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Storey's run sparks Littlestown to second-half turnaround vs. York County Tech


Not a whole lot has gone right for the Littlestown High School football team this year. Two years removed an appearance in the District 3 Class AA title game, the Thunderbolts started the season 0-3. Friday night, they held a one-point halftime lead over York County Tech.

But that all changed on the opening play of the second half. Thunderbolts junior Wes Storey took a handoff from quarterback Cody Boyd and burst over the right side, outrunning the Tech defense for a 56-yard score.

"We came out knowing that one play was working, and we put it in, executed and got it going," said Storey, who finished with 168 yards on 21 carries. "We did everything right on that play."

That broke open the game and led the homestanding Bolts to a 23-6 win to open YAIAA Division III play. Coach Mike Lippy said the victory will do wonders for the morale of his team.

"We're used to winning. It wasn't but a year and a half ago, we were going to Hershey for the district championship game," he said. "I know what it's like to go from here to here real quickly. Our kids kept working hard. We needed it for a lot of reasons."

The Bolts (1-3, 1-0) played with confidence from the start, recovering an onside kick to begin the game. Eleven plays later, Boyd scored from 5 yards out for a 7-0 lead.

But late in the second quarter, the York Tech offense showed why Lippy could not relax until late in the fourth quarter. A sure Littlestown touchdown was foiled by a fumble, which the Spartans (1-3, 0-1) recovered. Eight plays later, Kahliek Savery took a pitch around the left side, broke one arm tackle and raced 45 yards for the score.

A missed conversion kept Littlestown up 7-6 headed into the half, but Lippy said he knew Tech's big-play capability could turn the game on its ear at any moment.

Storey's run gave some breathing room, and the Bolts salted the game away with a 22-play drive, draining 10:38 off the clock. The drive featured a gutsy fourth-and-2 conversion on Littlestown's own 28-yard line and ended with Alex Potts' 30-yard field goal to push Littlestown's lead to 16-6.

"I gambled over here on fourth down," Lippy said. "We thought we could take another three, four, five minutes off the clock if we got it. We gambled, and we were lucky."

The defense then took over with a pair of interceptions, the second setting up a short touchdown run by Austin Watters. York Tech managed only one first down and 32 yards of total offense in the second half.

"We were lucky a couple of times tonight, but then our kids stepped up and made those two big plays on the interceptions," Lippy said. "I'm just so happy for our kids because last year, we had a down year. The first three weeks were not what we wanted."

York County Tech0600—6Littlestown70610—23

First Quarter

Lt — Cody Boyd 5-rush (Alex Potts), 8:19.

Second Quarter

YCT — Kahliek Savery 45-rush (kick failed), 3:42.

Third Quarter

Lt — Wes Storey 56-rush (kick failed), 11:41.

Fourth Quarter

Lt — Potts 30 field goal, 8:19.

Lt — Austin Watters 4-rush (Potts kick), 1:39.

YCTLtFirst downs1219Rushes-yards32-16053-301Passing4-15-25-12-0Passing yards4762Total yards207363Punts4-33.81-35.0Fumbles-lost1-04-3Penalties-yards7-437-50
Individual statistics

Rushing — YCT, Kahliek Savery 16-99, Matthew Rossi 5-27, Damarius Wiggins 3-17, JD Miles 3-12, Josiah Smallwood 2-5, Maurice James 3-0. Lt, Wes Storey 21-168, Dylan Sizemore 13-56, Cody Boyd 6-31, Austin Watters 7-25, Andrew Matthews 6-21.

Passing — YCT, Wiggins 3-13-2-46, Smallwood 1-2-0-1, Savery 0-0-0-0. Lt, Boyd 5-12-0-62.

Receiving — YCT, James 1-19, Ltuis DeLteon 1-18, Curtis Smith 1-9, Savery 1-1. Lt, Brandon Pittinger 2-18, Alex Potts 1-27, Jackson Hornbrook 1-10, Ben Snouffer 1-7