Expecting the option, Red Raiders stung by passing game early
By Dave Conard, Correspondent, CoatesvilleTimes.com
Coatesville's Manny Stocker looks to throw against West Chester Henderson, Friday night.
COATESVILLE — It would have been hard to imagine a better scenario for the Red Raiders as they prepared all week for their Ches-Mont National division first place show down with West Chester Henderson.
After all the Warriors were still reeling from their gut wrenching two-point loss at the hands of Rustin last week and the Red Raiders were riding the wave of convincing back-to–back wins over West Chester East and Bishop Shanahan.
Should haves and could haves don’t always translate to the playing field — as Henderson grabbed an early lead and held on for a hard-fought 21-13 win over Coatesville.
“It was a tough week for us,” said West Chester Henderson head coach Joe Walsh. “We know coming into Coatesville that we are always going to face some very good players and at anytime they hit a big play to put you in a hole.”
Whatever doubts the Warriors squad may have had in themselves were quickly erased in the game’s opening drive as on third-and-six, junior signal caller Stafford Foster was able to hit Joe Dingfelder in stride on a fly pattern for a 56-yard touchdown strike posting the visitors to a 7-0 following the PAT by Kyle Morton.
Coatesville's Andre Boggs gets out of bounds with seven second left in game as the Red Raiders tried furiously to drive in the final minute of the game.
A week of preparation, reviewing tendencies, watching game film and working on scout team to negate the Henderson option offense that is their trade mark, and all of sudden the Red Raiders were looking a pass happy offense that threw the ball on eight of the first eleven plays from scrimmage.
“They were loading up the box for our option and looked like they would shut it down,” added Walsh. “We thought we might catch them off guard by throwing the ball, I just wish we would have caught a few more early on.”
After having no success moving the ball on their first three possessions, Coatesville got it going as Senior Manny Stocker scrambled for ten yards, then found Kyle Kerrick for a gain of 12 setting the Red Raiders offense up in Henderson territory for the first time midway through the second period.
On a second-and-19, following a sack by Warriors’ linebacker Adam Weaver, who recorded four on the night, Stocker bounced out of the pocket as found junior Chris Jones sprinting down the sideline and connected on a 33-yard touchdown hook up knotting the game at seven, following the PAT by Corey Hall with 8:24 to play in the half.
Coatsville's Manny Stocker runs for ten yards against West Chester Henderson.
After the intermission, the Red Raiders got the ball to start the second and proceeded to pick up where they left off, racking up three first downs as they moved the ball from their own 10-yardline and looked to me mounting a game tying drive before Henderson senior J.T. White stepped in front of a pass intended for Kerrick and rambled down the sidelines 55yards to pay dirt, extending the Warriors lead to 21-7.
“That was a huge turn around,” said Coatesville head coach Matt Ortega. “We made some adjustments at half time and came out and moved the ball, then in one play we were looking at a 14-point hole against a very good team.”
In a theme that, unfortunately for the Red Raiders, would be repeated through out the second half, ever time Coatesville looked like they would snag the momentum and cut into the lead a mistake or turnover would thwart their efforts.
Following a 60-yard return, on the ensuing kick following the White interception return, by junior Andre Boggs giving Coatesville a first and ten from the Henderson 30-yard line, two plays later the Red Raiders relinquished the ball on a drooped pas that was ruled a lateral at the Warriors 22-yardline.
After watching the Warriors eat six minutes of game clock it took only one play for Coatesville to give the Henderson sidelines and fans a fourth quarter full of anxious moments as Kerrick blew past two defenders to snare a 52-yard touchdown laser from the right arm of Stocker, making in a one possession game.
“Of course you get nervous every time that they get the ball at that point,” said Walsh. “If you come in here and don’t think they score form anywhere, you are going to get beat, because whether it is 50 yards or 99 yards they are dangerous from any where.”
Coatesville got the ball back with four minutes to play and it appeared that in one play they were in striking distance, as Jones made a diving catch at the Henderson 22-yard line, only to have it called back a movement infraction.
On the ensuing snap, Weaver recorded his fourth sack of the night, leaving the Red Raiders in a 3rd-and-29 situation, from which Stocker was able to thread the ball between two defenders into the outstretched arms of Kerrick at the Henderson 20-yard line, but the ball was jarred loose at the last instant, forcing a punt with 2:32 remaining in regulation.
In a second half filled with Coatesville mistakes, ironically it was an error in judgment on the part of Jake Richard that gave the Red Raiders life, as having spent their last time out Coatesville had no way to stop the clock, until Richard ran out of bounds on a third down play.
The faux pas by Richard gave the Red Raiders 36 seconds on the game clock to negotiate 98-yards of real estate following a Richard punt.
After a 35-yard completion to Jones and another long connection to Boggs, the Red Raiders where at the Henderson 34-yard line with 6.9 seconds left to play and it looked as though Richard was preparing for a long bus ride home, but Stockers pass to Jones fell harmlessly to the turf, preserving the upset win for Henderson, as Kerrick was draped with triple coverage on the play.
“I can’t say enough about or defense tonight,” added Walsh. “That is a great football team over there with a lot of weapons, It’s the first time all year that we have blitzed that much and our linebackers, especially Adam (Weaver) and J.T. (White) did an outstanding job. Winning on this field does not happen often and this is a big one.”
Henderson 7 7 7 0 –21
Coatesville 0 7 0 6 –13
First quarter
H- Dingfelder 56 yard pass from Foster (Morton kick)
Second quarter
C- Jones 33 yard pass from Stocker (Hall kick)
H- Richard 2 yard run (Morton kick)
Third quarter
H- White 55 yard interception return (Morton kick)
Fourth quarter
C- Kerrick 52 yard pass from Stocker (kick failed)
