Council Rock South limited Downingtown East to just three yards on the ground and turned a 14-13 halftime lead into a 31-19 win.
By NATE HECKENBERGER
NEWTOWN -- If it wasn't working, Council Rock South coach Vince Bedesem might seem stubborn.
When it does work, though, Bedesem looks like an awfully smart football coach.
Friday, "it" was running his wishbone offense, and against No. 9 Downingtown East, the option game was resilient, powerful, and ultimately effective, fueling top-seeded Council Rock South to a 31-19 home victory in the Class AAAA District 1 second round playoff game.
The Golden Hawks rushed for 327 yards, while holding the Cougars to just three. Brian Donnelly led the way with 155 yards on the ground and a pair of scores.
"That was the game plan, and the kids did a great job," Bedesem said. "And the coaches were that exact word: patient."
Rock South ran the ball 58 times on the night, and 45 of them went for five yards or less. Despite the lack of explosiveness, the constant body blows kept East's weapons on the sidelines and eventually wore the Cougar defense down.
Hawks' fullback Ryan Whiteley got the scoring started from two yards out in the first quarter, but East came right back with an 83-yard kick return touchdown by Jay Harris. The Cougars recovered a surprise on-sides kick, but South made one of two key stops of the half in its own zone.
Aaron Presley picked off Kyle Lauletta's pass on third-and-seven, and returned it 56 yards. Four plays later Anthony Alimenti exploded for a 29-yard TD jaunt on a double dive play that gave East fits all night.
"They're a well-coached team and the offense they run is unusual," East coach Mike Matta said. "We don't see it often. We knew the quarterback could run, but the double dive with (Alimenti) we worked our butts off all week, and we thought we'd be able to stop it, but we didn't.
East stormed right back and scored early in the second quarter, but a blocked extra point kept Rock South ahead by one (14-13).
It was almost eight minutes later that Rock South potentially preserved its victory.
After recovering a fumble, the Cougars sliced South's defense to get all the way to the four-yard line with a goal-to-go situation. The Hawks were stingy the first three downs, and on fourth-and-one, they were not fooled on a play-action roll-out, sacking Lauletta for a 10-yard loss to keep the 14-13 lead intact going into the half.
"The kids did a great job to not let them in there," Bedesem said. "That definitely changes the outcome of the game."
Rock South forced a three-and-out to open the second half and them promptly went 60 yards on six plays, the final a 42-yard keeper by Donnelly to make it 21-13. Just as the Hawks looked to be slamming the door, Lauletta found Todd Dais behind the defense for a 75-yard score on third-and-20.
That was all the Cougars would get, as South stunned them for minus-eight yards on their other 14 plays in the second half.
"It's scary when teams have weapons," Bedesem said. "It was important to be able to nip them in the bud."
Donnelly punched another TD in on the second play of the fourth quarter and Ben Solis added a 32-yard field goal. Alimenti finished with 95 yards on 16 carries, while Whiteley added 60 yards.
La Salle transfer P.J. Steinmetz registered two sacks, and Jake Presley and Andrew Cohen each caught Lauletta in the backfield as well. Christian Preski had Rock South's second interception for a defense that will face another explosive option offense in Garnet Valley next week.
Council Rock South 31, Downingtown East 19
Downingtown East 7 6 7 0 – 19
Council Rock South 14 0 7 10 – 31
Scoring
CRS- Whiteley 2 run (Solis kick)
DTE- J. Harris 83 kick return (White kick)
CRS- Alimenti 29 run (Solis kick)
DTE- Angeline 2 run (kick blocked)
CRS- Donnelly 42 run (Solis kick)
DTE- Dais 75 pass from Lauletta (run failed)
CRS- Donnelly 1 run (Solis kick)
CRS- Solis 32 field goal
Team Totals
DTE CRS
First downs 10 12
Yards rushing 3 327
Yards passing 210 0
Total yards 213 327
Passing 13-26-2 0-5-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 4-2
Penalties 2-10 4-22
Punts-Avg. 4-29 2-33.5
Individual Statistics
RUSHING - DTE: Mastrog 4-15; Angeline 11-13, TD; team 1-11; Lauletta 6-(-14). CRS: Donnelly 17-155, 2 TD; Alimenti 16-95, TD; Whiteley 20-60, TD; Steinmetz 4-14; Crane 1-3.
PASSING - DTE: Lauletta 13-26-210, TD, 2 INT. CRS: Donnelly 0-5-0.
RECEIVING - DTE: Mastrog 5-84; J. Harris 4-27; Bond 2-23; Dais 1-75; Restrepo 1-1.
SACKS - DTE: Wetty. CRS: Steinmetz 2, J. Presley, Cohen.
INTERCEPTIONS - DTE: none. CRS: A. Presley, Preski.
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