KEARNEY SCORES EARLY AND OFTEN, WHIPPETS WHIP HATBORO HORSHAM 49-28

Paul Sarpen

 

    Tonight was redemption for standout Downingtown West standout quarterback Nolan Kearney, after he had a rare "off" game in a 44-29 defeat of Bishop Shanahan last week.  This week Kearney accounted for all seven Whippet touchdowns, in a 49-28 decimation of Hatboro-Horsham, in the opening round of the District 1 playoffs.  The game was not even that close, as the Hatters had no answers for the Downingtown West offense- the Whippets scored touchdowns on 7 of 9 possessions.

 

    When Downingtown West tailback Jared Heller rushes for 45 yards on the night, one would think that the Whippets would be soundly beaten.  This was not the case, as Nolan Kearney completed his first 13 passes on the night, and 15 completions on the night.  Kearney riddled Hatboro-Horsham for 258 yards through the air, 90 on the ground, and accounted for all seven touchdowns.  Whenever Downingtown West needed a big play, their big time player made it.

 

    It took Downingtown West 13 plays to take a 14-0 lead.  The Whippets took the opening kickoff, drove 73 yards in 7 plays, capped by a 5 yard toss from Kearney to Matt McLaughlin.  Following a Hatboro-Horsham punt, it took the Whippets six plays to score again- this time it was Jared Heller on the receiving end of a 42 yard strike from Kearney.  The onslaught continued after another Hatter punt, this time Kearney scored on a one yard plunge. 

 

    Once Hatboro-Horsham was down 21-0, they finally started to move the ball.  Running the Wing-T offense, Hatter quarterback Mike Zollo scored from 1 yard out.  A 17 yard touchdown pass from Nolan Kearney to Jared Heller, put Downingtown West ahead 28-7 at halftime.  The game was not quite over, as Hatboro-Horsham pieced together another strong drive, and Zollo hit paydirt yet again from one yard out.  Downingtown West had a 28-14 lead, but the Hatters were starting to take some momentum, as they had three straight drives over 60 yards.  Two of the three drives resulted in touchdowns, halftime ended the second drive.

 

    Any momentum that Hatboro-Horsham had early in the third quarter, was quickly taken away by two quick Downingtown West touchdowns.  A third touchdown pass from Kearney to Heller, and another Kearney quarterback sneak, expanded the Whippets' advantage to 42-14.  Hatboro-Horsham would not go away though, as they scored two of the game's final three touchdowns, both from Mike Zollo to Obi Ejimonyeugwo.

 

    As well as Downingtown West's offense has played the last two weeks- their defense has struggled, especially against the pass.  The Whippets have given up 568 yards passing, covering the last two games.  Whippets head coach Mike Milano stated "We have to fix our pass defense, and quickly.  Any of the other 7 teams left in the playoffs have strong quarterbacks.  Downingtown East and Henderson have strong quarterbacks."

 

    With the win, Downingtown West (9-1) earned a road game opposite the Central Bucks South Titans. 

 

    How about this for wild- Downingtown East and Downingtown West might be playing a rescheduled game as part of the District 1 playoffs.  If Downingtown West wins at Central Bucks South, and Downingtown East defeats Ches-Mont National rival West Chester Henderson- we might have the "Downingtown Civil War" in the District 1 playoffs on 11/23.  If both Downingtown teams lose, they will play on the night before Thanksgiving.  Imagine the implications of the Downingtown Civil War if both teams win next week.  It will mean 2nd place in the Ches-Mont League, and a trip to the district 1 championship game.

 

Downingtown West 14-14-7-14- 49

Hatboro-Horsham- 0-7-7-14- 28 

Scoring
First Quarter-         DHSW- McLaughlin 5 pass from Kearney (Phillips kick)

                              DHSW- Heller 42 pass from Kearney (Phillips kick)

Second Quarter-    DHSW- Kearney 1 run (Phillips kick)               

      HHHS- Zollo- 1 run (Paone kick)

      DHSW- Heller 17 pass from Kearney (Phillips kick)

Third Quarter-        HHHS- Zollo 1 run (Paone kick)

                        DHSW- Heller 13 pass from Kearney (Phillips kick)

Fourth Quarter-      DHSW- Kearney 1 run (Phillips kick)

                        HHHS- Ejimoneugwo 22 pass from Zollo (Paone kick)

                        DHSW- Kearney 1 run (Phillips kick)

                        HHHS- Ejimoneugwo 45 pass from Zollo (Paone kick)

Team Totals

                                    DHSW             HHHS
First downs                  21                    19       

Yards rushing               33-186             36-142  

Yards passing               258                  263

Total yards                   444                  405

Passing                         15-17-0           15-26-0

Fumbles-Lost               1-1                  0-0

Penalties                       4-35                 5-25

Punts-Avg.                   1-33                 3-32.3

Individual Statistics
RUSHING – Downingtown West- Kearney 11-90 3 TD, Heller 15-45, Miller 2-22, McLaughlin 2-(minus 6), Boggs 1-13

Hatboro-Horsham- Zollo 20-91 2TD, Borbin 3-13, Ranson 3-1, #30 5-11, Smith 3-8, Coombs 2-18

PASSING – Downingtown West- Kearney 15-17 258 yards, 4td

Hatboro-Horsham- Zollo 15-26, 263 yards, 2 td
RECEIVING – Downingtown West- Heller 3-72 3td, Ludwig 7-101, Miller 3-72, McLaughlin 1-5 TD, Johnson 1-8

Hatboro-Horsham-  Ranson 2-13, Prendergast 6-83, Coombs 1-12, Ejimonyeugwo 6-155 2td