Coatesville dominated from start to finish in season opener
By Dave Conard Sports Editor, CoatesvilleTimes.com
Chris Jones put a bid in to be the number one guy as snared his first two TD’s of the season- Photo by Dave Conard
THORNDALE—Sometimes being a high school football coach is like performing a high wire act.
The more successful you are, the higher the expectation, and those expectations generally follow hand in hand and are usually directly proportional to a team’s senior leadership.
There in lies the rub.
As each year a new batch of players get an opportunity to show there skills and take center stage, not always with rave reviews, citing most recently the 2010 Pac-10 Champion Owen J Roberts Wildcats, who after dominated every week en route to an 11-1 record and league title, were able to win just one game in 2011.
While it would be impossible to replace players like Manny Stocker, Kyle Kerrick, and former standout tailback Dae-Hon Cheung, fortunately for Coatesville head coach Matt Ortega, in his fourth year at the helm of the Red Raiders ship, his 2012 cast of characters appears ready to be prime time performers on their own.
The Red Raiders, whose season ended in December with a loss to Pennsbury in the PIAA quarterfinals, offensively looked to be in mid season form as Emmett Hunt threw for 187 yards including a 69–yard strike as well as another for 46 yards out to wide out Chris Jones in his first start, as well as running for a third score on a keeper.
“Emmett played in some games last year and did a great job,” said Matt Ortegea. “He actually saw some time as a sophomore as well which has really helped prepare for game speed, he is such a good athlete.”
Dre Boggs will be depended on heavily along with Daquan Worley to fuel the Red Raiders running game.
In facing off against the school in which he had his first coaching job, Ortega ran through the gamut of human emotion through out the night.
“There’s mixed emotions,” added Ortega. “It’s always going to be a part of me. They gave me my first job, and I raised my sons there when we were living there. It’s a special place, and they’re great people. I love them to death.”
Ortega and his Coatesville squad didn’t show a lot love in the direction of the William Penn sideline once the clock started, as the Red Raiders, with the exception of a 70-yard first quarter drive that ended with the Coatesville defense forcing one of their six turnovers on the night, dominated both sides of the ball.
Handing William Penn (York) a 41-0 thumping in the season opener for both schools. Daquan Worley ran for 61 yards, returned an interception for a touchdown and recovered a fumble to highlight a dominant all-around performance.
The defense was sensational from the opening snap throttling the Bearcats allowing under 100 yards in total offense, forcing quarterback Tavon Parker into four interceptions, two of which were ran back for touchdowns, with Farrell Boyd’s pick-six closing out the scoring near the conclusion of the third quarter.
“We are looking forward to the season,” added Ortega “We have some very talented players and kids that have put in the work. No matter whom we play, football is football. The big thing we are focusing on is making sure we dominate every opponent, no matter who they are.”
Next up for the Red Raiders is a tough non-league test as the defending Inter-Ac champion Malvern Prep Friars visit Coatesville next Friday night at 7 pm.
William Penn (0-1) 0 0 0 0 -0
Coatesville (1-0) 14 14 13 0 -41
SCORING PLAYS
CV- Boggs 14 run (Bollenbach kick)
CV- Worley 84 interception return (Bollenbach kick)
CV- Hunt 1 run (Bollenbach kick)
CV-Jones 69 pass from Hunt (Bollenbach kick)
CV- C- Jones 46 pass from Hunt (kick failed)
CV- Boyd 20 interception return (Bollenbach kick)
