Football notebook: Area teams get defensive in Week 2

By PETER DiGIOVANNI

cpn11716@comcast.net

Defenses continues to rule the day with many Ches-Mont League teams. West Chester Henderson has allowed just six points in two games, the latest mauling, a 42-6 wipeout of Springside Chestnut Hill. The Warriors, under first-year head coach Steve Mitten, allowed just 70 total yards to the Blue Birds. Big test this week against Plymouth-Whitemarsh for senior linebacker Adam Weaver and group.

Downingtown West continues to win, mauling Glen Mills 24-7 behind a defense that gave the Bulls almost nothing. Running back Tino Bunhu went over 100 yards for the second week in a row, gaining 120 on the Bulls. And for those people that thought I meant any disrespect to the Whippets’ strength of schedule last week, saying they should be 4-0 after four games, nothing can be further from the truth. I meant that Downingtown West was a underrated team and that they should be 4-0 after four games, no disrespect to the schedule was intended at all.

I was on hand to witness one of the best performances against a quality opponent in my 12 years in Chester County, when Downingtown East simply took apart Roman Catholic, 42-20. The game was much more lopsided than that and the Cougars’ defense was awesome.

The Cahillites broke one big play, a 59-yard slant to Will Fuller, but after that it was a total clamp down by Mike Matta’s crew, who seemed to take Roman’s heart away as the game wore on. Nest up, another tough one with Daquan Mack and Pennsbury.

West Chester Rustin and senior running back Adam Burke stamped themselves as the biggest challengers to Unionville in the Ches-Mont American Division. It looks like the defending champion Knights are not going to give up their four year reign very easily after taking apart Owen J.Roberts, 49-7. Burke put in one of the performances of the weekend by registering five touchdowns and gaining 103 yards on the ground.

Bishop Shanahan and head coach Paul Meyers have always been up against some tough odds. The Eagles have been in the Ches-Mont National with all Class AAAA schools for some time now and have held up well as a Class AAA team. Now the latest hurdle came when Meyers and the administration suspended five players for the entire season for violating team rules.

This will have a big impact on the Eagles season, but the big picture is that Meyers hopefully teaches these young men the importance of being on a team and taking responsibility for your actions. The people at Shanahan deserve a lot of credit for their actions and I just wonder if many other schools would have taken the same steps?

Oxford should go to 3-0 after playing Solanco this week. Musty Mahmud carried the Hornets to a 33-7 pasting of Avon Grove last week. Third-year head coach Mike Pietlock said after the game that the Hornets, while happy, are just taking things one game at a time. The big test for Oxford will be when the American Division slate begins.

Another week, another cliffhanger for Malvern Prep. The Friars posted a huge win Friday as they held Coatesville on-yard from the winning touchdown. A lot of teams would not have been ready for Coatesville after a one-point loss six days earlier, but the Friars got it done on the road against a good team in the Red Raiders.

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