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Coatesville’s Dapree Bryant is on the brink of another receiving record

The Red Raiders' senior star, a Villanova recruit, needs just 25 yards to become the all-time leader among Philadelphia-area players in career receiving yards.

Dapree Bryant of Coatesville, here returning a kickoff earlier this season against Unionville, is on the brink of setting the Philadelphia-area record for career receiving yards.
Dapree Bryant of Coatesville, here returning a kickoff earlier this season against Unionville, is on the brink of setting the Philadelphia-area record for career receiving yards.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Coatesville’s Dapree Bryant enters Friday night’s game with Downingtown East on the brink of another receiving record.

Bryant, a Villanova recruit who already holds the Philadelphia-area record for most career touchdown catches, is close to becoming the Philadelphia-area leader in career receiving yards.

Bryant, a four-year varsity player, has 3,246 career receiving yards, according to research by sports historian Chuck Langerman. The record is 3,270 set in 2016 by Perkiomen Valley’s Justin Jaworski, now a basketball player for Lafayette College.

Bryant recently set the record with 49 career touchdown catches. The previous mark of 47 was set in 2001 by Glassboro High’s Terrance Holmes, who played defensive back at the University of Florida.

The Philadelphia area for high schools comprises Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey.

According to Langerman’s research, Bryant is one of just five players from the Philadelphia area to have generated more than 3,000 career receiving yards.

The others are Jaworski, Penn Wood’s Kennedy Poles with 3,102 yards in 2018, Holy Cross’s Isaac Irby with 3,088 yards in 1999, and Cameron Chambers of St. Joseph’s Prep and Timber Creek with 3,084 in 2015.

In last Friday’s 29-21 win over Downingtown West, Bryant caught eight passes for 139 yards and a touchdown and also had punt returns of 23 and 44 yards.

Coatesville (7-1, 3-0) can clinch the Ches-Mont League’s National Division and earn a high seed in the District One Class 6A playoffs with a victory over Downingtown East (8-1, 2-1) at Kottmeyer Stadium.

A victory by Downingtown East would result in a three-way split of the division title with Downingtown West (8-1, 2-1), assuming the Whippets defeat Avon Grove on Friday night.

Coatesville is the three-time defending Ches-Mont National champion and two-time District One Class 6A champion. Bryant and Red Raiders senior quarterback Ricky Ortega, both of whom have been varsity players since their freshman seasons, have never lost a conference game.

The district tournament begins Nov. 1.