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Unionville Shuts-Out Chichester On Homecoming

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News

| October 1, 2022

KENNETT SQUARE PA –As the tropical storm known as Ian rolled over the area, it was still game time for two District 1 teams. A gloomy night, with dark clouds casting shadows over Unionville HS Stadium, set the tone for what was to come. Unionville was looking to bounce back from a blowout loss last week to Coatsville. While their opponent, Chichester, was looking to end their three-game losing skid with an upset. Unionville would not give Chichester a chance to do that on their Homecoming, as they steamrolled over Chichester for a 24-0 win.

As the wind circulated the stadium, the approaching kick-off was not the only thing giving people chills. The team captains met centerfield for the standard of an American classic, the coin toss. Out comes the coin from the referee’s pocket, it left his hand, and each player’s eyes followed it up and back down. Unionville won the toss and elected to defer. Chichester chose to receive, and Unionville sat back, ready to kick off. As the words “…and the home of the brave” travel off into the distance, it again is time for Friday Night Lights!

Chi QB Dan Kelly

Out trotted Chichester’s offense to get things started. A familiar name returned to the starting role at QB, Dan Kelly. His arm would not be seen yet, as the first play of the game stayed on the ground for a 20-yard run by Shawn Bedwell. Unfortunately, the big run would be no benefit to Chichester as Unionville forced a fumble and recovered. The ball was now in the Longhorn’s possession at their 40, it was time for their offense to put something together. A repeating pattern showed up tonight for Chichester’s defense, their ability to stop the run, but only in the first half. Two runs by Unionville equaled two negative gains. It once again looked like Chichester honed in on what they got ripped apart by the last two weeks, but that would soon change. A wasted drive by Chichester would eventually force them to punt, on 4th and 6 the ball left the foot of Chichester’s punter, Dom Nardini, and glided through the air. As if it were slow motion, it dropped into the hands of Unionville’s Joe King. He took off for his destination, the endzone. Cutting in and out and weaving defenders, he found himself with no one to beat. With an open field in front of him, he took it to the house for a 75-yard return touchdown. Jack Reichert follows it up by nailing a PAT. Unionville sat on top with a score of 7-0 halfway through the first.

The rest of the first quarter would see no score change, but it would see a new side of Chichester QB Dan Kelly. As Kelly progressed through his first season as a varsity starter, it was trial and error for the first half of the season. With his nerves somewhat calmed down, he looked deep downfield multiple times through the first quarter. While all of them were incomplete, he was overthrowing his receivers, a step in the right direction after underthrowing for a decent amount of the season. The first quarter ended with a score of 7-0 for Unionville.

Enter quarter number two, where pre-snap penalties began to plague both teams. Each drop of rain slowly started to fall from the sky, until it was a steady shower for the rest game. Unionville would eventaully find themselves in a 4th and 4 situation. The decison was made to go for it. Chichester’s defense was patiently waiting to blow the play up, and they did just that. Forcing him down just short of the first down would give them the ball. Not much action would be seen as both teams would push a heavy run offense. It began to show that whoever had the better defense was going to win this matchup. Jack Reichert swept a beautiful field goal off his foot from 38 yards out to put Unionville up 10-0 at the half.

Unionville Marching Band

After a Homecoming presentation and performance from Unionville’s marching band, fans settled for the second half. After a sizable return by Unionvilles’s Jake Minter, the Longhorns found themselves on their opponent’s 26-yard line. Chichester’s defense put the brakes on Unionville and forced them into a 4th and 8 situation. Without hesitation, Unionville decided to go for it. Unionville’s Joe King sat in the backfield waiting for the snap. King took the handoff and looked for 8 yards and nothing less. He was not settling for 8 yards, and he did not. King found himself in the endzone with another touchdown to his name. Unionville grew their lead by 7 after a good PAT. Unionville went up 17-0.

 

Within that same quarter would come a huge blow to Chichester’s offense. Chichester’s RB Shawn Bedwell raced out of the backfield and tried to beat a man around the corner. Bedwell was wrapped up and thrown to the ground. As the pile cleared, Bedwell was left on the ground in pain after an injury to his right foot. He was taken to a local hospital where X-rays began. Many, including himself, thought a broken foot was a possibility. After further tests and X-rays, it was concluded that he suffered no broken bone or serious injury. He was given the all-clear to return next week and plans to do just that. Running the ball continued to be a constant theme throughout the game. Chichester lost their touch as stopping the run fell out of hand for them. Unionville would put up 120 yards of rushing on them throughout the game. It came time for the third quarter to pass the torch to the fourth. Moving on fast was not Unionville’s idea. With just over a minute left in the third Unionville had a short field in front of them. A passing touchdown thrown by QB Levi Brawley would put them up 24-0 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was stagnant. Unionville having a 4 possession lead, continued to chew the clock and run the ball. Running would be so prevalent, Unionville’s Levi Brawley would only attempt six passes all night. Chichester lost another player, Andrew Foster V. Not seeing him at center is a rare site. Being a four-year varsity center no one has seen anyone but Foster for a long time. Junior, Brendan Baldwin stepped in to play out the rest of the game. Chichester battling many injuries still went pedal to the metal in hopes to win the game. Unionville had a deeper roster and a better game plan. As the game clock strikes zero, Unionville takes the win 24-0.

Both teams coming off a loss needed the win. Chichester especially was starving to take a win home on their first away game of the season. Unionville on their homecoming protected their turf and allowed not a single point to cross the board. Unionville now 3-3, will head on the road to their rival Kennett (3-3) in hopes to take them down for the second season in a row. Chichester now 1-5 will also head down the road to play a Del Val league game against Interboro (4-2). Where star RB Abu Kamara sits waiting for them.

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