Cougars vying for Ches-Mont title

The Downingtown East Cougars, in first place with a 7-1 record entering Friday's game against West Chester East, are looking like a strong contender for the Ches-Mont League title.

The Cougars came into the season with high expectations because of last season's 10-3 record and the return of the "Big Three."

Senior quarterback Trey Lauletta, one of the passing leaders in the Ches-Mont League with 858 yards and nine touchdowns, has executed coach Mike Matta's offense. With a college decision to be made in the coming weeks, Lauletta is looking at Penn, Harvard, and Princeton.

His classmate, receiver Tyler Kroft, has already committed to Rutgers. The four-year standout caught 36 passes for 667 yards and eight touchdowns last season as a junior. This season, Kroft has 481 yards on 23 receptions and five touchdowns.

After amassing 2,010 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground a season ago, junior tailback Drew Harris has continued to be a threat in his third season with the Cougars. With 1,205 yards and 17 touchdowns, Harris leads the conference in rushing.

"I told the guys in the summer that our goal is to play meaningful games in December, because we want to be conference champions," Matta said. "In order for that to happen, we have to play well deep into November."

The Cougars lead Coatesville by one game in the Ches-Mont, with two games remaining before the playoffs begin. The Cougars defeated Coatesville on Sept. 24 by a touchdown, their closest margin of victory in league play this season.

What stands out about this year's Downingtown East squad is its resiliency through a period of injuries.

"Through our eight games, we have not played one of them with the projected starting lineup we had in place at the start of the season," Matta said. "All our guys have stepped up and have played really well, and we haven't missed a beat.

"We're starting to get some guys back from injury, so we should continue to get healthy and be an even stronger team going into the playoffs."