West York senior Brandon Real can burn you in so many ways, and Central York got scorched on a soggy opening night Friday.

Real returned a kickoff 89 yards for a score in the first quarter and rushed for 156 yards on 19 carries, scoring on a direct snap from 45 yards out to seal the deal, as the Bulldogs avenged a season-opening loss to the Panthers a year ago with a 28-3 victory in a YAIAA matchup.

While Real was clearly the offensive star, the West York defense deserves a share of the spotlight as well. The Bulldogs stuffed the run, allowing a total of 7 yards, and also defended the pass, giving up a mere 23 yards in the air. That's a paltry total of 30 offensive yards for Central.

"We brought a lot of pressure, and we tackled well," said West York coach Ron Miller. "We have a veteran crew, and they know how to cover. More important, they play together, and they play as a team."

Central actually caught the game's first break when a snap sailed over West York punter Blaine Fissel's head early in the first quarter. Fissel tried to run it out and was brought down at the 10-yard line. That led to an 18-yard Alex Kelly field goal and an early 3-0 lead for the home team.

The momentum was short-lived.

On the ensuing kickoff, Real fielded the ball at his 11, burst through the middle and found open ground. With only the kicker to beat, it was no contest. Real's 89-yard return gave the visitors a 7-3 lead, and the 'Dogs never looked back.

Early in the second quarter, Real lined up at quarterback and took a direct snap from his own 23. The senior found a hole on the right side and broke through. He was dragged down at the 15-yard line,

but that was only delaying the inevitable. On the next play, Corey Harris blazed up the middle for a 15-yard TD run, and it was 14-3.

"We call that play the Razorback; we stole it from Arkansas and what they did with (star running back Darren) McFadden," said Miller. "We're trying to replace Dan Haverstock (last year's QB), and we need to get the ball in (Real's) hands. It turned out well. He had a nice game, didn't he?"

Central's defense had to be frustrated, because it held Real in check for most of the first half. That 62-yard run was his only positive gain in the half as he carried six times for 57 yards. The second half, however, was a different story. Real found his rhythm and ran over the tired Panther defenders 13 times for 99 yards.

"I was standing on the sideline kicking myself, because I didn't have my team as ready as they need to be," said Central coach Brad Livingston. "I've got to give West York a whole lot of credit. They played a tremendous football game, and they took us out of our game plan. We didn't have an answer. Now the question for my team is how we are going to react."

Central's last chance to get back in the game came on the opening kickoff of the second half. Kelly surprised West York with an onside kick, and the Panthers recovered. However, it was ruled that a Central player touched the ball a half-yard shy of the 50-yard line, giving the Bulldogs possession.

Three plays later, on third-and-11, West York quarterback Alex George connected on a 50-yard bomb to Nate Jacobs for a score, and the game was essentially over.

After a quick three and out by Central, the Bulldogs got it back. It took Real one play to put the game out of reach. It was Razorback again, and Real took the direct snap 45 yards for a score and a 28-3 lead.

It doesn't get any easier for either team next week as West York travels to Dallastown, and Central will take on Lower Dauphin at Hershey Stadium.
 

West York  7    7    14  30 -- 14
Central York  3    0      0    0 --   3

First Quarter
   CY -- Alex Kelly 18 FG, 7:26.
   WY -- Brandon Real 89 kickoff return (Drew Shaffer kick), 7:09.
Second Quarter
   WY -- Corey Harris 15 run (Shaffer kick), 9:56
Third Quarter
   WY -- Nate Jacobs 50 pass from Alex George (Shaffer kick), 10:23.
   WY -- Real 45 run (Shaffer kick), 9:34
 
                -- WY -- CY
First downs -- 5 -- 2
Rushes-yards -- 36-158 -- 27-7
Passing -- 4-10-1 -- 6-21-1
Passing yards -- 73 -- 23
Total yards -- 231 -- 30
Punts -- 4-23.5 -- 5-34.4
Fumbles-lost -- 4-3 -- 4-2
Penalties-yards -- 6-40 -- 7-45

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- West York, Brandon Real 19-156, Corey Harris 8-10, Alex George 5-13, Blaine Fissel 2-(-25), Blake Campbell 1-3, Darion Bundy 1-1; Central York, Parrish Fells 10-(-6), Brandon Workinger 5-9, L'Mar Calhoun 3- 0, T.J. Shaffer 3-(-4), Blaine Liggins 2-7, Charles Anderson 2-3, D.J. Harrison 1-2, Brandon Baker 1-(-4).
   Passing -- West York, George 3-9-0-62, Real 1-1-0-11; Central York, Workinger 6-19-1-23, Zach Sprenkle 0-2-0-0.
   Receiving -- West York, Dan Gay 2-17, Nate Jacobs 1-50, Harris 1-6; Central York, Liggins 2-4, Calhoun 1-11, Paul Bennett 1-7, Harrison 1-2, Fells 1-(-1).