Jordan Young leads Coatesville to first half flurry and comfortable victory
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
WEST CHESTER – Coatesville captured sealed the Ches Mont National title in convincing fashion, riding a late second half scoring surge to a 34-14 win at West Chester East Friday night.
After stopping East, on the game’s opening drive, junior quarterback Jordan Young once again proved himself to be a premier weapon on offense, completing three passes and keeping the ball himself for a 22 yard touchdown.
The Vikings managed to slow that threat a bit as they found success spreading the defense with four wide receiver sets and running through the middle of the defense. They managed to have some solid possession spells, particularly at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second where they put together 10 plays and kept the ball for six minutes.
“We were trying to keep six in the box when they spread us out. They had some seams there,” said Coatesville Head Coach Matt Ortega.
However, Coatesville’s defense held and forced a turnover on downs halfway through the second quarter.
Jordan Young keeps for a 22-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Once again, Young did it on the ground and through the air, producing a combined 56 yards on the drive and finishing with an 11-yard touchdown run to make the score 13-0 with 3:24 left.
Coatesville’s defense forced a three and out to quickly get the ball back, and the offense made the most of the remainder of the half.
The visitors struck quickly when Young hit senior tight end Amir Ealey on a long pass down the left sideline. Ealey caught the ball in stride, shook a defender, and took the ball in for a 57-yard score.
“It just makes me so much more confident,” Young said of having multiple receivers to pass to. “Last year, everybody was young, and everybody didn’t know what to do. Now, everybody’s back, we all know what to do, and we’re more confident.”
But even with 2:25 to go, Coatesville was not content to sit on the 20-0 lead to go into halftime.
On East’s first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, the option play led to a fumble, which Coatesville’s junior linebacker Chris Jordan recovered in Vikings territory. Young again connected with Ealey for a key play and then with senior wide receiver Jay Stocker on another key play to take the ball down to the 1. Young had over 250 total yards, one rushing, and two passing touchdowns in the game. Senior running back Jalen Hudson sealed the deal, punching the ball in to give his team a 27-0 lead going into the half.
“It just took us some time to get a feel for what they were doing, but once we knew what they were doing, we were able to make plays and get on the board,” said Ortega.
West Chester did manage to get on the board in the third quarter when junior cornerback Jon Jon Roberts grabbed an interception to set his team up in Coatesville territory. East immediately attacked Coatesville’s linebackers, running the ball, throwing the screen, and finishing with a play action pass for a touchdown.
Jalen Hudson takes a handoff to the second level. Coatesville depended on Hudson to run the game out.
However, Coatesville put the ball in Hudson’s hands, and his ability allowed the visitors to run out much of the rest of the game. Hudson earned 61 of his 109 yards in the third quarter and grabbed his second touchdown.
“We focus on both because if you don’t have a run game, you’re not going to be able to win, and if you don’t have a pass game, you’re not going to win,” said Young.
After an interception by Stocker, threw once and ran three times. Hudson finished the third quarter drive with an 11-yard touchdown run to make it 34-7.
Though East did manage to get another touchdown near the end of the game, Coatesville’s defense did well to hold off the Vikings and secure the team’s ninth win of the season. Combined with Downingtown East’s win over Downingtown West, Friday night also meant that Coatesville also clinched the ChesMont title.
“Overall, defensively we played well, and the defense made plays when they had to,” said Ortega.
East closes its season at Sun Valley next week, while undefeated Coatesville will go up against Downingtown West in a home matchup between possibly the two best teams in the ChesMonts.
