[ad_1]
By Bryan Davis
bdavis@dailylocal.com
@btdavis25 on Twitter
DOWNINGTOWN >> Humming along like a high-end European sports car, the Downingtown East football team posted another convincing victory Friday night.
The Cougars scored on six of their seven possessions and posted their fifth shutout of the season as they waltzed to a 42-0 win over Oxford in a Ches-Mont League crossover game at Kottmeyer Stadium.
“I think we did a nice job,” said East coach Mike Matta. “I think the kids played real hard. Offensively, we moved the ball. Defensively, they gave us a couple of problems here and there. We missed some tackles and weren’t as sharp as we would like to be. Five shutouts in six games, I’m pretty happy with that.”
Most of East’s scoring drives weren’t exactly time-consuming. They had the ball for less than a minute in three of the drives.
Running back Ayden Harris had another outstanding game. He racked up 153 yards on 16 carries and a pair of TDs in just the first half. Harris came into the game second in the area with 751 yards and first with 16 touchdowns.
“I believe in coach Matta and when I first got here, they welcomed me with open arms,” said Harris. “Everything they said was perfect and we kept working as a team. Without them (the offensive line), I wouldn’t have any of the yards. It’s a great program and I trust the program.”
The first time the Cougars had the ball, it was a Harris drive. He accounted for all 57 yards on the seven-play drive — six runs, one pass. He capped it off by plowing in from the three and a quick 7-0 lead.
The Hornets (1-5) went a quick three-and-out the next time they had the ball and punted back to the Cougars. A short punt put them on the Oxford 42-yard line. Harris had runs of 11 and 7 yards, before JJ Helverson finished off the drive by finding a wide open Jackson Noble with a 24-yard strike for the score.
Helverson was the model of efficiency on the evening, completing on all six of his attempts for 106 yards and two TDs.
“JJ did amazing,” said Harris. “He’s a leader. Anything he says, goes, and we follow him. We rally behind JJ and he’s a strong quarterback and I believe in every word he says.”
“He’s thrown (only) 11 incompletes,” added Matta. “He’s been really accurate with the ball. He’s really goes through his reads well. It’s a credit to our coaching staff. I’m pretty happy with that.”
Helverson notched his second TD pass on the night, hitting Alex Rios on a 20-yarder to bump the lead to 21-0.
Oxford put together its best drive of the game in the second quarter, going 15 plays and 40 yards, but still came away empty on the scoreboard. They gave the ball back to the Cougars and D-East went right back down the field, aided by a 35-yard pass from Helverson to Michael Brown and a 20-yard run by Harris. Owen Lammy punched it in from the 8 yard line to make it 28-0.
The game reached the mercy rule as Harris went in from the 9 yard line late in the first half and the Cougars were comfortably in front at halftime, 35-0.
The Cougars finished off the scoring after taking the second-half kickoff and marched again as the substitutes had a chance to gain some yards. Lalit More powered in from the three to put finishing scoring touch on the contest.
The defense stood out again, holding Oxford to 58 total yards in the first half.
“It’s about preparation. We prepared all week. We didn’t play our best last week and we have to give them the full wrath of Downingtown football, which we did tonight,“ said Daesean Dais, who recorded two of the five sacks for East. “We just play with energy and passion. We play for each other. It’s a brotherhood. We love each other and we play for each other.”
The Cougars moved to 6-0 and remained one of five five undefeated 6A teams in District 1.
[ad_2]
Source_link
