders are getting healthier, especially star quarterback Ricky Ortega, and that meant a highly productive day for the Coatesville offense.

“Ricky is the backbone of their team, and tonight he looked as healthy as he’s looked for a while,” said Shanahan head coach Paul Meyers. “When he’s good you can just see how their offense generates.”

Coming back from a nagging toe injury, Ortega connected with standout receiver Dapree Bryant for three touchdowns, and the Raiders running attack added another 254 yards, including 127 in the first half from emerging sophomore runner Ashon Wesley.

“Our defense and special teams have carried us for the first part of the year and I think our offense is getting hot right now,” said Coatesville head coach Matt Ortega.

“It was a rough start in the first half. We jumped on the kids a little bit and after that we pretty much dominated from that point on. It’s great to come out and take care of business.”

Now 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the Ches-Mont National, the Raiders have won six straight heading into next Friday’s clash at Kottmeyer Stadium against the 8-0 Whippets.

“It’s great to be in a big game like this so late in the season,” Matt Ortega said. “We knew going in that it was going to come down to the end of the season.”

The Eagles (0-3, 4-4) were number three in the District 1 4A power rankings heading into Friday.

“We will be battle-tested,” Meyers said. “Playing teams like Coatesville and Downingtown West, when we get into the 4A playoffs we will not see anybody of that caliber.”

It was Senior Night at Coatesville for 26 playing in their final regular season home game, including both Ortega and Bryant. Ortega went 19-for-29 for 199 yards, and Bryant caught seven passes for 117 yards.

“We are definitely starting to click on both sides of the ball. Teams can’t just focus on me now that Ricky is 100 percent,” Bryant said.

“This was a huge win going into Downingtown West,” Ricky Ortega added. “We are really looking forward to that one.

“We came out a little slow but finished strong.”

The Raider set the tone early with a nine-play, 65-yard drive, capped off by a four-yard scoring toss from Ortega to Bryant. The two then hooked up again for a 52-yard TD early in the second.

Coatesville added two more touchdowns in the final 2:10 of the first half. Junior Dametrius McClain-Jackson ran the first in from 25 yards and Wesley found the end zone on a 38-yard run in the final minute.

“With 2:10 left, it was 13-3,” Meyers said. “That was the turning point of the game. But that’s what Coatesville does. They strike quick and that hurt us.”

Eagles’ quarterback Cooper Jordan connected with Garrett Glendenning for a 50-yard pass, which set up a 27-yard second quarter field goal by Connor Bailey, making it 27-3 at the intermission.

And it could have been worse. A 75-yard Bryant punt return was negated by a penalty and Ortega missed a wide open LeBron Bessick on what would have been a 34-yard TD strike. Both possessions ended on downs in Shanahan territory.

“It’s coming,” Ricky Ortega said. “This is football and you are going to have mistakes here and there. We will fix those and we won’t make those kinds of mistakes against (Downingtown) West.”

A blocked punt by the Raiders’ Frank Johnson led to a safety and then Ortega and Bryant connected on a 29-yarder to start the second half. And when McClain-Jackson notched his second TD on a 51-yard run, it was 41-3.

“I loved the way we were moving fast,” Ricky Ortega said. “We got up to the ball in the no huddle, and (Shanahan) couldn’t make any substitutions. Our tempo was huge for us tonight. It tires out defenses.”

The Eagles’ Simmi Whitehead and Zach DiProspero wrapped up the scoring with TDs in the final 4:13. But Coatesville limited Shanahan to just 38 yards on the ground and 173 yards of total offense.

And afterwards, it didn’t take the Raiders long to turn their attention to Downingtown West.

“I’m still not sure with Ricky going full-speed just yet, but hopefully next week he’ll be able to do that,” Matt Ortega said.

“It’s going to be a dogfight,” Bryant predicted. “I’m ready to play. We are used to having the target on our backs. We can go and prove to everybody who doubts us that they are wrong.”

Ricky Ortega said he was 100 percent, and added: “We’ve been waiting for this game forever. We are ready for them. This is probably the best Downingtown West team we’ve playing in my four years.”