Red Raiders claim Eastern PA AAAA title, hold off LaSalle 42-35
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Coatesville High School football coach Matt Ortega addresses his team after it defeated LaSalle College to advance to the PIAA AAAA championship game in Hershey, Friday night.
DOWNINGTOWN – While skill and schemes are necessary to win games, any team that makes a deep playoff run must also have a mental edge, a belief in each other when faced with adversity. Just as defense wins championships, so does mental toughness and the ability to turn emotion into momentum.
On Friday night in Downingtown, Coatesville displayed its mental toughness to pull out a 42-35 victory over LaSalle College and earn a spot in next Saturday’s PIAA state championship game.
While any game of such importance would surely be filled with emotion, Friday night, riddled with after-the-play shoving matches and big swings in momentum, seemed especially emotional.
For most of the first quarter, it seemed like the Red Raiders’—and the officials’—heads were not in the game. After scoreboard personnel failed to start the clock on the opening kickoff, Coatesville had to kick again but did not get the kick off fast enough, resulting in a delay of game and a third opening kick.
Chris Jones making a catch en route to a 30-yard TD reception
Early parts of the game saw Coatesville committing a slew of penalties, including a block in the back that nullified a big punt return by senior Dre Boggs, who would have put Coatesville deep in LaSalle territory. For the first time in the playoffs, the Red Raiders were still at zero after their first two possessions.
“The game started off rough; it took some time for us to calm down,” said Coach Matt Ortega.
Coatesville’s early struggles allowed La Salle to take an early lead, marking the first time the Red Raiders have trailed since their week four loss to Downingtown East. Some missed penalties in which La Salle players shoved and threw blows at Coatesville players did not help the situation.
“I was upset about some [missed] personal fouls with our kids on the ground getting punched,” said Ortega.
As La Salle marched down the field on their following possession one had to wonder if the Red Raiders had finally met their match, a team able to move the ball consistently and contain their explosive offense. But senior defensive back Jason Totaram changed all of that.
On a play from Coatesville’s 29, La Salle’s quarterback Chris Kane threw to fullback Michael Eife down the sideline. Arriving just after the ball, Totaram delivered a huge hit to jar it loose for an incomplete pass.
Daquan Worley running with the ball en route to an 11-yard screen pass TD. Chris Jones (13) is making a block.
“If that doesn’t get you fired up, I don’t know what will!” senior quarterback Emmett Hunt yelled to his team.
Propelled by the big hit, Coatesville stopped LaSalle’s offense and scored on its next three drives to make the score 21-7 midway through the second quarter. Senior wide receiver Dre Boggs had big plays catching and running the ball, as did junior running back Daquan Worley, who ran in one of the touchdowns and followed his blockers on a screen pass for another.
“All the credit goes to my offensive line,” said Worley. “Each week, we try to focus on a few things to get better at, and this week it was run blocking and pass blocking.
But just as quickly as Coatesville gained momentum, La Salle took it back.
After Coatesville scored their third, La Salle put together a 70-yard drive to make it 21-14, and then less than a minute later, the Explorers intercepted the ball in the backfield and returned it to tie the game.
As he has done in recent weeks, Hunt responded to offensive mishaps with poise. Getting the ball back with 1:39 left in the half, Hunt coolly commanded his offense and scored in the final minute for the fourth week in a row. The Red Raiders took a 28-21 lead into the locker room.
“We have a lot of confidence in our two minute drill,” said Ortega.
Receiving the second half kick, Coatesville doubled up their lead. With the offense that has too many weapons to defend against, the Red Raiders put together a 14-play drive that took nearly half of the quarter and scored on a 30-yard connection between Hunt and senior wide receiver Chris Jones.
“We did the same thing we did every other week,” said Ortega, who did not make any major adjustments against the Explorers’ highly touted defense. “We keep getting better at what we do, and we have faith in our system.”
A combination of holding the lead and rain that started late in the third quarter made running the ball the better option for Coatesville, and five straight runs by Worley resulted in a 42-21 lead. Coatesville fans celebrated as if the game was over.
“We didn’t expect to run it that well,” said Ortega. “I gave the game ball to my strength coaches; they won it for us.”
But with 10 minutes left, momentum was not done swinging yet.
La Salle found fourth quarter success through the air and passed their way to a touchdown on the following drive. A defensive stop and a touchdown later, they drew within one touchdown. And then a fumble recovery gave the Explorers the ball back in the closing minutes.
Gaining more yards through the air, La Salle drove into Coatesville territory, and with the unstoppable way their offense was playing, the tying score looked inevitable.
With just over a minute remaining, La Salle’s quarterback dropped back for a pass.
“Once our offense gets a big play, our defense knows it’s on us,” said junior defensive back Devonte Suber.
But pressure led to a rushed throw, and he was hit as he released the ball. The off-target pass hung in the air and gave Suber time to make a play on the ball. His interception ended the threat and effectively clinched Coatesville’s berth in the finals next week in Hershey.
“It means a lot to know I did it for my team,” said Suber. As the pass floated toward him, he said he had one thought on his mind: “We’re going to Hershey!”
Coatesville ran out the clock and ended La Salle’s fourth trip to the final four in as many years.
“We had to battle back and overcome adversity; it shows how strong our leadership is,” said Ortega.
As the last few seconds ran out, the precipitation lightened a bit only to be replaced by more rain; this time it was students throwing Hershey Kisses onto the field. Long after the game ended, students and parents stayed in the stadium, celebrating the victory with their team.
Coatesville will play for the state championship next week against the winner of Saturday’s game between Wilson West Lawn and North Allegheny. The final will take play next Saturday at 6 PM in Hersheypark Stadium.
