CALN – Coatesville proved they are the true No. 1 seed after they flexed its offensive muscles on Haverford High School on Friday night.
The unbeaten Red Raiders (11-0) manhandled Havertown in a convincing 35-12 win in the first round of the District 1 Class AAAA playoffs.
Coatesville’s offensive muscle will be challenged by Ches-Mont National Division rival West Chester Henderson next Friday. Coatesville won their last match-up in week eight by a score of
21-3.
“It’s going to be a great game,’ said Ortega. “We did a pretty good job defending them the first time but we are smart enough to know that they are going to try to do some things a little
differently so hopefully we will be able to counter that.’
Coatesville quarterback Jordan Young, coming off a career game last week aginst Downingtown West, impressed once again, throwing for three touchdowns and running for two — picking up 240 yards passing.
“I think I did pretty well, but I need to keep working, especially on my fundamentals and keep getting better each week,’ said Young.
Coatesville coach Matt Ortega added his thoughts on his quarterback’s performance.
“He’s human, like everybody else,’ said Ortega simply on a more standard night for Young. “He made plays and throws in the first half that put us up. He overthrew a few guys but that’s going to happen.’
Young, who was sacked only once, gave a lot of credit to his offensive line and his receivers.
“The offensive line blocked great for me,’ he said. “They (the offensive line) keep getting better each week. My receiving corps did a great job running crisp routes. They got past defenders and I found them wide open.’
Setting up his touchdowns was running back Jalen Hudson, who ran for 85 yards on 18 carries in the first half.
Hudson, like his quarterback, gave praise to his men up front for setting up running holes.
“I believe I did pretty well, (but) my o-linemen did all the work for me,’ he said. “I just try running behind them. have to give it all to the o-line.’
Ortega added that Haverford’s defensive front setup helped make the running game effective.
“He (Hudson) did a great job. They were giving us a five-man box because they were trying to cover our wideouts,’ said Ortega. “The run game was there, he ran hard and made some good cuts.’
Haverford’s (7-4) offense was kept in check, only finding themselves in the red zone only three times.
The first time was with three minutes left in the first quarter when Haverford quarterback Jack Donaghy dropped back to pass and found the hands of Coatesville linebacker Nick Tucci. Jay Stocker and Stevie Pugh added interceptions as well.
Haverford’s only scores came at the end of each half. Donaghy found wide receiver Dan Boyle for a 5-yard touchdown pass with one minute left in the first half. The second was punched in by running back Kevin Maloney from the one with three minutes remaining in the fourth.
The Fords’ interim coach Jack O’Donnell was pleased with his kids despite the loss.
“Our players did what we asked them to do,’ he said. “They gave a good accounting for themselves and played really hard. It’s a tough situation, but we are very proud of our kids
tonight.’
