DOWNINGTOWN — With so many new starters, especially on defense, you figure there would some growing pains for the Downingtown East High School football team. Friday, in its home opener at Kottmeyer Stadium, the pains took hold as Toms River North scored on its first four possessions as they made its trip from New Jersey a happy one with an impressive 31-2 nonleague victory.
“They were really good. Talented, well coached,” said East coach Mike Matta. “They were physical and they had great schemes. This is my 22nd year at Downingtown East and 28th at Downingtown and I don’t know if we played a team as fast as that. We may have played teams bigger, but they were fast.”
The Mariners (1-0) took the opening kickoff and didn’t take long to make an impression. On the first play of the drive, quarterback T.J. Valerio hit Nasir Jackson on a short pass, then he took it 28 yards into Downingtown East territory. They capped the five-play drive as Valerio took off running after getting pressured, broke a tackle and scampered 15 yards for the early 7-0 lead.
“That first half, we were absolutely dominant,” said Valerio. “Offense was full steam and defense was full steam the whole game. Offense slowed down a little in the second half and we’ll work on that in practice to keep going.”
When East (0-2) took its first possession, a familiar pattern began to emerge. They ended up losing three yards on a 3rd-and-1 and had to punt.
North went five plays again to put another touchdown on the board. A 20-yard run from Valerio and a 27-yard pass from Valerio to Jackson put them in scoring position. On second down, Valerio tossed a strike to Morecai Ford on a post pattern over the middle for a 26-yard TD. Midway through the quarter, North had a 14-0 advantage.
The third time they touched the ball, it was rinse and repeat for the Mariners. A blown coverage left Camryn Thomas wide open on the right side. He caught the Valerio pass and waltzed in for a 21-0 lead to close the first quarter.
“The first quarter is where we get our momentum,” said Valerio. “Me and Camryn, and all of us, have been working all summer to get to this moment. So, it was really special to see it in (a) game. I’m really happy.”
“We were trying to pick our poison on defense and didn’t seem to pick the right one,” added Matta. “That touchdown was all on us (coaches). We had the wrong personnel on the field and a guy lined up wrong. We made some mistakes.”
North threatened again early in the second. They had a first-and-goal at the Downingtown East 10, Valerio carried to the five, but two straight incomplete passes forced a field goal. Nasaih Coimin hit from 23 yards to extend the lead to 24-0.
The Cougars were held without a first down in the first half and they were outgained by the unheard of margin of 303-0.
North started the second half with a turnover as Jackson intercepted a Mason Ippolito pass.
However, they went three-and-out, and the Cougars thought they found some momentum as Abraham Sesay Jr. blocked a punt for East’s first big play of the evening. Even though the Cougars picked up their initial first down, the drive stalled and they turned the ball over on downs back the Mariners.
North moved into East territory, then Valerio hit Jackson on a little flare pass in the right flat.
Jackson did the rest as he sped into the end zone to finish off the 39-yard pass to give North a 31-0 lead.
“This is my stat machine,” Valerio said of Jackson. “I toss him the rock and I’m already headed to the sideline because I know it’s six.”
“Caught the ball from my guy here and do I usually do,” added Jackson. “Just turn it up and go north and south as quick as I can.”
The Downingtown East defense was a bright spot in the second half, holding North to the one score. But, they struggled all night offensively. Their longest play of the game – a 31-yard run from Alex Rios — didn’t come until the final series of the game.
They averted the shutout when North was backed up on its own one and Coimin took a safety rather than risk the punt.
Valerio finished the game 15-of-23 passing for 270 yards and three scores. Jackson caught 10 of those completions for 153 yards. They finished with a 410-80 advantage in total yards for the contest.
“We already have a chip on our shoulder, but travelling out of state, we’re boys from Jersey and we have a lot of pride in New Jersey, so whenever we go out of state, we want to show what Jersey is all about,” said Valerio.
The Cougars face another tough game next Friday, when they go on the road to face Spring-Ford and Division 1 Missouri commit quarterback Matt Zollers.
“We have to do better on the offensive line,” said Matta. “Every one of them is new. We’ll coach them up. They’ll be better.”
