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Eagles slay Vikings



DOWNINGTOWN - Like a rabbit punch to the nose, West Chester East's impressive drive and field goal to start the second quarter ignited Bishop Shanahan's competitive fire.

"We huddled and said 'Let's stay calm, don't get nervous and take care of business'," said Shanahan running back Keegan Lawton.

And that's exactly what they did. After falling behind, the Eagles, led by Lawton's 124 yards, scored four unanswered touchdowns to methodically dispatch the Vikings, 29-3, on Saturday afternoon at Jack Mancini Field in Ches-Mont League National Division action.

"That tore us apart," said East coach Doug Costin. "When you're that close you have to push it in the end zone. The three points were great, but it's not like seven, and that was the momentum turner. They (Shanahan) just kept on going with it."

Although nothing is official, the win puts the Eagles (2-3 division, 5-3 overall) in prime position to make the postseason for the first time in school history.

"It's amazing and it's great to be part of it," said Lawton.

"We're going to go back to practice this week - prepare for our last two games, and hopefully earn a good seed in the playoffs and get a home game."

Shanahan coach Paul Meyers gave all the credit for the successful season to his seniors.

"It's because of the offseason work these kids put in," said the coach. "We have great senior leadership, and it was their goal to make it to the playoffs this year - and they are almost there."

The first quarter came and went with bewildering inefficiency from both sides. The Eagles were forced to punt twice and fumbled once. Meanwhile, the Vikings (0-5, 1-6) punted three times and turned the ball over on downs. It seemed like whichever squad could get on the board first would control the momentum.

Not quite.

With Nick Scotese under center for the opening drive of the second quarter, the Vikings threw for 49 yards and rushed for 28, pushing Shanahan to within its own five-yard line. However, the Eagles' defense held strong and East had to settle for an Andrew Stilp field goal.

"That hurt us a lot," said Scotese, who finished with 52 yards in the air and 29 on the ground. "We should have been able to punch it in there."

On the ensuing possession, still feeling the momentum from the stop, Shanahan's Ryan Egolf took a QB keeper 48 yards down field. That was followed up by a 10-yard land grab from Lawton and then a seven-yard touchdown run from Egolf, with 3:51 left in the half. Mike Ibarguen ran in the two-point conversion to give the Eagles the 8-3 lead.

"It was a good stop," said Meyers. "We started a little slow, but then realized we had to kick it up at that point."

Costin saw his team's attitude change after the touchdown.

"A lot of it is a lack of confidence," he said. "When they get down they don't think they can come back."

Getting the ball back with just 1:46 left before the break, Egolf caught the East defense cheating up and hit a wide-open Lawton for a 39-yard touchdown pass to give Shanahan the 15-3 lead at half. The change in momentum was almost instantaneous.

"Doug Costin did a great job and kept us on our toes, so we had to mix it up on offense," said Meyers. "Some games we're able to throw the ball and some we're able to run. We had to mix it up today just to keep it honest."

The second half could be summed up as two teams heading in different directions. East was forced to punt four more times and threw two interceptions, while Shanahan scored twice more - a 45-yard run from Ibarguen and a five-yard rushing score from Lawton.

"They just played harder," said Scotese. "In the second half, they came out and punched us in the face."

For Costin, lack of intensity and concentration were the culprit.

"The emotion wasn't there," he said. "We had players out of position and I just think we didn't play well. If you play any good team and don't play your best, you aren't going to win."

Bishop Shanahan 29

West Chester East 3



Bishop trumps Devils


DOWNINGTOWN -- They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but Saturday, host Bishop Shanahan divvied it out hot, dry and with a side of dehydration.

On a balmy Saturday afternoon that left many players cramping at Jack Mancini Field, the Eagles avenged a 52-0 drubbing to the Red Devils 364 days earlier by scoring the final 10 points in the Ches-Mont League National Division contest to win, 32-22.

Shanahan (1-0 league, 4-0 overall) led 22-6 at one point, but after an Avon Grove (0-1, 2-2) comeback, junior quarterback Ryan Egolf connected with Chris Cordivari from 45 yards out for his second game-winning drive in the fourth quarter this season.

The Eagles will travel to
West Chester Henderson Friday in a matchup between the final two undefeated teams in Chester County.

"It's unbelievable, not only the way they fought back, but with all the injuries we had," Shanahan coach Paul Meyers said. "We had five down at halftime but nobody panicked. Egolf told the guys in the huddle to keep their heads up and that they were gonna score. He does it every week."

Egolf threw for 204 yards on 15-of-21 passing and two scores to give him 673 yards on the season and a 9-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

His final pass may have been his easiest as Cordivari found himself wide open behind the Red Devil defense for his second trip to the end zone.

"We felt really confident," Egolf said. "No one panicked and everyone was ready to go. The game got tied, but we knew we were going to win. Everyone wants to battle this year and that is the biggest difference."

The Red Devils found themselves on their heels from the get-go after Shanahan recovered a squib kick on the opening kickoff. Mike Ibarguen scored on the second play from scrimmage from nine yards out, but Avon Grove responded with a 13-yard touchdown by Brandon Monk, following his 54-yard return on the prior kickoff.

After getting down by 16 thanks to a 73-yard scamper by Keegan Lawton and Cordivari's first TD, Avon Grove came out of halftime with some urgency. Late in the third Toby Fiala found Brenden Fabien for a 24-yard strike on fourth-and-seven and then Kevin Pankonien from 23-yards out in the fourth to tie the game thanks to two-point conversions on both.

"It was good our kids fought back, but the game was lost on the opening kickoff when we watched the ball go by and didn't cover it," Avon Grove coach Marvin Dooley said. "(Shanahan) scored just before the half and they're a good team. We played our way out of some opportunities and made some mistakes."

Shanahan certainly did its share in trying to help Avon Grove back into the game in the second half. The Eagles turned the ball over three times in those 24 minutes and had a snap go over the punter's head, setting the Red Devils up at the Shanahan 10.

Cordivari stymied that drive, however, picking off Fiala in the end zone. It was one of four interceptions by the Eagles who entered the game with none to their credit.

The Eagle defense also held Monk under 100 yards for the first time this season, doing a nice job containing him on tosses by forcing him to cut inside.

"That was all (defensive coordinator) Jeff Hamson coming up with a great game plan," Meyers said. "He gets all the credit."

Last season a 4-0 Henderson team dropped 39 on the Eagles in the first half, and while it's no surprise the Warriors enter Friday's game with the same record, it may shock some that the Eagles are undefeated as well... but not the Shanahan players.

"I think every team expects to be 4-0," Cordivari said. "We take it week in and week out, and you can't take any team lightly in the Ches-Mont. It's going to be a tough game at (Henderson's) place. They're always a good team and have good coaches so it will be a good battle."

Bishop Shanahan 32

Avon Grove 22






Triple option



By PETER DiGIOVANNI, Staff Writer


DOWNINGTOWN — The Bishop Shanahan football team not only roared to a most impressive victory Saturday at Jack Mancini Field on Saturday afternoon, but they accomplished something that no other Eagle team has done before them.

The resurgent Eagles put it all together for a lopsided 48-8 victory over Chichester and became the first Shanahan team to start the season with a 3-0 mark.

Shanahan scored the first three times it had the ball with Keegan Lawton running one in, then catching a 12-yard pass from Ryan Egolf sandwiched around an 8-yard scoring run by Kyle Sullivan.

The fourth Eagles score came in the second quarter when Dom Ficca bolted 57 yards onn a punt return. Ficca danced and weaved his way through Chichester defenders to hit paydirt. Ficca also had a 61-yard return late in the game down to the Chichester 2.

"I love returning punts, it is some feeling," Ficca said. "I would hvae liked to have gotten two for touchdowns because two is better than one, but one is pretty good. To be 3-0 at this point is a good feeling. We are starting to get some respect and we can get some more if we beat Avon Grove next week."

The Shanahan defense shut down anything Chichester (0-3) tried to do. Except for one long run by Rashaun Swain at the end of the first half, the Eagles held the visitors to under 50 yards rushing on the day. Shanahn received big games from freshman Andrey Greene and junior Shane Galante, along with Joe Sweeney, who seemed to be in every tackle.

Lawton went for 101 yards on 16 carries and the senior said it was a little hard to keep focus when the score got out of hand so early.

"We wanted to come out and jump on them and we did," Lawton said. "But then we just got sloppy in the second period. We cleaned it up at halftime and went right out and scored to open the third period. People are starting to notice us and one of our goals is to make the playoffs for the first time but we are just looking to win every week."

Lawton finished up a 76-yard drive to open the second half with a 9-yard TD run. Shanahan head coach Paul Meyers then emptied his bench and let his reserves find some action.

"We got out early and got them down," Meyers said. "But then we got a little careless. It feels real good to be 3-0 but we are not satisfied. We are looking ahead to the next game and we know how tough it is going to be. This game is over already."

Chichester scored late in the game on a 41-yard pass from John Gillespie to Mazaratti Mitchell, which seemd to lift the spirits of its bench.

"It is tough for the kids to come out every week and get beat," Chichester head coach Ryan Smith said. "But, it is my job to get them to have little successes and scoring late like that will help us. They have to keep fighing and finding success."

Bishop Shanahan 48

Chichester 8



Fly, Eagles, Fly



By PETER DiGIOVANNI, Staff Writer



WEST GOSHEN -- Sometimes teams just get tired of getting kicked around. And the Bishop Shanahan football team got kicked around a lot last season, especially by West Chester Rustin, who defeated the Eagles by 55 points.

Boy, how times have changed. And quickly.

Friday night at Harrold Zimmerman Stadium, a fired up band of Eagles went on a last minute 80-yard drive that ended when Ryan Egolf hit Mike Ibarguen with a three-yard bullet in the Rustin end zone, sending the Shanahan players and coaches into hysterics and putting a nail in the heavily favored Golden Knights' coffin, with a thrilling 40-37 victory.



"Oh man, does this feel good," Egolf said. "They pounded us last year and enjoyed it, and I said we would not lose this year. This is an incredible feeling. On that last drive I just made my reads and threw to spots and I have confidence my guys will be there to catch the ball and they were."

Egolf, who completed 19

passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns, torched the Golden Knights (1-1) defense on the last drive that started with 1:23 to play. Egolf hit on six of seven passes with Kyle Sullivan and Chris Cordivari coming up with big catches before the strike to Ibarguen that shook up the Ches-Mont League.

"The entire last drive was called by Ryan Egolf," a happy Shanahan head coach Paul Meyers said. "He gets the last two minutes and he did a great job. I guess this is what happens when you lose by over 50 points to a team. The whole week our guys said we would not lose tonight."

Rustin took a 37-33 lead with under two minutes remaining and it looked like the Eagles (2-0) upset bid would fall short. Rustin quarterback Andrew Fithian found Frankie O'Donnell with a six yard pass to put the ball on the Shanahan 3-yard line. One play later O'Donnell bulled in for the 37-33 lead.

"We never stopped believing even when they scored," Egolf said. "We knew we would score on them. We were moving the ball on them all night and we had faith in our line and we did it."

Shanahan, who was outweighed up front, still managed to rush for 121 yards, 80 by Keegan Lawton, and to protect Egolf, who was sacked just once.

"Our line really stepped up and played great," Meyers said. "They made an oath this week to beat this team and our center Sean McGuire played a great game and made the calls. They are a great group."

A shocked Rustin head coach Mike St. Clair said that Shanahan played very well up front and that he knew the Eagles could score points.

"With a quarterback like that and those receivers they can score on anybody" St. Clair said. "We gave them too many short fields and we fumbled twice and had way too many penalties."

Bishop Shanahan 40

West Chester Rustin 37









Eagles soar past Hornets

OXFORD--There will be a little extra spring in the steps of the Bishop Shanahan football team, a little bit of extra energy to which they are unaccustomed. The Eagles did something Friday night they hadn't done in the past seven years--win a football game on opening week. Thanks to the superior play of both its offensive and defensive lines, Shanahan shrugged off a first quarter deficit and topped host-Oxford 38-9.

"I can't tell you how good this feels," said running back Keegan Lawton. "We've never won our first game before while I've played."

Lawton can feel good about himself, too, in addition to the positive feeling that comes from a winning team effort. The Eagles' back ran for 98-yard and two touchdowns on the night, before being taken out late in the game.

"You've got to give it to those guys up front," said Lawton. "Sean MCguire, Colin Eganm Jake Zabel, Brian Gill, and Dan Skahan were just incredible for us upfront. They were opening up holes you could rive a truck through."

At the outset, it didn't really look like it was going to be the Eagles night. After all, Oxford ran off a 15-play scoring drive on its opening possession that drained a full seven minutes off the clock. The, for good measure, held the Eagles to a three-and-out when Shanahan first got the ball.

"In past years, I would have to be the one to make sure the guys didn't get down on themselves," said Eagles' coach Paul Myers. "But today, the seniors kept our midset. They didn't panic, and they kept themselves motivated."

There was very little that didn't go right for the Eagles. In addition to outrushing Oxford by a whopping 222-25 margin, quarterback Ryan Egolf hit four differetn receivers for a total of 152-yards and a pair of touchdowns.

"The protection I had tonight was way better than anything I ever got last year," said Egolf. “If the line keeps playing like it did tonight, we are going to be a tough team to beat.”

Lost in the shadow of the loss was the solid play from Oxford quarterback Connor Hollenbach. Hollenbach completed his first six passes on the opening drive, and finished the night with 165 yards passing, including a 42-yard strike to Jaime Sanchez.

“Connor did a nice job for us,” said Mike Pietlock. “But you can't ask a high school kid to just keep putting it in the air and expect great results. Bottom line is that Shanahan dominated the line of scrimmage. Normally Shanahan will use the pass to set up the run, but they established the run early, which set up that touchdown pass at the end of the first half. That was a backbreaker.”

While the weekend might be a little more enjoyable for the Eagles than in previous years after the opener, it's just the first game of a long season.

“We're happy,” said Myers. “ But we're not satisfied. We'll be back at it Tuesday, and this year we'll have a little momentum to carry to week two.”

By BILL RUDICK