Running attack, defense leads Unionville past West Chester East

September 10, 2021

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By Neil Geoghegan

@NeilMGeoghegan on Twitter

EAST MARLBOROUGH >> What started off looking like a clash between high school football teams headed in opposite directions certainly played out on Friday at Unionville.

The host Longhorns improved to 3-0 with a dominating 35-14 win over winless West Chester East — and the final score really wasn’t indicative of how lopsided it was. In the first half alone, Unionville scored touchdowns on all of its offensive possessions, while the defense limited East to minus-one yard in total offense.

“I was very pleased with everybody,” said Longhorns’ head coach Pat Clark.

The ’Horns ran through, over and around the Vikings all evening, rolling up 197 yards on the ground and scoring five rushing TDs by four different runners. It was 35-0 when Clark emptied his bench and that’s when the Vikings managed to score a pair of late touchdowns.

“I thought our kids really did a nice job defensively – we controlled the line of scrimmage,” he pointed out. “Time of possession was in our favor and if (West Chester East) doesn’t have the ball, it makes it hard for them to score points.

“Plus our young guys got some good game experience. That’s how they get better. I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve been successful historically is that when we get the chance, we try to play our young kids.”

Unionville improves to 2-0 in the Ches-Mont American, and has allowed just 28 points in three games. For the second straight game, the Vikings did not have injured running back Mitch Ragni (concussion) and fell to 0-2, 0-3.

“Mitch is a heck of a player. We are hoping to get him back very soon,” said East defensive coordinator Gary Phillips.

“We also have another two-way starter out, but hey, everybody’s banged up at some point, and kids have to step up. Our effort has been there from day one – our issue is experience. We just have to keep playing.”

The ’Horns had a 219 to minus-one edge in total yards at halftime and led 28-0. Junior runner Joe King found the end zone twice, while quarterback Matt McCloskey and runner Ethan Bennink each added single TDs. The game’s first score – a six-yard run by King – came moments after a Bennink interception and return set up Unionville at the Vikings’ 13.

It’s interesting to note that the rest of the Longhorns’ scoring marches came on lengthy drives that included fourth down conversions on three occasions.

“We knew coming in that Unionville was going to run it and run it,” said Phillips, filling in for head coach Scott Stephens who had to leave immediately after the contest due to a family emergency. “I thought making them drive like we did was a positive. We had a couple fourth down opportunities to stop them, but we couldn’t get it done.

“Unionville was going to score, but we went into the game trying to keep them from getting big plays, and we did that.”

Longhorns senior Brendan D’Amico hit pay dirt to make it 35-0 late in the third period, and at that point East did not have a single pass completion and just one first down (via penalty). But the Vikings kept fighting.

A 50-yard pass from quarterback Ryan McIntire to sophomore wideout Tyler Wileczek set the stage for East’s first score: a 10-yard toss from McIntire to Wileczek. And then on the next possession, McIntire connected with junior receiver Brady Laird for a 58-yard strike.

“It was nice to see Ryan McIntire hit a couple guys in the second half,” Phillips said.

King led the way with 74 yards on 14 carries and Bennink added 68 on 11 tries. McCloskey was efficient in the passing game, targeting the 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end Nate Holt six times for 69 yards.

“(Holt) is a beast – we are always trying to find him ways to get him the ball. Good things happen when we do,” said Montgomery, who was 13-for-16.

“You can’t be one dimensional on offense, but I also think we’ve been good at taking what the defense gives us,” Clark added.

McIntire was 4-for-4 to end the game for 149 passing yards, but he misfired on his first seven attempts. The Longhorns limited East to just 15 rushing yards on 16 attempts for the game.

“The defense was really good today,” said Holt, who is also a valuable end on defense. “I would have liked to keep that zero up there on the scoreboard, but it’s great for development to get so many young guys in there.”

Unionville 35, West Chester East 14

W.C. East 0 0 0 14 – 14

Unionville 14 14 7 0 – 35

Scoring

U – King 6 run (Dym kick)

U – McCloskey 7 run (Dym kick)

U – King 1 run (Dym kick)

U – Bennink 7 run (Dym kick)

U – B. D’Amico 4 run (Dym kick)

WCE – Wileczek 10 pass from McIntire (Ramos kick)

WCE – Laird 58 pass from McIntire (Ramos kick)

Team Totals WCE U

First down 5 20

Yards rushing 15 197

Yards passing 149 140

Total yards 164 337

Passing 4-11-1 13-17-0

Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-0

Punts-ave. 5-25.6 2-42

Penalties-ave. 3-25 6-65

Individual statistics

Rushing – WCE: Steele 9-8; McIntire 2-(-9); Wanas 1-3; Wileczek 2-17; Nelson 1-2; Driscoll 1-(-6). U: King 14-74, 2TDs; Bennink 11-68, TD; McCloskey 9-32, TD; Schriver 1-2; D’Amico 2-5, TD; Tollen 4-7; Brawley 2-7; D’Iorio 1-2.

Passing – WCE: McIntire 4-11-1, 149 yards, 2TDs. U: McCloskey 13-16-0, 140 yards. Brawley 0-1.

Receiving – WCE: Greer 1-21; Wileczek 2-60, TD; Laird 1-58, TD. U: Knightley 1-8; Holt 6-69; Schriver 4-52; Roberts 1-8; Carello 1-3.

Sacks: Roberts (U).

Interceptions: Bennink (U).