West Chester East explodes for 3 long TD runs in 1st half for 26-0 win
West Goshen – West Chester East head coach Scott Stephen was impressed by the Vikings’ first-half explosiveness Thursday evening.
“We started off the game really fast, moving our feet, getting off our blocks, creating lanes on the edge,” said the second-year West Chester East head coach, whose squad improved to 2-0 with a 26-0 win against visiting Pottstown.
That early explosiveness lit the spark for three long touchdown runs in the first half, two by senior running back Pierre Marchant (47 and 81 yards) and one by junior running back Kyle Cichanowsky (64 yards)
By halftime, Marchant had 174 rushing yards on only eight carries, Cichanowsky had 98 yards on seven carries, and the hosts held a 19-0 lead.
In the second half, the dynamic duo cooled off, combining for 12 yards on nine carries after halftime.
“The flow of the game was kind of choppy,” said Stephen. “We were behind the chains [unfavorable down-and-distance situations] three times in the second quarter, and if we’re going to move forward, that’s something we need to clean up fast.”
The Vikings got off to a fast start Thursday evening, as Marchant’s 47-yard run up the middle less than five minutes into the game gave the hosts a 7-0 lead.
“I followed the right tackle, and got a lot of help from our blockers up front,” said Marchant. “Our wide receivers also held their blocks and helped me score that touchdown.”
Pottstown then got the ball and went three-and-out, punting for the first of five times in the first half.
Two plays later, Cichanowsky found a hole up the middle for a 64-yard touchdown that gave the hosts a 13-0 lead with 5:32 left in the first quarter.
Stephen said, “Pierre and Kyle both had nice games [running], and we’re starting to get an identity, I think.”
In the second quarter, the hosts struggled with poor field position, but Marchant helped to pull East out of a jam just before halftime. With three minutes to go before the halftime break, Pottstown had West Chester East pinned at its own 21 yard line, on 3rd and 1, but Marchant found a hole up the middle and broke free for an 81-yard touchdown run to put the hosts ahead 19-0 at the half.
“It was a play where I go up behind the center,” said Marchant. “I got a lot of help up front, and a great block from [senior tackle] Braeden Legenstein.”
After halftime, Pottstown’s defense did a better job of keeping West Chester East off the scoreboard.
“I thought we came out and played a much more physical game [defensively] in the second half,” said Pottstown head coach Mark Fischer. “We hung in there tough, and that’s what we [the coaching staff] are looking for. We went in at halftime and made some adjustments.”
On two separate drives in the second quarter, Pottstown had the ball deep into West Chester East territory, as Trojan sophomore quarterback Josiah Wiggins completed several passes to junior wide receiver Nehemiah Figueroa, and ran for a few sizable gains himself. But each time, Pottstown came up empty in the scoring department.
“We had some opportunities early in the game down in the red zone, but we made mistakes that we’re going to correct, we just couldn’t seem to get it going [offensively] tonight,” said Fischer. “Give West Chester East credit, they played good defense against us.”
Midway through the third quarter, Pottstown sophomore running back Jon Olster broke free for a 35 yard gain down the left sideline down to the West Chester East 20 yard line. Three plays later, though, a Pottstown fumble into the end zone was recovered by the Vikings for a touchback.
Early in the fourth quarter, West Chester East senior quarterback Ryan Cassidy lofted a 31-yard pass down the right sideline to senior wide receiver Michael Gray, who made a fine leaping catch at the Pottstown 2 yard line. Three plays later, Cassidy snuck it into the end zone to make it 26-0.
Next up for the 2-0 Vikings is West Chester Rustin, which defeated West Chester Henderson 48-0 Thursday.
For the Trojans, the game was hopefully a learning experience.
Fischer said, “For us, the important thing is to learn from this game, watch film, and prepare for next week against Kutztown, and get better.”
