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York Suburban put up plenty of points and earned the divisional victory it needed. Northeastern found the end zone and took critical steps forward midway through its debut season.
Everybody wins, right? Well, sort of.
Suburban (3-2, 1-1 Div. II) played a lackluster first half that could have spelled doom against a stronger team and relied on several Northeastern miscues to pull away in the 49-14 victory. The Bobcats (1-4, 0-2 Div. II) failed to make big plays in crucial situations and still looked like a team that will have a hard time winning again this season.
Aware of the work left to be done, both squads were still able to leave the York Suburban field Saturday afternoon feeling encouraged.
For the Trojans, it was a renewed intensity that sparked 28 third-quarter points.
"It looked like the boys were pressing for whatever reason early in the game," Suburban coach Bill Kerr said. "We stressed coming out in the second half and having fun -- just go at them and have fun. We came out in the second half and got that fumble recovery, and it just kept the momentum going in our favor."
For the Bobcats, it was staying competitive for so long, even if things fell apart in the second half.
"We almost got over the hump today," Northeastern coach Brendan Brown said.
"We moved the football, we got some confidence, now we just have to find a way to get over that hump. In these next five weeks, I'll be surprised if we don't find a way to get over that hump."
The Trojans grabbed an early lead after stopping Northeastern on its first drive, capitalizing on a 27-yard punt return from Nathaniel Cross by putting together a three-play, 25-yard scoring drive capped by a 9-yard pass to Cole Wagner from A.J. Sottasante.
Following Northeastern's failed fourth-and-10 conversion attempt from the Suburban 27, the Trojans put together another scoring drive, finding the end zone on a 4-yard run from leading rusher Cody Waltimyer (44
Down 14 points and stretching its scoreless streak to 13 consecutive quarters, the Northeastern offense had an awakening on its next drive.
Facing and third-and-8 from his own 37, quarterback Roger Eaton connected with a streaking Cody Santiago across the middle near midfield, and Santiago turned the play into a 48-yard gain. Four plays later, Aaron Greene crossed the goal line on a 4-yard run to cut the Suburban lead in half.
The Bobcats forced the Trojans to punt on their next two possessions and held the ball with just more than a minute left in the half, but a botched snap led to an Eaton fumble and a Ben Woody recovery for Suburban with 1:14 remaining in the second quarter.
Elijah Porcher scampered into the end zone 60 seconds later on a 34-yard run to give the Trojans a 21-7 halftime advantage.
Cody Waltimyer returned the second half kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown and scored twice more on a pair of consecutive Northeastern turnovers to secure a 35-point lead less than three minutes into the second half.
Most of Northeastern's offensive production came from the passing game. Eaton went 14-of-27 for 208 yards without an interception, prompting Brown to suggest with sly smile that fans may have seen the birth of "Air Bobcat" Saturday afternoon. Eaton led Northeastern on a 15-play, 81-yard scoring drive ending with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Santiago with just 40 seconds remaining in the game.
"This is just such a fragile group right now," Brown said.
"Being shut out three weeks in a row, it really causes them to question themselves -- them to question the coaching, them to question everything. And as a coach it causes you to ask some questions as well.
"We know we're coaching the right things. But when you're not executing, you have to look in the mirror and say 'What are we not doing, and what do we need to do?' I think we're finding more answers every day."
smclernon@ydr.com; 771-2045
Northeastern 0 7 0 7 -- 14
York Suburban 14 7 28 0 -- 49
First Quarter
YS -- Cole Wagner 9 pass from A.J. Sottasante (Doug Gurr kick), 8:58.
YS -- Cody Waltimyer 4 run (Gurr kick), 0:34.
Second Quarter
Ne -- Aaron Greene 4 run (Cory Bair kick), 9:07.
YS -- Elijah Porcher 34 run (Gurr kick), 0:14.
Third Quarter
YS -- Waltimyer 75 kickoff return (Gurr kick), 11:46.
YS -- Ricardo Plummer 3 run (Gurr kick), 8:45.
YS -- Nathaniel Cross 27 run (Gurr kick), 8:24.
YS -- Jordan Painter 5 run (Gurr kick), 3:14.
Fourth Quarter
Ne -- Cody Santiago 9 pass from Roger Eaton (Bair kick), 0:40.
-- Ne -- YS
First downs -- 13 -- 11
Rushes-yards -- 33-79 -- 24-167
Passing -- 14-27-0 -- 5-10-0
Passing yards -- 208 -- 66
Total yards -- 287 -- 233
Punts -- 2-28 -- 2-31.5
Fumbles-lost -- 6-4 -- 0-0
Penalties-yards -- 9-51 -- 5-31
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Ne, Eaton 13-35, Shawn Hansel 10-19, Juan Martinez 8-18, Greene 3-7; YS, Waltimyer 8-44, Porcher 2-39, Cross 6-35, Stanley Williams 3-18, Jordan Painter 2-16, Sottasante 1-9, Plummer 1-3, Latron Hasty 1-1.
Passing -- Ne, Eaton 14-27-0-208; YS, Sottasante 5-9-0-66, Chris Eckenrode 0-1-0-0.
Receiving -- Ne, Santiago 3-78, Dom Kinsler 4-76, Josh Writer 5-30, Hansel 2-24; YS, Cross 1-26, Cole Wagner 2-18, Waltimyer 1-13, Andrew Moats 1-9.
