Chester’s Kanif Doward
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Chester sophomore defensive back Kanif Doward could have easily been bit by the basketball bug. His father, legendary Kashif Payne, from Chester, played for Archbishop Carroll and Toledo. Doward played basketball up until middle school, when he had a breakout football game and it has been football ever since.
Once Doward hit high school, it has been solely football, suiting up and getting varsity time his freshman year before starting this season.
Doward may have made the right choice.
His interception with 3:49 to play secured Chester’s 32-30 victory Friday night over Northeast High School, at Northeast, in a highly entertaining game that easily benefitted both teams.
Sa’Mham “Showtime” Williams, Chester’s explosive freshman tailback, is proving to be the real thing, scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 145 yards and picking up 235 total yards, the Clippers’ Demir Hatchett had an interception and completed a pass for a first down on a fake punt, and Kenjai Gatling seems to be settling in at quarterback, tossing two touchdown passes.
Overall, it appears Chester is back in strong contention again for the PIAA District 1 Class 5A championship after the graduation of generational talents Daron and Jalen Harris.
This time, under a whole new crew, led by players like Doward, Williams, Gatling and Hatchett.
It was Doward, however, who made the pivotal play with the Clippers teetering on losing a game in which they once led 20-7 early in the second quarter.
“At halftime, we had to make sure everyone stayed focus and maintained the same intensity,” said Doward, who caught a two-point conversion in the first quarter. “We knew there were questions about us, but during the summer, we all locked in. We came together and were convinced we could do this, we can make a run (at the District 1) championship.”
The 3-0 Clippers certainly can behind the talent of Williams, who on his six touches of the game ran for a 90-yard touchdown on a kickoff return, and scored on 80- and 26-yard touchdown runs. He had 215 total yards by halftime.
But there was one thing missing from the Chester arsenal—tackling. You could have heard Chester coach Dennis Shaw through the Northeast stadium brick walls at halftime letting his team know about it.
“This was not a game that was to our standard,” Shaw said. “We won, but it was a very, very disappointing brand of football for us. Giving up 30 points for our program is unacceptable. We missed tackles. We dropped passes. This is a program that has high expectations. I like how our QB came alive tonight and we did some good things, but obviously it is back to the chalkboard for us.”
Gatling is getting the rust off. He showed promise as a freshman at Bonner-Prendie, then transferred to DeMatha (Md.) seeing little time as a sophomore and junior, last year hampered by injuries.
He has not played meaningful live downs in two years, yet threw a good ball Friday night with great touch in crowds and found senior Sekai Brown Murray for TD passes of 16 and 30 yards.
“I think I’m adjusting well to the program and it’s a great experience for me,” Gatling said. “Each game is getting better. It helps having great running backs. My sophomore year I was behind Denzel Gardner (now at Memphis) and my junior year I was supposed to start.
“I got hurt the last two weeks of training camp and that set me back. I’m home now. I feel comfortable. I feel great being here and there is no pressure. I know who I am and I know what I can do.”
Northeast lost, but the Vikings may have found they know what they can do. Nick Lincoln has built a Philadelphia Public League contender in three years, and that centers around do-everything senior quarterback Jayden Boyd. He was simply amazing in escaping groups of Chester defenders, one time scrambling away from the grasp of seven Clipper defenders to get a pass off.
Boyd makes the Vikings serious Public League title contenders. Northeast seemed dead 10 different times during the course of the game, but Lincoln and his staff found a way to shut down Williams in the second half and make it a game until the final minutes.
Part of the reason why Chester was having such a tough time tackling was because Northeast ran off 35 plays to Chester’s 14 in the first half and for the game ran off 56 plays to Chester’s 30—almost two to one. Part of the reason why there was such a disparity in plays was Chester’s quick-strike ability to score.
Boyd was a big reason, extending plays and engineering long drives, add the fact the Clippers scored on a kickoff return and two one-play drives, one made possible by Hatchett’s first-quarter interception and Williams’ 80-yard run, and it makes for a long night on defense.
“Hats off to Chester, this was a great game, both teams made plays on special teams, and Jayden made plays,” Lincoln said. “He leads and is getting better. I love the resiliency of my guys. Chester is very good, and we knew this was going to be a game. The Williams kid is special. We had to coach up the defense and change the game to stop him.
“Our kids believe. These were the type of games we haven’t been in.”
Northeast may have lost, but the Vikings proved a point—they are going to be a dangerous team to contend with in the Public League.
Chester also proved a point—the Clippers are once again serious threats to do something no other Chester football team has ever done and that’s win the District 1 Class 5A championship.
Scoring Summary
Chester (3-0) 14 18 0 0-32
Northeast (1-2) 7 16 0 7-30
1st Quarter
NE – Jayden Boyd 13 run (Jeremiah Tellus kick), 4:47
Ches. – Sa’Mham Williams 90 kickoff return (pass failed), 4:33
Ches. – Sekai Brown Murray 16 pass from Kenjai Gatling (Kanif Doward pass from Gatling), 3:18
2nd Quarter
Ches. – Murray 30 pass from Gatling (pass failed), 7:34
NE –Amear Miller 77 kickoff return run (Tellus kick), 7:23
Ches. – Williams 80 run (run failed), 7:00
NE – Ronell Word 7 run (Carsen Giddeons run), 2:19
Ches. – Williams 26 run (run failed), :48
4th Quarter
NE – Tellus 1 run (Tellus run), 10:12
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.