What We Saw: York 39, Catawba Ridge 20

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>YORK</strong> | <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208367' first='Ayden' last='Davis'] </strong>is used in a variety of ways, at many different positions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>His four touchdown performance was key in helping the Cougars defeat Catawba Ridge 39-20 on Friday night to pick up their second region win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“He's got an Army offer and he doesn't have that for any reason. He's a good, good football player. He's playing at all different positions. It's not like he's just playing all at quarterback or just playing receiver. He's playing all over the place. And for him to be able to grasp all that we're doing, I mean that was a heck of a run right there at the end, to seal the game. He's just a really good player. He's a dynamic athlete and he can make things happen,” York head coach Dean Boyd said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CREATING SEPARATION</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Following a 33-yard <strong>Zane Beardsly </strong>field goal on York's opening drive, the Cougars' defense would get in on the action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142644' first='Najib' last='Yunusah'] </strong>picked off <strong>DJ Latimer </strong>on a tip drill, returning it back to the five yard line leading to a 6-yard Davis touchdown run, extending York's lead to 10-0 with 1:36 to play in the opening quarter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bad snap for the Copperheads fumbled led to more points, a 4-yard Davis run as the Cougars took a commanding 16-0 lead with 11:07 to play before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catawba Ridge would show some fight on the next drive. Latimer made some nice plays on a quarterback draw, getting them into York territory. He would finish the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, getting them back within striking distance at 16-6, concluding a 16-play, 77-yard drive with 4:22 to play before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='771226' first='Javarus' last='Guthrie'] </strong>was fun to watch in the power running game. He provides another element to the run game. He was key to another scoring drive as freshman quarterback <strong>Tashon Freeman</strong> connected with Davis at wide receiver to take a 23-6 lead to the halftime locker room.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SECOND HALF SHIFT</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York stopped Catawba Ridge on 4th and short with 8:51 in the third quarter. And it seemed like the Cougars were primed to put the game away.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the Copperheads put another long 11-play, 77-yard drive with the running game of Latimer, finding gaps to run through, ending with a 2-yard run to get back in the game at 23-13 with 4:02 to play in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catawba Ridge forced three consecutive three-and-outs in the third quarter, one of which included a <strong>Jake Sines </strong>sack which nearly resulted in a safety.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Latimer scored on a 13-yard run with 1:09 to play in the third before <strong>Brayden Wasik </strong>scored on a 3-yard run with 23 seconds to play in the third quarter. All the momentum was shifting towards the visitors from Fort Mill as they cut the lead to 23-20.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We came out flat in the third quarter but not to take anything away from them. They are a well coached football team. They've got really good players. They've got a lot hurt right now, so I knew they were going to come out and play us tough. There's too much pride and tradition in their school and their program to not play us tough. And I tried to reiterate that to our young men but it didn't take (in) I guess until they came out and they hit us in the mouth. Finally, we started playing again, got our wheels back up under us and finished the game off like we should,” Boyd said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But York would start to find their rhythm again with the quick passing game in the fourth quarter as they put together an 11-play, 64 yard drive, capped by a Guthrie 16-yard run to go back 30-20 with 7:06 to play in the game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defense would close the deal as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='998716' first='Dalton' last='Russell'] </strong>caused a safety, while <strong>Bryson Steele </strong>tipped a pass with 3:07 left. Davis would cap off his big night with a 78-yard touchdown run to close the scoring at 39-20 with 1:24 remaining.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->