Yokemick delivers for York Catholic in thriller vs. Delone Catholic
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York Catholic junior Daniel Yokemick threw the go-ahead touchdown pass and then made sure the lead stood, intercepting a pass on Delone Catholic's final possession in the Fighting Irish's 29-24 victory Friday night.
With 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter and his team down by one, Yokemick hit wide receiver Luke Brennan with a 57-yard touchdown to take back the lead. Yokemick's interception on Delone Catholic's next possession sealed the win for York Catholic.
"I have to give it to my line," Yokemick said after the game. "They gave me all the time in the world."
"That pass on the sideline to (Brennan) was a big-time pass," York Catholic head coach Eric Depew said. "He's still young, but he's going to be fine."
The game became a thriller in the fourth quarter. Yokemick's winning touchdown came just 28 seconds after Delone had taken a 24-23 lead on Sean Sneeringer's 25-yard touchdown run.
But in the first half, York Catholic (1-3, 1-0 YAIAA Division III) looked like it could run away with the game on the back of junior running back Jakkar Kinard, who returned to the lineup after missing a game with an injury.
On the game's second play, Kinard ran a sweep up the left sideline for 77 yards and the game's first score.
"It was my first week back and I didn't want to hold anything back," said Kinard, who finished with 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Delone Catholic (1-3, 0-1) roared back in the second half, holding Kinard to just 17 yards on nine carries. Offensively, the Squires used an explosive rushing attack led by Sneeringer, who busted out a 71-yard run for a touchdown on the first play of the second half.
"We just made some adjustments (in the locker room)," said Delone Catholic head coach Corey Zortman. "We felt like we could run the ball on them."
York Catholic's victory was the latest in a budding rivalry between the two schools.
"To me, this is our rival game," Depew said. "I feel like Delone is the one team we want to make sure we compete with. The last three times we've played them, it's been a nail-biter."
Zortman agreed, saying, "There is a rivalry (between us). York Catholic is a good football team. We knew we were in for a fight."
Depew said the Fighting Irish used last year's victory against Delone Catholic to set up a run to the District 3 playoffs. This year, Depew hopes for the same result.
"You look at this game last year coming from behind and we gained a lot of confidence from that," Depew explained. "I'm hoping the same thing can happen this year."
York Catholic 14 9 0 6 — 29
Delone Catholic 6 0 12 6 — 24
First Quarter
YC — Jakkar Kinard 77 run (Luke Brennan kick), 11:14
YC — Joseph Bauhoff 26 pass from Daniel Yokemick (Luke Brennan kick), 6:37
DC — Zachary Hart 3 run (Nathan West kick blocked), 2:12
Second Quarter
YC — Kinard 21 run (Brennan kick), 11:53
YC — Intentional grounding results in safety, 10:12
Third Quarter
DC — Sean Sneeringer 71 run (Shermeyer pass failed), 11:45
DC — Tavian Dorsey 3 run (Shermeyer pass failed), 3:39
Fourth Quarter
DC — Sneeringer 25 run (Sneeringer run failed), 1:06
YC — Brennan 57 pass from Yokemick (Yokemick pass failed),:38
YC DC
First downs 11 12
Rushes-yards 25-181 41-231
Passing 9-13-1 4-13-2
Passing yards 178 35
Total yards 359 266
Punts 5-169 5-158
Fumbles-lost 4-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 2-20 8-80
Individual statistics
Rushing — YC, Kinard 24-157, Yokemick 10-25, Sean Lamont 1-(-1). DC, Sneeringer 16-139, Z. Hart 6-24, Shermeyer 4-(-6), Dorsey 14-67, R. Hart 1-7.
Passing — YC Yokemick 9-13-178-1. DC, Shermeyer 4-13-35-2.
Receiving — YC, Brennan 4-112, Bauhof 4-61, Creisher 1-5. DC, Sneeringer 4-26, Brandon Zumbrum 1-9.
Full-game video: York Catholic 29, Delone Catholic 24