Rain, lightning shorten game as Raiders win fourth straight
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Coatesville defenders swarm on a West Chester Henderson running back, Friday night. The Red Raiders won their fourth straight game in convincing fashion — despite weather that shortened the game, 28-6.
WEST CHESTER – Coatesville continued its hot streak on Friday night, winning 28-6 at West Chester Henderson in a game that was called just after halftime due to inclement weather. Their fourth win in a row, the Red Raiders stand at 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Ches-Mont National.
Lightning and powerful rain disrupted and delayed football Friday night across the Chester County area.
Players had mixed reactions when referees declared a Coatesville win 34 seconds into the third quarter, some grateful for the victory and others showing a desire to play out the rest of the game.
“Who wants to win like this? That’s stupid,” said junior wide receiver Daniel Williams.
But winning — and thumping some of the county’s top programs in the process — is becoming routine work for Coatesville, emerging as one of the top teams in southeast Pennsylvania.
Facing a Henderson side that came into the game with just one loss, Coatesville failed to score on their first drive as they had done in the previous three games. After driving deep into Henderson territory, the Red Raiders stalled at the goal line, giving the ball away on a failed fourth and goal attempt.
Coatesville’s defense reacted quickly, forcing a fumble and getting the ball back at Henderson’s 23. The offense would not go scoreless this time, as a 13 and then 10-yard run put Coatesville on the board midway through the first quarter.
After a Henderson three and out, Coatesville’s offense would do even more to prove the first drive was a fluke. On the first play of their next drive, senior Dre Boggs, who usually plays wide receiver, took a handoff up the middle and ran past the defense for a 79-yard touchdown.
In the closing moments of the first quarter, another goal line stand would take place, this time in favor of Coatesville. After Henderson recovered a failed backward pass by senior quarterback Emmett Hunt, it got the ball at Coatesville’s five and then ran it to the one on the next play. But the Red Raiders defense held its ground, stopping three straight plays to force a turnover on downs. As it has for most of the year, Coatesville’s defense overwhelmed their opponents, swarming the ball on running plays and pressuring the quarterback on passes.
Starting from its own three, Coatesville relied on a steady running game to drive down the field for another touchdown. Worley, who had over 50 yards and two touchdowns in the two quarters played, ran the ball six times on the possession. However, the scoring play came through the air. Senior wide receiver Chris Jones got open over the middle, and Hunt found him with a 20-yard strike to put the Red Raiders up by three touchdowns with 7:25 left in the second quarter. Though it did not score as quickly and fumbled the ball three times on the wet field, Coatesville still looked dominant.
This dominance was exemplified on the ensuing Henderson possession. After losing yards on their first two plays, the Warriors faced third and 17. Trying some trickery to gain the long yards, the quarterback James Bady tossed the ball to running back Spencer Rymiszewski who then attempted a pass across the field. Coatesville’s junior defensive back Isaiah Flamer was not fooled. Never losing track of his man, Flamer made a one-handed grab for the interception and returned the ball 27 yards for a touchdown to make the score 28-0.
After an unsportsmanlike conduct pushed the Red Raiders’ kickoff back, Henderson started the next drive from their own 42 and drove down to score off of a pass deflected into the end zone. A mishandled snap resulted in a failed point after, holding the Warriors to six points. Coatesville kneeled-down to go into halftime 28-6.
Three plays into the second half, lightning began to appear. Initially, the referees called a 30-minute delay to assess the weather. However, as the lightning continued, they made the decision to cancel the rest of the game, which will officially count as a 28-6 Coatesville victory.
The Red Raiders will go to Downingtown West next week. Like the Red Raiders, the Whippets are 6-2 with their only league loss also coming to the unbeaten Downingtown East, Friday night, 35-21. The winner of the Coatesville-West game will be in second place in the Ches-Mont National Division with one game left in the regular season.
