DOWNINGTOWN — With star running back, Amari Cannon, out with an injury and an offense that went stagnant for almost two full quarters, Downingtown West found its unexpected answer at just the right time.
Listed at 5-foot-7, 170 pounds, West senior, Jacob Barry, simply did what he does best. Play hard, go forward and let the chips fall where they may.
In this instance, with 24 seconds left in the third quarter, Barry willed his way into the end zone, rolling over his lead blockers to give the Whippets a lead they wouldn’t surrender in a 20-19 inter-league win over visiting West Chester Rustin.
“I was like, ‘I’m ready to go,’” Barry said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life. I got in there and was like, ‘it’s game time. It’s time to go.’”
The Golden Knights (4-2) scored on their ensuing drive, but their two-point conversion was stuffed by Max Wolfington, leading to Rustin’s second one-point loss of the season.
Cannon gave West (4-2) a lead 11 seconds into the ball game with a 99-yard kickoff return. He was mostly stifled by the Rustin defense, however, with 27 yards on 11 carries and did not return in the second half.
The Whippets found their biggest offensive play of the night in the Wildcat formation, where TJ Sinkus took the snap and raced 40 yards up the gut for a score to push West’s lead to 13 in the first quarter.
“Our kids just don’t give up,” West coach Tom Kline said. “We had a couple mistakes in the first half, came in at halftime and made a few adjustments. … (Rustin) is a really good football team and they are really well-coached. It’s an honor to go against (Mike St. Clair). It’s only our second time playing, but they’ve been great games.”
West won the initial matchup, 14-7, last season, but round two had a few more fireworks. Rustin got on the board with a 28-yard touchdown run by Will Garner late in the first.
On the Knights’ next drive, Max Blane was picked off by Zac Cottone. But Rustin’s Max Learn had his QB’s back and stepped in front of a Cole Bricker pass the next possession and returned it 76 yards for the tying score.
Neither team could muster much offense until late in the third quarter, though Rustin did start a drive at the West 26 but missed out on points with a failed field goal.
Barry got his first carry on West’s final drive of the third. After a nine-yard jaunt by Wolfington, Barry collected the final 11 yards, the last a one-yard score.
“That’s the thing about (Barry),” Kline said. “There’s no shake to him. There’s no side to side or anything like that. What we wanted to do with some of the schemes was run downhill and he did it.”
After five straight empty possessions, Rustin flipped the switch, trailing by seven. Garner carried it five times for 36 yards, going 19 to the away pylon for his second TD of the night.
Like Pope John Paul II did to the Knights three weeks ago, Rustin went for two and the lead, but this try was thwarted by Wolfington with seven minutes remaining.
“I thought, if we scored again at that point in the game, we’d go for two,” St. Clair said. “We make it, we’re up one. We don’t, hopefully we get the ball back at the end of the game, we get a shot and we did. And we almost scored a touchdown on the last play.”
Rustin did get the ball back, and with good field position thanks to a long punt return by Jimmy Boland. Starting at the Rustin 46, the Knights crossed midfield, but on fourth-and-five, Blane fired a pass deep that Learn nearly caught at the two-yard line.
Garner had 100 yards on the ground, Colin Baldesari added 84 more and Rustin out-gained West, 212-207. The Knights host Downingtown East next week before finally getting to play a Ches-Mont Central Division game October 10.
“When you play the Downingtowns and the Coatesvilles, you always want to win those games because they’re the big dogs on the block,” St. Clair said. “There’s not really a league anymore, it’s just three games. We just get ready for the West Chesters and Great Valley.”
Downingtown West 20, West Chester Rustin 19
West Chester Rustin 6 7 0 6-19
Downingtown West 13 0 0 7-20
Scoring
First
DW- Cannon 99 kick return (Sharp kick)
DW- Sinkus 40 run (kick blocked)
WCR- Garner 28 run (kick blocked)
Second
WCR- Learn 76 interception return (Schaadt kick)
Fourth
DW- Barry 1 run (Sharp kick)
WCR- Garner 19 run (run failed)
Team Totals
WCR DW
First downs 7 8
Yards rushing 202 149
Yards passing 10 58
Total yards 212 207
Passing 1-6-1 6-11-1
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Punts-avg 3-34.8 4-46.5
Penalties-yds 4-35 5-35
Individual Statistics
Rushing: WCR — Garner 13-100, 2 TDs; Baldesari 12-84; Blane 3-10; Boland 4-8. DW — Sinkus 3-48, TD; Barry 10-45, TD; Cannon 11-27; McComsey 3-15; Wolfington 1-9; Levey 3-9; Shoemaker 1-4; Bricker 2-(-2); team 2-(-6).
Passing: WCR — Blane 1-6-1, 10 yards. DW — Bricker 6-11-1, 58 yards.
Receiving: WCR — Matthias 1-10. DW — Goode-Kimble 4-49; Cannon 2-9.
Interceptions: WCR — Learn. DW — Cottone.
Source: Berkshire mont