Visitors control Eagles’ deadly passing game, find consistency in Flamer
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Shanahan’s Matt Evans pursues Coatesville’s Isaiah Flamer. With Daquan Worley out, Flamer stepped up to provide consistent running yards.
DOWNINGTOWN – When two undefeated teams meet, often victory is not just a matter of making the big plays but stopping the opposition’s threats.
By stopping the Eagles from establishing consistency in the dangerous passing game, Coatesville defeated Bishop Shanahan 37-13 in a key Ches Mont National Division match up at Shanahan on Saturday afternoon.
Defensive stops by each team to open the game indicated the quality of the matchup.
As has been the case all year, Coatesville played in the opponent’s backfield for much of the game, while a strong performance from Shanahan’s front seven stuffed Coatesville’s run game.
Just as the game looked to settle into a rhythm, Coatesville’s senior running back Isaiah Flamer busted the proceedings wide open. With senior running back Daquan Worley out to rest a sore Achilles tendon, Flamer shouldered the burden of the ground game.
On Coatesville’s first play of the drive midway through the first quarter, Flamer took a handoff around his offensive tackle and through the defense for a 51-yard score.
“My mindset was to stay focused, my brother went down, Daquan Worley, and I wanted to step up,” said Flamer.
Soon enough, Shanahan answered back. The athleticism of the Eagles’ junior quarterback Dan Murphy kept the defense off balance early. A six-yard completion on the first play of the ensuing drive forced Coatesville to cover the pass. Senior running back Jordan Jackson took full advantage, running up the middle for a 64-yard touchdown.
A missed extra point made the score 7-6 in favor of the visitors. The call and response made the game seem like it would come down to the wire.
But on the first play of the second quarter, Flamer once again came up with the big play to change the makeup of the game.
Another run off tackle, Flamer took the ball from midfield down to Shanahan’s 5. An Eagles’ penalty and a 2-yard run later, Flamer found himself in the end zone.
“I don’t take any credit; I give credit to the o-line and their blocking,” said Flamer.
This time, the Eagles could not come up with an immediate answer.
Murphy found some early success running and throwing, but Coatesville’s front seven consistently got penetration, shutting down runs in the backfield and allowing Murphy little time when he dropped back.
“They [Coatesville’s front seven] were so big; they were munching us up front,” said Shanahan Head Coach Paul Meyers.
Midway through the second quarter, Coatesville produced a drive that encapsulated what the offense has been about all year.
Small chunks of yardage from Flamer took the ball into Shanahan territory. But a botched handoff on a third down put the visitors at fourth and 14 that looked like it would kill the drive. But sophomore quarterback Jordan Young, who has been trusted with more control of the offense in the past two weeks, found junior wide receiver Coleman Keenan over the middle to take the ball down to the seven.
“That really helped complete the offense, knowing that we could go vertical,” said Coatesville Head Coach Matt Ortega. “That’s going to make us really hard to defend.”
The new set of downs allowed Flamer to cap off the 16-play, 64-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown.
Shanahan looked to the pass to get back into the game, but by crowding the line and then dropping back into coverage, Coatesville was able to control the threat posed by Murphy’s arm and legs.
“Coming out against the first team in the state, it’s a really tough task for him [Murphy],” Meyers said of his first-year starting quarterback.
Allowing just one completion in the first half, Coatesville’s defense allowed the offense to get the ball back with 43 seconds remaining.
Jay Stocker makes a falling catch into the end zone. For the second week in a row, Coatesville looked to open up the passing game.
Once again, Young stepped up. 39 and then 41-yard passes to Jay Stocker put the visitors into the end zone with two seconds left in the half to make the score 27-6 at halftime.
“They made plays when they had to,” said Meyers. “The two big plays right before the half, that was the nail in the coffin.”
Shanahan could not get the offense restarted in the second half. After stopping Coatesville on the opening drive, the home team muffed the punt return, allowing Coatesville to continue inside the red zone. A 21-yard keeper from Young put the score at 34-6 and kept the game traveling in the same direction.
With Coatesville’s senior defensive lineman Mike Boykin in the backfield all day and junior defensive back Ricky Southcott all over the field, Murphy had little time to throw, and often only had tightly-covered receivers to throw to.
However, the defense was able to add one more for Shanahan near the end of the third. With Coatesville trying to throw for a first down to run out the clock, Young threw a relatively safe pass to the flats, but after a deflection, Jackson snatched the ball near the line of scrimmage and cruised the open field to a touchdown.
Coatesville would add a field goal in the fourth quarter, a 24-yarder by Josiah Odeen.
More solid play from Coatesville’s defense, especially Boykin, took the game to a 37-13 result.
The loss is Shanahan’s first of the season to make them 3-1, while Coatesville remains undefeated at 5-0.
Shanahan will look to bounce back at home against Henderson next week. Coatesville faces the test of Downingtown East in Coatesville.
Correction it was a Ches-Mont National game. GO RAIDERS!!
You are right. Thanks.