PIAA District One Championship Preview: 6A Downingtown West @ Central Bucks South
Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs
Michael Pietrangelo | November 22, 2023
The Who:
#6 Downingtown West Whippets @ #5 Central Bucks South Titans
The What:
The When:
Friday, November 24, 2023
Kickoff: 7 pm
The Where:
Titan Stadium
1100 Folly Road, Warrington, Pa 18976
Last 3 meetings: (*Playoffs)
8-30-2019 Dtown West 34 @ CB South 14
8-31-2018 CB South 0 @ Dtown West 37
11-16-2007 Dtown West 45 @ CB South 38 *
The Team Deets:
Head Coach: Tom Hetrick (10th Season W: 64 L: 43 T: 0)
League: Suburban One-National(6A)
Last season: (7-4) Overall (4-3) Conference
This Season: (12-1) overall (6-1) Conference
Last Week: Won, 42-14 over #1 Central Bucks West
Titans Notables: The Titans continue to roll to their 4th straight victory and third straight in the playoffs. They have beaten Coatesville 21-20 in round one, Spring-Ford 35-19 in round two, and last week the fifth-seeded Titans and head coach Tom Hetrick dispatched rivals, Top-seeded Central Bucks West 42-14 in the district semifinals. The Titans amassed over 450 yards rushing on the evening. Contributing to the effort were senior running backs Anthony Leonardi(23-301-3TDs), Corey Moore(20-91-3TDS), and Junior quarterback Owen Pinkerton (13-67) who combined for 459 yards and six touchdowns. No matter who you talked to after the game, the three ball carriers contributed their success to big guys up front. Those big guys are senior linemen; Collin Goetter, Rolan Hess, Kieran Padgett, and Nick Conte, Junior OL Nick Micewski, and senior TE Jake Menaker. “Without a doubt, the guy’s up front,” commented Anthony Leonardi after the game. He continued, “The guys on the perimeter and the fullback just kept opening up the holes. And we kept running right through.” I caught up with the senior running back and head coach earlier in the week and asked a few questions about the big game in my weekly preview interview.
Mayhem: “You guys are hosting the district One championship in your own backyard, a game in which your school has never played in before, what does this mean to you and how are you prepping for it?”
Anthony: “To have this opportunity to represent our school in a game like this means the world to us. We are going to make sure we’re working even harder than last week to prepare for this game.”
Mayhem: “The Whippet’s stingy defense is yielding an average of 14.3 points per game, what is going to be key for you and your squad to be successful?”
Anthony: “The key is the same as it is every game to execute our plays. We have to come out play hard and execute.”
Mayhem: “What’s your favorite football memory?
Anthony: “My favorite memory was the last game against CB West.”
Mayhem: “This is the first time in school history you’re playing in the District Championship, what are your thoughts on your team making it to the big game and being able to play in your own backyard?”
Tom: “It’s been a great year so far. These guys have accomplished so much, including a few “firsts” in the short history of South. We are excited for the opportunity to play in the District One championship game. Being able to do it in front of our fans makes it even better.”
Mayhem: “Offensively you guys are averaging an astonishing 358 yards & 34 points per game, What are the keys for your team to continuing that success Friday night?”
Tom: “Downingtown West has a great defense. We need to just continue to do what we have been doing. We need to take care of the football and execute a clean game plan.”
Head Coach: Mike Milano (21st Season W: 209 L: 128 T: 1)
League: Chest-Mont- National(6A)
Last season: (9-2) Overall (3-1) Conference
This Season: (11-2) overall (3-1) Conference
Last Week: Won, 17-14 over #2 Downingtown East
Whippets Notables: The Whippets shut out Council Rock South 17-0 in round one then followed that up with a 34-17 victory over Souderton in the second round. Last week the Whippets upset their rivals Downingtown East in a nail-biter, 17-14 to avenge an earlier loss to the Cougars during the regular season (35-7). The West defense was was brutal all night and held 2,000 yard rusher, running back Ayden Harris to 11 yards on 26 carries in the win. Senior quarterback and Old Dominion commit Quinn Henicle completed 70% (16/23) of his passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. He added another score on the ground which would be the deciding touchdown with only :16 left on the clock. Senior running back Kam Alex rushed for 90 yards on 16 attempts. After the victory head coach Mike Milano said, “When we played them the first time. they thumped us. But, we brought the film in this week and we saw they ran the ball 23 times for four yards last time. We thought if we could steal 10 of those plays and get it down to three yards we would be all right. These kids just played and played and played and they played their hearts out tonight. “I have said many times before that I have some real tough Downingtown kids, and they showed that once again tonight.” As with their counterparts, I caught up with Senior quarterback Quinn Henicle and head coach Mike Milano for some quick questions in regards to the upcoming championship.
Mayhem: The last time you were in a district championship was 2019 when you guys won it. What are your thoughts on being back in the big game and playing a team like CB South?
Mike: “My current seniors were in middle school during the 2019 championship season. They will tell you they have dreamed of and worked to get this opportunity they have now. We have played a great schedule with our opponents having won 100 games and lost only 50. We feel we are battle tested. We understand what a great team CB South is and know they will be another huge challenge for us.”
Mayhem: South has yielded only 171 points in 13 games which averages out to 13.2 per contest. What do you have to do offensively to be successful against their stout defense?
Mike: “We have already seen some great defenses in our league from Downingtown East and Coatesville. CB South is very stout as well. We will need to limit mistakes and turnovers and continue to have run and pass balance.”
Mayhem: To-date as a coach, what is your greatest football memory?
Mike: “Trying to identify my greatest memory is tough. This is my 31st year as a head coach. Beating Coatesville in the 2019 district final has to be one of them. Our win last Friday over D-East is right there too. They were unbeaten and had already put a beat down on us a few weeks ago.”
Mayhem: “The last time you were in a district championship was 2019 when you guys won it. What are your thoughts on being back in the big game and playing a team like CB South?”
Quinn: “I was in 8th grade when I saw the 2019 team win it, and ever since then it’s been my dream to get to this point. So it feels great to be the second team in school history to reach this game.”
Mayhem: “South has yielded only 171 points in 13 games which averages out to 13.2 per contest. What do you have to do offensively to be successful against their stout defense?”
Quinn: “Last week we played another very good defense and one thing we are going to have to avoid is shooting ourselves in the foot. We’ll have to eliminate mental mistakes and turnovers, and just play our brand of football.”
Mayhem: “To-date as a coach, what is your greatest football memory?”
Quinn: “My favorite football memory is probably throwing the game winner to win the league championship last year. But it’s very close between that and the game winner last week to advance to the title game.”
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