The Downingtown West defense went into the locker room last week against Bishop Shanahan looking to tighten things up.
The result was a second half shutout.
When the Whippets went into halftime with a clean sheet on Friday night against Coatesville, the message wasn’t much different — and they dominated again.
Downingtown West rode a strong start to a 33-0 win, extending their shutout streak to six quarters and staying unbeaten in the Ches-Mont XX Division.
“We came out thinking it was 0-0 and we came out and did our thing,” senior defensive lineman Brian Carter said.
“Honestly, just sticking to our basics, running our basic defense,” he added. We’re not really doing too much. We’ve been sticking to that.”
Downingtown West (7-2) dominated both sides through 24 minutes of play. The Whippets outgained Coatesville (7-2), who was without starting quarterback Matt Ortega Jr. due to injury, 212-17.
Running back Amari Cannon scored from 36 yards out on the first Whippets drive to spot them a 7-0 lead with 4:53 left in the first quarter. After a long pass from Bricker to Brendon Goode-Kimble got them down to the 1-yard line to end the first quarter, Cannon (24 carries, 74 yards, 2 TDs) punched in another score on the first play of the second.
Bricker found JD Weller for two touchdowns — from 36 yards and 11 yards — to give the Whippets a 26-0 lead at the break. Bricker completed 7-of-7 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
“We had probably the hardest week of practice of the season,” said Weller, who caught five passes for 128 yards and two scores. “Our coaches were not taking this team lightly at all. We were going best on best all week just trying to prepare ourselves the best we could. It worked out in the first half. A little slow in the second half, but we got the job done and that’s all that matters.”
Coatesville’s defense settled in in the second half, holding forcing 3-and-outs on three of Downingtown West’s first four drives of the second half. The Raiders kept the Whippets to fewer than 30 yards during that stretch before Jacob Barry punched in a four-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the game to cap an 11-play, 54-yard drive.
While the Whippets’ offense stalled, their defense may have been even better in the second half. The Raiders finished with negative yards on three of their five second half drives, finishing with minus-16 total yards in the second half.
For the second straight game, Downingtown West’s defensive line was dominant. Kyle Markley finished with two sacks, Carter had 1.5 sacks, and Barry added 0.5 sacks. Ryan Shoemaker and Zac Cottone picked off passes for the Whippets, both in the first half.
“That’s a big factor, getting that pressure starts to help the guys in the back and keep everything smooth and nice,” Carter said. “That’s why we leave donuts on the board.”
After filling in for Ortega Jr. during last week’s loss to Downingtown East, Jahsier Bryant made his first varsity start for Coatesville. The Raiders couldn’t get their rushing attack to get things going, and penalties and fumbles put them behind the sticks to make things difficult.
“We put Jahsier in a tough spot,” Coatesville coach Matt Ortega said. “This is only his first start, and we couldn’t take the pressure off him running the football. We needed to run the football to put him in some good situations, and that didn’t happen. Hats off to them. I thought they played great defensively.
“We were a little dismantled early on defense, but I thought we tightened it up and played good in the second half, but we just didn’t generate enough on offense to keep us in the game.”
After starting the season 7-0 and averaging more than 38 points per game during its first seven games, Coatesville has dropped two in a row in consecutive shutouts to Downingtown East and West.
The Raiders are out of the mix in the Ches-Mont National race, but they are still No. 5 in the District 1 power rankings, hoping to lock down one of the top eight seeds for a home opener with a win over Bishop Shanahan next week.
“We gotta get better in all three phases going into next week. We’ve got a lot to play for. We’ve gotta win to get a home game in the playoffs and we gotta come out and get better this week, and stay together and keep working hard and take it one game at a time.”
Downingtown West’s victory and rival Downingtown East’s 35-26 win over Bishop Shanahan sets up a Ches-Mont National championship next week at Walter E. Kottmeyer Stadium.
While the Whippets are the reigning District 1 champions, they will look to secure their first outright league title since 2013 with a win.
“It’s very exciting,” Weller said. “It’s probably the thing we’re looking forward to the most. The district championship last year was nice, but the Ches-Mont is just something different, being the best in the area.”
Downingtown West 7 19 0 7-33
Coatesville 0 0 0 0-0
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
DW: Amari Cannon 36 run (Mason Sharp kick) 4:53
Second Quarter
DW: Amari Cannon 1 run (kick blocked) 11:59
DW: JD Weller 36 pass from Cole Bricker (Mason Sharp) 7:36
DW: JD Weller 11 pass from Cole Bricker (kick blocked) 1:14
Third Quarter
None
Fourth Quarter
DW: Jacob Barry 4 run (Mason Sharp kick) 0:51
Team Statistics
…………………….DWest………………CV
1st downs………..16…………………0
rush-yds……….39-107……….22-(-3)
comp-att-int….9-13-0…………..2-7-2
pass yds……….187………………4
total yds…………194……………….1
fumb-lost……..0-0………………2-0
pen-yds…………2-20…………..7-72
Individual Statistics
Rushing:
Downingtown West: Amari Cannon 24-72, 2 TDs; Cole Bricker 4-16; Max Wolfington 3-11; Jacob Barry 5-9, TD; Marcus McComsey 1-0; Max Levey 1-8; Ryan Shoemaker 2-(-1).
Coatesville: Andrew Watson 12-27; Jahseir Bryant 6-(-28); Sage Bradshaw 4-(-2).
Passing:
Downingtown West: Cole Bricker 9-13, 187 yards, 2 TDs.
Coatesville: Sage Bradshaw 1-1, 4 yards; Jahsier Bryant 1-6, 0 yards, INT.
Receiving:
Downingtown West: JD Weller 5-128, 2 TDs; Brendon Goode-Kimble 3-43; Amari Cannon 1-18.
Coatesville: Nicholas Christino 1-4; Andre Watson 1-0.
Interceptions: Downingtown West: Ryan Shoemaker, Zac Cottone
Sacks: Downingtown West: Kyle Markley 2, Brian Carter 1.5, Jacob Barry 0.5.
One Response
Way to go Whippets!! Let’s keep going all the way