Featured photo: Markayzee Sports Photography
On a chilly Friday night at Walter E. Kottemeyer Stadium, the Downingtown East Cougars hosted a familiar foe in the Coatesville Red Raiders for the second round of the PIAA District One 6A playoffs.
Downingtown East entered the bracket as the one seed and handled Harry S. Truman in the first round. Additionally, the Cougars are boasting an undefeated record, including a 31-28 win over Coatesville back in October.
The Red Raiders had four losses sprinkled across their seven-win regular season, securing them the ninth seed. In the first round, they had a statement win, 35-26, over a Central Bucks South team on a hot streak.
The Coatesville defense had an early flash of brilliance when Ethan Kryworuka jumped in front of a Cougar to pick off senior Ethan Ellis’s pass. Luckily for Downingtown East, their defense made a stop, forcing Coatesville to punt.
Both teams’ defenses were forcing punts one after another until late in the opening quarter, when the Cougars were deep in Red Raider territory. Ellis found a wide-open Josiah Johnson across the middle to put the Cougars on the board. An unsuccessful extra point attempt kept Downingtown East ahead of Coatesville 6-0.
Josiah Johnson scoring the first touchdown of the game
The second quarter was when Juelz Robinson began to solidify himself as a hero for the Cougars. Ellis handed the ball off to Robinson, who battled through the trenches and broke free for a touchdown run of over 40 yards, leaping to avoid a tackle along the way. This time around, Downingtown East converted on the extra point attempt to lead Coatesville 13-0.
The Cougars did a great job of getting ahead early, but it was their defense to whom they owed their first-half success, as they continually shut down the Coatesville offense. Right before halftime, Red Raiders quarterback Mikal Shank was looking for Nico Christino, but an underthrown pass allowed Tray Pollock to snatch the ball and send the game to the half as Downingtown East held a small but commanding 13-0 lead over Coatesville.
The Red Raiders offense finally found its footing midway through the third quarter. Shank launched a beautiful, high-arching pass from over 30 yards out to hit Christino in stride in the back of the end zone to finally put Coatesville on the board. The Red Raiders had an unsuccessful extra point attempt of their own, holding the score at 13-6, with Downingtown East looking to increase its lead.
Nico Christino hauling in a touchdown pass from Mikal Shank
The Cougars did exactly that, as Juelz Robinson exploded for his second large touchdown run of the game, this time from 71 yards out, extending Downingtown East’s lead to 20-6. A determined Coatesville offense looked to respond, which it did very quickly. Andre Watson found a gap and ran over half the field to cut the deficit to just seven points.
Andre Watson scores on the ground to cut the deficit to 7
Early in the fourth quarter, Andre Watson got his second score of the night from a few yards out, tying the game at 20 apiece.
Halfway through the quarter, the Cougars looked to add another touchdown, but the Red Raiders defense held firm, only allowing a field goal.
The Cougars quickly regained possession, and it was none other than Juelz Robinson who went off for another massive touchdown run of over 70 yards, putting Downingtown East ahead 30-20.
With less than a minute left in the contest, the Red Raiders battled their way downfield, where Shank found Blaine Watson in the right corner of the end zone. Coatesville kicked the point-after attempt, but the Cougars still led by 3.
The Downingtown East Cougars survived the Coatesville Red Raiders to secure a 30-27 win. The Cougars defense shut down the Red Raiders offense in the first half, but halftime adjustments by Coatesville allowed them to expose the Downingtown East defense’s weaknesses, as they scored all 27 of their points after the half. The Red Raiders’ offensive success in the second half wasn’t enough, as scores from Juelz Robinson kept the win just out of reach for Coatesville.
I talked to Downingtown East’s head coach Michael Matta after the game.
Me: “You just beat a really good Coatesville team, what was the preparation and planning like?”
Coach Matta: “We knew what to expect because we played them before. They’re a very competitive team. They’ve got a really really really good halfback in number 1 (Andre Watson) and of course number 77 (Max Hiller) is an elite player. We felt like we had some things we could do. We did a really nice job in the first half, but in the second half they made some adjustments and it took us some time to catch back up. I’m really proud of what we did, but I think we could still tighten some things up.”
Me: “The defense played lights out in the first half, what are your comments on their performance?”
Coach Matta: “First half they played great. In the second half we didn’t have the ball that much, but when we did we scored two touchdowns and a field goal. We did well offensively but because of (Coatesville’s) second half adjustments our defense was out there longer than we hoped.”
Me: “Then there was Juelz Robinson and his significant contributions, what are your words on him?”
Coach Matta: “He’s a dude. He’s a bona fide stud as you can see. That may have put him over 2,000 yards for the year, I’m not sure, maybe close. He’s a great kid and a hard worker. When he came off he said “just put it on my back and I’ll do it”. He wanted the ball. Some guys shy away from pressure, but Juelz wants pressure.”
Me: “I know you haven’t gotten to think about it yet, but next week you guys get Spring-Ford.”
Coach Matta: “We’ve played them already. They’re a really good team. They’ve got a great quarterback and also a great run game. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
The win for Downingtown East will send them to the semifinal round, where they will travel to Spring-Ford to take on the Rams. As for Coatesville, the loss will bring its season to a close.