Anthony Leonardi leads the way to CB South’s first District 1 championship, 27-7, over Downingtown West in 6A final

Written by: Joseph Santoliquito on Saturday, November 25th, 2023. Follow Joseph Santoliquito on Twitter.

Anthony Leonardi with the District 1 trophy

WARRINGTON, PA — The iconic sound of Frank Sinatra’s I Did It My Way boomed in the background of the Central Bucks South locker room as Anthony Leonardi waded through a parade of hugs and back slaps.

Led by the brilliant senior tailback, the Titans pulled off something not many in District 1 Class 6A thought possible in late August. Though here they were, Leonardi and his guys enjoying something that will resonate like their theme song playing in the background as CB South’s first-ever District 1 champion in football after a 27-7 victory over No. 6 seed Downingtown West on Friday night.

The Titans, the No. 5 seed, will now advance for the first time in the 19-year history of CB South to the PIAA Class 6A state semifinals where they will play the winner of defending state champion St. Joe’s Prep and District 11 champion Nazareth next week at a site and time to be determined.

It was Leonardi’s 79-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run that had broken open what had been a close game, and Corey Moore’s one-yard score was the final nail.

It’s the first CB South team to reach the District 1 championship in football, and now the first to be district champions. Prior to this year, the Titans (13-1) never got beyond the second round of the district playoffs.

Leonardi finished with a game-high 162 yards rushing on 15 carries, however, no run was more important possibly in his impressive high school career than the 79-yard burst through the middle of the field where he went practically untouched.

“I have no words to express how I’m feeling,” Leonardi said. “If you asked me this summer whether or not we would be district champs, I’m sure not what the answer would have been. We knew we would work hard and slowly but surely, we got better and better.

“We were aware of the history. We know we are the first CB South team to win the championship. We play Sinatra’s I Did It My Way after we win each home game.”

It works.

Like Leonardi’s offensive line of right tackle Collin Goetter, right guard Rolan Hess, center Nick Conte, left guard Nick Micewski, left tackle Keiran Padgett, and tight end Jake Menaker. That group paved the way to the district championship, along with the stellar defensive play of junior linebacker Jim Wade, playing with a cast on his arm, and defensive back Danny Gies, whose two fourth-quarter interceptions shut down any hopes of a late Downingtown West comeback.

“We felt pretty good at halftime in our ability to come out and continue to play good defense and get the running game going a little better,” Titans’ coach Tom Hetrick said. “That (79-yard) run with Anthony Leonardi was absolutely a backbreaker. It opened up and my O-line has played great all year long. My gosh, what a game, what a journey.

“After the Week 9 loss to CB West, we all sat in a room and said, if we continue to play our cards right and obsess over the next opponent, and the next opponent, we could put ourselves in a position to have that rematch with CB West (which CB South beat to reach the district finals). We were greatly looking to put ourselves in that position. We kept getting better. Our confidence continued to grow. I’m not surprised we made it here, and not surprised we won it.”

It looked as if CB South would take off with a 13-0 lead with 1:55 left in the half. Downingtown West (11-3) lost three fumbles over the first two quarters, the last of which led to Leonardi’s 18-yard touchdown run.

“We just didn’t play very well,” Whippets’ coach Mike Milano said. “We turned it over a couple of times and in the end, they are a really good football team. They didn’t make mistakes and we did.”

The Whippets took advantage of a short field after the Leonardi score and put their lone TD on the board on the last play of the half, when Quinn Henicle hit Dean Hangey with a 21-yard pass cutting through the middle of the end zone.

The Downingtown West scoring drive was helped along by a personal foul call at the CB South 21.

After some clock confusion was straightened out, Henicle spotted Hangey crossing through the end zone to place the Whippets within a score of CB South at the half, 13-7.

The Titans started the game with an impressive 15-play drive. CB South took the opening kickoff and went 85 yards, helped along by Leonardi’s 23-yard run. The Titans sheered off 8 minutes, 20 seconds before Titans’ quarterback Owen Pinkerton slipped into the end zone from three yards out and an early 7-0 lead.

The Titans never relinquished the lead.

“We made history, we’re part of something no one can take away from us,” Hetrick said. “I’ve been coaching for 30 years and I’ve been a part of a lot of good football programs, but this is the single most special moment in my 30-year career. No one can take this from these kids and we live to fight the next day. We realize what is out there next week (Prep), but we’re looking for a chance to hang out next week and prepare for the next war.”

Scoring Summary

Downingtown West (11-3) 0 7 0 0-7

Central Bucks South (13-1) 7 6 0 14-27

1st Quarter

CBS – Owen Pinkerton 3 run (Brendan Hazell kick), 3:40

2nd Quarter

CBS – Anthony Leonardi 18 run (Hazell kick), 1:55

DW – Dean Hangey 21 pass from Quinn Henicle (Ben Mehan kick), :00

4th Quarter

CBS – Leonardi 79 run (Corey Moore run), 9:00

CBS – Moore 1 run (kick failed), 5:32

Joseph Santoliquito is a hall-of-fame, award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.

Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball

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One Response to “Anthony Leonardi leads the way to CB South’s first District 1 championship, 27-7, over Downingtown West in 6A final”

1. Jay M. says:
   November 26th, 2023 at 9:35 am

   I couldn’t make this game because it was too far from me so I caught the stream on CB South’s HUDL page… I did not watch the whole game, and I came into the game at 13-0 right before Henicle threw the TD to make it 13-7 going into the half.

   But CB South looked really, really good. The teams they have beaten to win District 1 alone is a testament to that. That 80 yard touchdown run by Leonardi I had to rewind a couple times because it was hard to believe he hit a gap running THAT FAST from the get go. That dude is lightning!

   It’s just a shame that they have to play a non-boundary all-star team for the East Final/state semifinal. This has got to give eventually. No team aside from an occasional special WPIAL team will compete with the Prep.

   Come on, PIAA. You need to eliminate 6A first of all, and take it down to 5 classifications. This should’ve been the change.

   Then there could be SEVEN playoff brackets— 1A through 5A, and Catholic Division 1 (big schools – 4A/5A) and Catholic Division 2 (small schools – 1A/2A/3A).

   GIVE THE EASTERN PUBLIC SCHOOLS A LEGITIMATE CHANCE TO WIN IN 6A!! You MUST know how unfair this is to have one team win every year. (Notwithstanding Southern Columbia in 2A, but they are public and not for nothing but they are too cowardly to play up a couple classes like Aliquippa has for YEARS.)