What We Saw: Late Field Goal Lifts Cox Mill Over York

<span style="font-weight: 400;">York opened the 2021 season on Friday night against Cox Mill out of Concord, N.C., as the 2021 high school football schedule continues to evolve week to week. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Four turnovers for the Cougar defense were not enough as their offense was not able to get into a consistent rhythm throughout the evening. A fumble on the kickoff in the 4th quarter following a Cox Mill touchdown aided the visitors as the Chargers kicked a field goal to win, 17-14 on Friday night.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s get into notes and observations from the contest:</span> <b>York</b> <b>2022 WR [player_tooltip player_id="91175" first="Jevon" last="Long"] </b><a href="https://twitter.com/JevonLong1"><b>(@JevonLong1)</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> – Long was versatile in the pass and the run game, especially on the jet sweep. He is shifty once he gets into space and if he can find a seam, look out. Keep an eye on him as the season moves forward.</span> <b>2024 QB Ayden Davis <a href="https://twitter.com/aydendavis03?lang=en">(@AydenDavis03)</a> </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">– Davis got the nod as starting quarterback for the Cougars and it was evident why: he is athletic and can make plays on the run. York’s offense reminded us of a Gus Malzahn offense with tight ends blocking at the wing/h-back position as he was used in quarterback powers/counter plays. He caught his own fumble and was able to make something happen for a first down during the first quarter.</span> <b>2022 LB [player_tooltip player_id="91189" first="Mekayle" last="Burris"] </b><a href="https://twitter.com/k8_Officiall"><b>(@k8_Officiall)</b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">– Burris was an All-Region player in the 2020 season and we know it’s only Game 1, but he looks like he’s in midseason form. He clogged up run lanes and made tackles quickly in recognizing quick passes.</span> <b>2022 RB [player_tooltip player_id="59495" first="Frank" last="Thompson"] </b><a href="https://twitter.com/FrankThompsonJ1"><b>(@FrankThompsonJ1)</b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">– Thompson, to our knowledge, currently holds an offer from Alabama A&amp;M right now but other schools would be wise to give this young man a look. He would hit the hole with a nice mix of speed and power when he ran. He made one tough power run off of right tackle to get a first down and impose his will</span> <b><i>Two turnovers led to two York touchdowns: </i></b>A <span style="font-weight: 400;">first quarter fumble was recovered and </span><b>RB/LB Javarus Guthrie <a href="https://twitter.com/javarusguthrie">(@javarusguthrie) </a></b><span style="font-weight: 400;">recovered one for a scoop and score in the second quarter. </span> <b>Cox Mill (Concord, N.C.)</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The plan for York offensively was to use their quarterback as a runner and Cox Mill started to get a beat on that. </span><b>DB Azijah Henry</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><b>LB Sam Cowher </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">were active in taking solid angles and pursuing the quarterback at full speed. </span><b>DL Tyshon Bullock </b><a href="https://twitter.com/BullockTyshon?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor"><b>(@BullockTyshon)</b></a> <b> </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">was disciplined in his rush lanes and did not fall for the play action fakes. He stayed with his assignment and came full speed for the quarterback.</span> <b>2023 WR Colin Reese II </b><a href="https://twitter.com/colinreese19?lang=en"><b>(@ColinReese19) </b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">– Reese made an incredible catch on a corner route in the second quarter which set up a <strong>2023 RB </strong></span><b>Tyrell Corad </b><a href="https://twitter.com/The_TyrellCoard"><b>(@The_TyrellCoard)</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> touchdown run for the Chargers. Reese’s connection with <strong>2023</strong> </span><b>QB Khalel Wright </b><a href="https://twitter.com/thewrightime4"><b>(@thewrightime4)</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> was evident throughout the night.</span> <b>RB Jeremiah Jones </b><a href="https://twitter.com/j_imjeremiah"><b>(@j_imjeremiah)</b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">– Jones had several nice inside runs, specifically in the third quarter when he followed his lineman and found the hole and exploded for a quick 10-15 yards. He shows patience in waiting for blocks to develop.</span> <b>Other quick notes</b> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><b>York 2022 DB Zy Brown </b><a href="https://twitter.com/zybrown04"><b>(@zybrown04)</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> had an interception immediately after his team’s offense was stopped on 4th and 1 in the third quarter.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>York 2023 RB</b> <b>Javarus Gutherie</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> normally is on offense but he had a critical interception in the red zone in the third quarter to prevent a touchdown.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Cox Mill 2023 QB Bennett Trimble </b><a href="https://twitter.com/bennett_trimble"><b>(@bennett_trimble)</b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">was impressive in executing the quick game in the two-minute drill on the game-winning drive.</span></li> </ul>