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West Chester East Wins Thriller Over Avon Grove

 
Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 4, 2026

WEST CHESTER: They say good things come in small packages. When it comes to running backs, that statement is certainly true for the Avon Grove Red Devils and West Chester East Vikings. The Red Devils have Dominick Harriott whose listed on the roster at 5’9, 165 pounds. The Vikings have Cooper Verbos, who’s listed at 5’5 14. The two engaged in a thrilling battle that wasn’t decided until the Vikings came up with a stop on a two-point conversion with 1:10 remaining in the game, preserving a thrilling 28-27 victory.

On the stat sheet, Harriott won the battle rushing 28 times for 247 yards and one touchdown compared to Verbos’ 14 carries, 73 yards and one touchdown.

The Vikings wasted little time getting on the board, feeding Verbos three times on the game’s opening drive, netting 16 yards and setting the stage for their Towson commit Logan Cummings off a play-fake to find an open Chase Golden for a 43-yard touchdown, giving the Vikings the early 7-0 lead.

On their opening possession, the Red Devils moved the ball all the way down to the Vikings’ 29 before QB Nick Walraven was stopped by inches on fourth down, turning the ball over to the Vikings. The Red Devils forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Vikings drive, and then their offense went back to work, marching 75 yards on eight plays with Harriot accounting for 40 of the yards, but it was Walraven who got the Red Devils on the board with his 2-yard touchdown run tying things up at 7.

On the ensuing Vikings drive, they reached the Red Devils 9 before having to settle for a 26-yard field goal attempt that was no good. On the ensuing drive, the Vikings recovered a Red Devils fumble and took possession over at the Red Devils’ 42. On the first play following the turnover, the Vikings reached into their bag of tricks, pulling a flea-flicker that resulted in Cummings finding a wide Golden for the pair’s second touchdown, giving the Vikings the 14-7 lead with 5:30 left to play in the second quarter.

Back came the Red Devils with another 8-play, 75-yard drive that once again was capped by a Walraven touchdown run, this time from 6 yards out. Golden, however, was able to break through the line and block the PAT, keeping the Vikings in the lead at 14-13.

The Vikings managed to drive down to the Red Devils’ 23-yard line and attempted a 40-yard field goal that was no good before the clock expired in the first half.

On the Vikings’ first possession of the third quarter, Verbos extended the Vikings’ lead to 21-13 with his 3-yard touchdown run with 2:12 left in the third quarter.

Back came the Red Devils on their ensuing drive, marching down 79 yards on 12 plays before Walraven capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. Walraven added the 2-point conversion, tying the game up at 21 with 7:13 remaining and setting the stage for a dramatic ending.

On the fourth play of the ensuing drive, Verbos busted through the Red Devils’ defense for a 45-yard gain that put the Vikings down at the Red Devil 5, and on the next play Cummings connected with Matt Kendro for the go-ahead score and the 28-21 lead with 4:28 left in the game.

“Coop is hell of a running back, and we’ve got him for a few more years.” Vikings Head Coach Dean Owens said of Verbos whose only a sophomore, adding, “I know he’s tiny, but he runs well above his weight. He’ll hit the hole where he’s supposed to. He did a hell of a job tonight.”

On the ensuing Red Devils drive, it appeared as if Carl Komorowski may have sealed the deal for the Vikings when he intercepted Walraven, but the Red Devils defense quickly forced a three-and-out and took over with 1:23 left to play. On the first play of the ensuing possession, Harriot broke free and was off to the races, going in for a 38-yard touchdown. Immediately, Red Devils Head Coach Joe Coffey elected to go for the lead and put the ball in the hands of his QB, Walraven, who was met and stopped by James Kernicky and Enzo Bell. The Vikings recovered the ensuing onside kick, preserving the victory.

“We were going for two, we were going for two, no doubt about it.” Red Devils head coach Joe Coffey said of his decision to go for two and win, adding, “Another phenomenal leader in our program, our Quarterback Nick Walraven playing safety too, not coming off the field, we ran heavy; he wanted a play, and they stopped it.”

When asked about Harriott, Coffey had nothing but praise, saying, “Dom Harriott, what a great kid. He runs the ball hard, he’s a phenomenal human being, a top-notch human being, and his work ethic matches it on the football field.”

With Rosh Hashanah being observed next week, both the Vikings and Red Devils will once again play on Thursday night next week. The Vikings will look to improve to 3-0 when they travel to take on fellow unbeaten Upper Perkiomen in what should be a battle of two teams who have serious potential to make noise in this year’s District 1 5A playoffs. The Red Devils will look to pick up their first win of the season when they travel to Spring-Ford. Both games kick off at 7 pm.

 
 
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