A scoreboard malfunction gave Friday night's Central York-Spring Grove matchup a little bit of mystery.

Central York -- with its offense functioning quite well -- did its best to remove any intrigue.

The Panthers exploded for 28 points in the fourth quarter, scoring touchdowns on offense, defense, and special teams to eventually rout Spring Grove 59-24 in the teams' YAIAA Division I opener.

"The score wasn't really (indicative) at all," Central York head coach Brad Livingston said. "I couldn't tell you what the final score is. I have no idea. All I knew was that it was a ballgame right up to the end, and then



some things happened."

What happened was four Central (3-1, 1-0) touchdowns and a 41-yard field off the foot of Alex Kelly, breaking open a game that had been tight throughout the first three quarters.

Kelly's field goal was simply the opening salvo in the fourth, in which Central snapped the ball only eight times (including two kneeldowns) but

Spring Grove quarterback Ian Smith, left, threw for 305 yards and had a hand in four touchdowns, but the Rockets lost, 59-24.
(Daily Record/Sunday News - Meghan Gauriloff)
managed to hang 31 points on the board.

Elusive tailback D.J. Harrison followed up Kelly's kick with a nifty 48-yard touchdown run, pushing the Panther lead to 38-17. The scoring run, Harrison's third of a night, was part of a 16-carry, 195-yard performance for the senior. Most of those yards came after initial contact.

"Anytime that (Harrison) touches the ball, he's going to make positive yardage," Livingston said. "If you make a mistake, he's going to get a lot of yards. He's been a key ingredient for us, because I think he's really had the effect that everyone on the offense works a little harder."

Spring Grove (1-3, 0-1) fumbled away the kickoff immediately following Harrison's score, and the Central momentum continued to build. Charles Anderson made his first carry of the night count, going into the end zone from 14 yards out.

The hits came in quick order after that: L'Mar Calhoun went 48 yards to the house on a punt return after a three-and-out from Spring Grove, and Anderson returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown on the next possession. The end result: a 52-17 Central lead in a game that had been 28-17 just minutes earlier.

"The turnover (on the kickoff) was at a critical time," Livingston said. "That really jump-started because Charles was able to score on the next play. Up until that point, it was a horse race."

The Central fourth quarter followed three quarters of back-and-forth play, with the Panthers doing damage on the ground and the Rockets piling up yardage through the air. Central opened the scoring with an efficient 10-play, 82-yard drive, with TJ Shaffer finding paydirt from five yards out.

Spring Grove countered with the first of quarterback Ian Smith's big plays. The senior rolled right and found a wide open Ben Reigart down the sideline; Reigart went all the way for an 81-yard touchdown, forging a 7-7 tie after one quarter.

Smith finished the night 12-for-19 for 305 yards and two touchdowns, with alternate quarterback Neal Grudi going 1-for-1 for 27 yards in a second quarter appearance cut short by injury. The Rockets had seven pass plays of 25 yards or more.

The teams traded big plays through the remainder of the first half and the third quarter, with the last long play from the Spring Grove passing game coming late in the third quarter.

Smith found Matt Brookhart (five catches, 151 yards) open down the seam for a 47-yard touchdown. That closed the gap to 28-17 -- the Rockets' last hurrah before Central's fourth-quarter onslaught put the game out of reach.

 

Central York  7  14    7  31 -- 59
Spring Grove  7    3    7    7 -- 24

First Quarter
   CY -- T.J. Shaffer 5 run (Alex Kelly kick)
   SG -- Ben Reigart 81 pass from Ian Smith (Reigart kick)
Second Quarter
   CY -- D.J. Harrison 8 run (Kelly kick)
   CY -- Shaffer 3 run (Kelly kick)
   SG -- Reigart 38 FG
Third Quarter
   CY -- Harrison 45 run (Kelly kick)
   SG -- Matt Brookhart 47 pass from Smith (Reigart kick)
Fourth Quarter
   CY -- Kelly 41 FG
   CY -- Harrison 48 run (Kelly kick)
   CY -- Charles Anderson 14 run (Kelly kick)
   CY -- L'Mar Calhoun 48 punt return (Kelly kick)
   CY -- Anderson 35 interception return (Aaron Goodyear kick)
   SG -- Smith 19 run (Reigart kick)
 
-- CY -- SG
First downs -- 17 -- 14
Rushes-yards -- 33-266 -- 33-46
Passing -- 13-19-0 -- 13-20-1
Passing yards -- 95 -- 332
Total yards -- 361 -- 378
Punts -- 2-42.5 -- 3-24.0
Fumbles-lost -- 1-1 -- 2-0
Penalties-yards -- 8-65 -- 5-44

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- Central York, D.J. Harrison 16-195, T.J. Shaffer 8-32, Chris Englar 1-19, Charles Anderson 1-14, Brandon Workinger 3-9, Parrish Fells 1-3, Zach Sprenkle 2-(-2), Blaine Liggins 1-(-4); Spring Grove, Neal Grudi 4-30, Aaron Hart 4-14, Ian Smith 14-5, Bobby Bailey 8-4, Joseph Slate 1-1, Josh Nell 1-(-3), Ben Reigart 1-(-5).
   Passing -- Central York, Brandon Workinger 13-19-0-95, Zach Sprenkle 0-0-0-0; Spring Grove, Smith 12-19-1-305, Grudi 1-1-0-27.
   Receiving -- Central York, Blaine Liggins 6-43, Parrish Fells 3-30, D.J. Harrison 1-9, T.J. Shaffer 1-8, Kyle Baublitz 1-6, Anderson 1-(-1); Spring Grove, Matt Brookhart 5-151, Ben Reigart 3-97, Bobby Bailey 2-26, Coty Slothour 1-39, Josh Nell 1-13, Aaron Hart 1-6.