Young Knights’ get running game going in crosstown battle
By Matt Cassidy, Staff Writer, The Times
West Chester Rustin celebrates a win over crosstown rival West Chester Henderson, 28-0, Friday night.
WESTTOWN – While West Chester Henderson was riding into Rustin Stadium with a win in week one against Chester High, West Chester Rustin was seeking to avenge a setback in their opener to Harry S. Truman of Levittown in a week two Ches-Mont inter-division game.
Sophomore running back Ty Pringle proved to be a difference-maker for the Golden Knights as he racked up 146 yards on 16 carries and rushed across the goal line twice in a 28-0 romp over the Warriors.
“I think I did well but I think I can do better,” Pringle said. “I had a few mistakes in the beginning of the game. I just need to hold onto the ball.”
Although Rustin’s defense impressed, holding Henderson to 186 total yards and no points, the offense was extremely efficient, scoring on four of its six possessions – with a 61-yard drive that ended at the Henderson 17-yard-line due to a Pringle fumble and a 53-yard rushing-only drive to bleed the clock to zero.
“Starting 1-1 is a lot better than starting off 0-2,” said Rustin head coach Mike St. Clair. “I’ve got five sophomores starting and they were a little like deer-in-the-headlights last week. They needed a little bit of game experience. So, I think it was a valuable lesson we learned last week in the loss and I think it was just getting the first one under our belt and coming out ready to play against our rivals.”
Henderson began the game with the ball on a seemingly productive opening drive. The Warriors collected 36 yards – all on the ground- converted on a third down and were only forced to punt after a sack by Golden Knights junior outside linebacker Tim Durant pushed them into a fourth and fifteen situation.
Senior quarterback and punter Matt Dinacci recovered a bad snap, avoided a defender and managed to get a punt off which started Rustin off at their own 24-yard-line. But this would prove to be false premonition as Rustin would score all 28 of its points before Henderson drove the ball more than 24 yards down field.
“I give credit to Rustin and their defense because those kids played hard,” said Henderson head coach Steve Mitten. “I’m disappointed because I feel that we had an opportunity to come out here and show who we are and we didn’t do it and we need to go back to square one and start over.”
Golden Knights senior quarterback Evan Wylock threw for 89 yards and a touchdown as he completed five of his seven passes on the night. Senior wide receiver Ryan Loucks accounted for 82 of those yards and the touchdown, which came on a 36-yard completion in the first quarter to kick off the scoring.
But it was the Rustin rushing attack that proved to be the story of the evening. Behind Pringle’s 146 yards, the rest of the team combined for 102 yards on the ground with three other ball carriers collecting at least 25 yards.
With a 28-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Rustin defense started to bend a bit.
Starting at their own 18-yard-line, Henderson drove to the Rustin 42-yard-line – much to the credit of a 25-yard rush by sophomore running back C.J. Preston. On a third and six situation, the Warriors converted with a 24-yard completion to junior running back Myles Cooper.
Following a Rustin roughing penalty, Henderson moved to their opponent’s 7-yard-line for first and goal. An incomplete pass, a rush for a loss and a rush for a gain left the Warriors with fourth and goal from their opponent’s 9-yard-line.
With pressure coming and his pocket collapsing, Dinacci found senior tight end Jason DePhillips who bulldozed over a defender for nine yards but was marked down inches from the goal line. After a 73-yard drive, Henderson seemed deflated as Rustin would run out of the endzone and collect 53 yards to bleed the remaining time off the clock and retain their shutout.
W.C. Rustin 28, W.C. Henderson 0
W.C. Rustin 7 7 14 0 – 28
W.C. Henderson 0 0 0 0 – 0
First Quarter
WCR – Loucks 36 pass from Wylock (Gallagher kick)
Second Quarter
WCR – Wylock 1 run (Gallagher kick)
Third Quarter
WCR – Pringle 26 run (Gallagher kick)
WCR – Pringle 42 run (Gallagher kick)
Passing
WCR – Wylock: 5/7, 89 yards, TD
WCH – Dinacci: 3/6, 47 yards
Rushing
WCR – Pringle: 16 carries, 146 yards, 2 TD; Franks: 8 carries, 31 yards; Benoit: 4 carries, 29 yards; Wylock: 6 carries, 25 yards; Frazier: 4 carries, 11 yards; Sullivan: 2 carries, 6 yards
WCH – Dinacci: 9 carries, 58 yards; Preston: 15 carries, 56 yards; Mascetti: 2 carries, 5 yards; Palmer: 2 carries, 3 yards; Walton: 1 carry, -1 yard
Receiving
WCR – Loucks: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 82 yards, TD; Rice: 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards; Frazier: 1 target
WCH – Cooper: 2 targets, 1 reception, 24 yards; Rizzo: 3 targets, 1 reception, 14 yards; DePhillips: 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards
Total Yards
WCR – Passing: 89 yards; Rushing: 248 yards; Overall: 337 yards
WCH – Passing: 47 yards; Rushing: 121 yards; Overall: 168 yards
Penalties
WCR – 5, 40 yards
K – 3, 30 yards
Sacks
WCR – Durant 1
WCH – none
Fumbles/Lost
WCR – Pringle 1/1
WCH – Dinacci 1/0
Interceptions
WCR – none
WCH – none
