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Sports

Henderson Dominates Crosstown Rival East, 36-0

A strong running game and a stingy defense help the West Chester Henderson Warriors improve to 4-0.

The West Chester Henderson High School football team shut out crosstown rival West Chester East, 36-0, before a near capacity home crowd at J. Oscar Dicks Stadium Friday night.

With this victory, Henderson tallies its first Ches-Mont National Division win and maintains its unblemished record, improving to 4-0. Five different players found the endzone as quarterback James Bady directed a bruising ground attack to complement the Warriors’ suffocating defense.

“The expectations are always high, and we’ve played up to them.” said first-year Coach Steve Mitten when asked about the team’s performance so far this season.  

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Against the much improved Vikings, Henderson had to play well for the result they achieved. West Chester East has steadily improved in spite of having a very young team.

“We were about 10 plays away from being a good football team last year. This year we’re only about four plays away,” stated West Chester East head coach Dan Ellis, now in his second season in charge of the Vikings.

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Before the game, the Henderson family dedicated the season to the late longtime coach and educator Jim “Smitty” Smith with pregame ceremonies. The Warriors followed with an inspired performance, especially on defense, preserving the shutout with a series of big plays.

Senior standout Spencer Rymiszewski blocked a field goal attempt and other highlights on defense came from Declan Kane, Chris Mitten, Chris Lott, Nick Rizzo, Bryan White and Matt Eichman.

Both Rymiszewski and Mitten scored touchdowns as well, much to the delight of the hometown crowd. The running game was led by senior Derek Matonti, whose three-yard run opened up the scoring in the first quarter. The other running back star was junior Garrett Girafalco, who carried 10 straight times for 66 yards and four first downs in a second quarter assault that Bady finished off with a four yard touchdown run to make the halftime score 22-0.

Rymiszewski’s 33 yard touchdown run late in the third quarter brought the score to 28-0 and sophomore Brian Armstrong finished off the scoring with a nine yard run late in the final period. Sean Engle had a good night, hitting four extra points and contributing to stellar special teams play with a touchback on one kickoff and solid punting throughout the night.

East, now 1-3, battled throughout against the more experienced Warriors, getting strong performances from freshman quarterback JonJon Roberts, junior two-way standout Rob Ritrovato, the brother tandem of Alex and Nick Corialos, and running backs Jordan Jackson and Jason Costa.

Henderson will try to keep its undefeated streak alive Friday night, September 28, at J. Oscar Dicks Stadium with a 7:15 p.m. start. West Chester East will be looking to get back on track the same night at 7 p.m., hosting Downingtown West.

Mike Griffith writes sports for the Henderson Warrior school newspaper.

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