To run in the November 19th Bucks County Herald
Bucknell-signee Louie Cipollo ran for three touchdowns and set up a fourth as host #2 CB West (11-1) outscored archrival #10 CB East 44-21 Friday night in a raw District One 6A quarterfinal.
The quicksilver Cipollo’s 18-yard counter two minutes into the game put West up 6-0.
“All three scores were the same play. I can’t say the play,” Cipollo smiled, “but we ran it multiple times tonight. My O line blocked it excellently every time and the hole was wide open.”
East (7-5) re-gained a 7-6 lead on the next drive when Mike Price took a 4th and one 35 yards to the house. West got new life on their subsequent drive when quarterback Ethan Stonebeck converted a 4th and 1 that was set up by a running into the punter call. Cipollo scored on a 24-yard counter to put the Bucks up 13-7.
Defensively, the Bucks forced consecutive three-and-outs, getting short fields. They responded with Mason Darrows’ 46-yard field goal and a Nick Miletto 21-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 23-7.
“The field goal wasn’t that hard,” Darrows claimed. “It’s something we practice very well. We just executed it in the game. We felt no pressure and we got it down. The ball was a little harder but it’s the same ball I’ve been kicking for four years.”
Cornerback Darrows also made a big tackle for loss in the three-and-outs. “The way we’ve come back in close games,” he explained, “I think we’ve dug deep, got gritty and started looking at our keys.”
East struck again on fourth down; quarterback Hunter Pulford ran for a 42-yard score on fourth-and-two to trim the lead to 23-14.
It looked like that would be the halftime score but freshman Stonebeck hit Ashton Stass on a 35-yard bomb to the East-10 with 26 ticks left in the half. Stonebeck connected with Liam Laphen on a 10-yard score 18 seconds later and Miletto’s conversion made the score 31-14.
East opened the half with a nine-minute drive, which ended when Shane McGuire recovered a fumble. Cipollo’s six-yard touchdown run made it 38-14; Cipollo’s 33-yard catch down to the Patriot-1 set up Stonebeck’s quarterback sneak three minutes later for West’s last score.
Liam Hoey raced 37 yards for a Patriot touchdown with 3:52 left to end the game’s scoring.
Cipollo had 99 yards on seven touches. Miletto led West with 158 yards on 15 carries; Braylen Cape added 57 yards on 11 lugs.
“It was a long week of practice with good preparation,” credited Buck right tackle Ely McGuire. “Every week at practice, we have to lock in on every single play and at the game, each play is six seconds of violence.
“The blocks aren’t any different. It doesn’t matter who we’re blocking for,” McGuire continued. “It’s 100% effort. We’re trying for a touchdown every play.”
Darrows booted six touchbacks, helping his defense with field position. “That’s amazing,” lauded fellow defensive back Cipollo. “We have trust in him to get a touchback every time Some of our guys on defense play on kickoff. It’s great to almost give those guys a breather and we defended great field position all night.”
Pulford’s 101 yards on the ground were his season high. Standout Price ended his East career with 120 yards on 24 carries.
West ran for 314 yards when the Bucks defeated East 41-14 two weeks ago. Miletto and Braylen Cape both rushed for over 200 yards- and both went over 1,100 for the season in the process- in the Bucks’ wild 56-42 first round win over #15 Perkiomen Valley.
The 42 points that West yielded to the Vikings was the same number of points they surrendered in their final five combined regular season games.
East’s 28-7 dominance of Ridley in the first round earned them their first District quarterfinal appearance in 21 years. The Patriots boast their own 2,000 yard backfield with Price (1528) and Hoey (778).
I am really proud of this team and how far we’ve come,” said East head coach John Donnelly. “I don’t think a lot of people would have projected us to be in the Elite Eight. We played a very good football team tooth and nail. This team made history: only two CB East teams have won a playoff game.
“We’re proud of the grit and fortitude they’ve shown during the season,” Donnelly concluded.
#11 Council Rock South (8-3) will bring their six-game winning streak into War Memorial against West in next Friday’s semi-final.