West Chester East Routed in Opener

The Spring-Ford Rams football team defeated West Chester East, 63-12 on Friday night, starting its season with a kick return for a touchdown by sophomore Jarred Jones and an eventual win.

"All I wanted to do was catch it," Jones said, who had to leap up in the air to catch and hold on to the opening kickoff. "All I was worried about was don’t drop the ball. Then, I found my blocks. You’ve got to set the tone early and make sure they know who they’re playing. We’re Spring-Ford."

The Rams came out scoring early, for sure, as they tacked on another quick seven after the Vikings went three and out on their first drive. A Hank Coyne pass to Tyler Yazujian went good for a touchdown, making the score 14-0 with still 9:25 left in the first quarter.

"We wanted to come out quickly and obviously we couldn’t come out any more quickly than that," said head coach Chad Brubaker. "That was Jarred Jones’ first touch ever on varsity and he took it all the way back. We know what kind of player he can be. He’s still pretty young. We wanted to come out and be pretty balanced. We wanted to take what they gave us, basically. Early, they were giving us some things on the perimeter, so we tried to take it."

Spring-Ford's strong play took a difficult turn after that possession, however, with West Chester East scoring 12 unanswered points. On the first series of plays, Spring-Ford was flagged for two personal foul calls that would reset the downs and move the chains for the Vikings. The penalties eventually led to the first score, and a Rams fumble led to the Vikings having the opportunity for the second.

"We got up quickly and then we kind of let them back in the game," said Brubaker. "We dropped a sure touchdown pass and after that they had the one big play and of course the two personal foul penalties. We thought our players were playing to the whistle, but that stuff will happen. They don’t quit. There’s a good attitude there and we keep rolling."

In the second quarter, the two teams battled back and forth. But, a tipped punt by the Rams led to the ball being placed on the opponents' 32 yard line, allowing junior Yusef Lundi to break free on the first play, scoring the 32-yard touchdown run.

"We scored so early, we kind of drifted off," said Lundi. "But, we wanted to stay focused and keep the pedal to the metal and finish them off on the second half. We didn’t want to lose focus."

Defensively, sophomore Mason Romano shined, with two consecutive sacks on the next play and an earlier punt block. Senior would score the succeeding touchdown on a 29-yard rush. The Vikings went three and out on the next series and the punt was blocked again, placing the ball on the 25 yard line with under five minutes to go in the half. That gave the Rams just enough time to score again.

The score came after a 21-yard pass to senior Darryl Branch, who took it all the way to the one yard line. The next play was a bit of a scare at first, with the handoff exchange being fumbled. However, Conway picked the ball up and punched it in for the score, making it 35-12.

"There’s always things you can correct, but I’m happy after getting in the endzone twice," Conway said. "It’s hard to prepare for a play like that, you have to think on your feet. We practice scoop and score drills every day at practice, so that helps."

Spring-Ford wasn't done there. They got the ball back yet again and drove the ball halfway down the field for a final score in the half. The score came from a 39-yard pass from Coyne to Yazujian.

The Vikings just couldn't find a groove after the half and would not score again since their first 12 points. Lundi scored one more time and Jones two solidifying the win at 63-12.

The Rams had 131 rushing yards and 219 passing yards in the game. Jones scored three touchdowns, Lundi and Conway scored two on the ground and Coyne threw two touchdowns to Yazujian. Coyne completed 12 of his 17 passing attempts.

Overall, the praises went to the offensive line across the board.

"It was a good game," Lundi said. "The o-line did really well. They opened up some good holes for me and it was easy to run through. It makes life a lot easier. We have a really good o-line. Coach Strickland does a really good job with them."

Next week, the Rams play Daniel Boone at home in what makes to be a solid matchup.

"They better be ready," Jones said. "We’re going to bring it to them. It’s going to be a good game."

Brubaker believes the game plan must be solid to pick up the win.

"It’s going to be a big game," he said. "We’re excited. We just said in the locker room and enjoy tonight. Then we’re going to come in Sunday, watch the film, be critical of ourselves. What Daniel Boone has achieved is what we want to do in District I. So, it’s a great matchup. It’s kind of a backyard renewal. They’re going to be ready to play and hopefully we are, too."