Downingtown East rebounds, ousts Henderson from playoffs

Two straight weeks of practicing what Downingtown East coach Mike Matta calls "assignment football" paid off.

One week after getting torched by the West Chester Henderson option offense, allowing 35 second-half points in a 42-20 beating, the Cougars topped Henderson, 28-17, on the road Friday night in the first round of the District 1 Class AAAA playoffs.

"It was an unbelievable win especially after ending the regular season on such a sour note," said Matta, whose team was a ninth seed, one slot below Henderson.

"The key to stopping the option is for everyone to stay disciplined and to stay focused on their own job. And after two weeks of practicing it, I think we did a nice job of stopping the option tonight."

The Cougars (9-2) move on to play No. 1 seed Council Rock South.

Henderson took the lead on the second play of the third quarter when quarterback Jake Richard escaped for a 52-yard touchdown, putting his team ahead by 17-14. It was Richard's second long touchdown run of the day.

At that point, Matta acknowledged having flashbacks to the second-half trouncing of the week before.

But for the rest of the game, the Cougars outmuscled their opponent, capitalizing on an up-tempo, smashmouth offense, led by sophomore running back Ryley Angeline, whom Matta described as "coming of age."

"He's getting better and better every single game," Matta said.

Quarterback Kyle Lauletta also turned in a big performance for the Cougars. The junior scored on a 5-yard run with 6 minutes, 23 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Cougars a lead they never lost.

Henderson (8-3) was hurt in the second half when running back Zack Jones went down with an injury, forcing Richard to play running back and Strafford Foster to take over under center.

Both teams had started the game with nearly picture-perfect drives.

Downingtown East received to start the game. After Dillan Martin returned the kickoff to the Henderson 49, the Cougars used six plays to drive 49 yards, capped by a 1-yard run by Angeline with 10:06 left in the first quarter.

Henderson answered right back, on its opening drive. On the Warriors' fourth play from scrimmage, Richard broke free around the corner for a 46-yard touchdown.

Despite a 17-play drive that consumed more than nine minutes of the second quarter, Henderson could not go into halftime with the lead.

The long drive ended with a 33-yard field goal by Kyle Morton. But Downingtown East came right back with a five-play drive. A 3-yard touchdown by Lauletta sent the Cougars into the locker room ahead by 14-10.

"We just didn't do as good of a job as we did last week," Henderson coach Joe Walsh said. "But I'm proud of our kids, proud of our coaches. It's been a great season."

Downingtown East   7 7 7 7 – 28

W.C. Henderson   7 3 7 0 – 17

DE: Angeline 1 run (White kick)

WCH: Richard 46 run (Morton kick)

WCH: FG Morton 33

DE: Lauletta 3 run (White kick)

WCH: Richard 52 run (Morton kick)

DE: Lauletta 5 run (White kick)

DE: Bond 12 yard pass from Lauletta (White kick)