Young throws for two, rushes for another while defense looks stingy on Friday
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Akhema Evans takes the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.
WEST GROVE – Looking to be reiterate its influence on the ChesMonts and maybe the state, Coatesville found its midseason form in Friday night’s 46-7 win at Avon Grove.
Coatesville dominated from the start, as senior Akhema Evans caught the opening kickoff at his own 10, cut followed his blocks across the field, and sprinted down the left sideline to put his team up 7-0 early.
Though the Red Devils were able to string some plays together, the visitors played in Avon Grove’s backfield all night with senior linebacker Stephen Pawling’s sack setting up a third and long that the home team could not convert. A blocked punt gave Coatesville a short field, allowing the offense to extend the lead to two scores halfway through the first quarter.
A couple of short gains forced Coatesville to a fourth down at Avon Grove’s 27. Senior running back Jalen Hudson took a handoff between the tackles. In a contrast to last week’s running struggles, Hudson found a hole to bust through the defense and turn the fourth and five into a 27-yard touchdown.
Again, Coatesville applied good pressure on the quarterback on the ensuing Avon Grove drive with Pawling making a third down sack to ensure the visitors ended the first quarter up 13-0.
“We can do some things, play man-to-man, load the box up sometimes,” Coatesville Coach Matt Ortega said of his secondary. “We can bring pressure like we did.”
In addition to the strong defense, another strength emerged for the team on Friday night with Evans stepping in at running back to give Hudson a breather. Gaining 27 yards on two carriers, Evans set his offense up in the end zone, allowing junior quarterback Jordan Young to find a hole in Avon Grove’s zone defense to complete a 16-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Amir Ealey to put the team up 20-0 early in the second.
“We feel like we have pretty good backs in Jalen Hudson, Akhema Evans, and Ronnell Knight,” said Ortega.
Davon Simpson sacks the quarterback in the second quarter. Coatesville’s defense looked strong all over.
Coatesville’s defense did not back off with senior cornerback Stevie Pugh grabbing a pick on a long pass to quickly end the home team’s following drive.
Starting at the 17, Coatesville did not have a short field this time, but the offense still drove down the field to pretty much seal the game in the second quarter. Once again facing a fourth down, the visitors elected to throw this time with Young rolling out of the pocket and connecting with senior wide receiver Keenan Coleman for a 32-yard touchdown pass.
Young followed that pass up with a 19-yard keeper late in the second quarter, throwing for 120 with two touchdowns and rushing for 47 with a touchdown in the two and a half quarters he played Friday night. The touchdown made the score 33-0 going into halftime.
“Coach was trying to get me out on the edge to make plays with my feet,” said Young.
Any hopes of halftime adjustments making a difference quickly evaporated on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter when Coatesville recovered a bad snap, and Hudson took the ball 16 yards on two carries to make it 40-0.
Avon Grove broke the shutout late in the third, but Coatesville’s backups looked strong as well as junior running back Ronnell Knight completed the visitors’ scoring with a 12-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
Now at 4-0, Coatesville will be looking for another strong year, bringing that momentum back home against Bishop Shanahan next Friday.
