CALN – In a huge Ches-Mont League National Divsion football game Friday, Coatesville sent a very loud and emphatic warning to the other Class AAAA schools in District 1.
The Red Raiders completely dominated West Chester Henderson, limiting them to 161 yards of total offense and eight first downs as Coatesville jumped to the top of the National Division heap with a convincing 21-3 triumph.
“We heard about how Henderson was the most physical team in the league and tonight, they could not do anything against us,’ Coatesville defensive lineman Amir Ealey said. “We feel we are the most physical team and we like to get in the first punch and that is what we did tonight. We have a total team defense and if one guy does not make the play, we have a lot of other guys who like to run to the football.’
Coatesville (4-0 Ches-Mont, 8-0 overall) got things going right away, taking the opening kickoff and driving 59 yards in 10 plays for the first score. The Red Raiders used the short passing game of Jordan Young, who was 21 of 25 for 209 yards and a touchdown on the night, to drive the Henderson (3-1, 6-2) defense crazy. Young hit Keenan Coleman seven times for 111 yards and also got Ealey and Jay Stocker involved in the attack.
Combined with the running of Jalen Hudson, Coatesville reached the Henderson 3-yard line before Young called his own number to take a 7-0 witha little over five minutes left in the first.
Henderson came right back and drove down the field, using the option attack to get close to the Coatesville goalline. But the drive stalled and Ryan Angle hit a 26-yard field goal to close the gap to 7-3. That would be all the scoring for the Warriors for the evening.
Coatesville used big games from Ricky Southcott, who intercepted a pass, Ealey and Akhema Evans to completely shut down the Warriors’ offense.
“That was a very dominating performance from a very, very good football team,’ Henderson head coach Steve Mitten said. “They did what they wanted and did not let us do what we wanted. They are 8-0 for a reason and they are very well coached. We have to regroup now and get some help from Downingtown West and West Chester East to get a piece of the title.’
The game took very big turn early in the second period when quarterback Matt Dinacci was stripped of the football by Southcott at the Henderson 15 with Nick Tucci making the recovery. Two plays later, Young went up the middle from the nine for a 14-3 lead and Henderson was reeling.
Without an effective passing game, the Warriors, who completed only two passes for 15 yards, were kept one dimensional as Coatesville loaded up the box and dared Henderson to beat them. The Warriors could not open enough holes, and except for Tre Green’s 45-yard scamper in the fourth, their running attack was largely bottled up.
“We knew Henderson was a good team,’ Evans said. “But our coaches had us prepared for their option very well. We worked and worked on it every day and tonight, we made a statement.’
That stement grew louder early in the fourth as Young hit Coleman with a 37-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-3 with a little over 10 minutes to play.
“I mean you look up in our stands and they are packed and the community supports us so much,’ Coatesville coach Matt Ortega said. “There are not many towns left like Coatesville and this program is something. The names change but the kids all have pride and want to keep it going. The community is great and we put education first and then we come out and play football in front of all these people and it is just a special.’
