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Second-quarter spark sends York Catholic past Littlestown


After falling behind early against Littlestown on Friday, all York Catholic needed to spark a comeback was 93 seconds.

In that span in the second quarter, the Fighting Irish turned a seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead and held on for a 35-14 victory against the Thunderbolts in Division III football action at Memorial Field in Littlestown.

The Irish (2-4, 2-1 Division III) trailed 14-7 when punter Luke Brennan unleashed a 59-yard punt that pinned the Thunderbolts at their own 1-yard line.

Littlestown (1-5, 1-2) managed a first down, but punted from its own 15, allowing York Catholic to take over on the Bolts' 47.

Facing a fourth down, Jakkar Kinard pulled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Yokemick that tied the game with 4:34 left in the first half.

A fumble on the ensuing kickoff put the visitors in business at Littlestown's 12. Yokemick scored on a 5-yard keeper with 3:01 to go in the half, and York Catholic was in front, 21-14.

"We've been forcing two turnovers per game," York Catholic head coach Eric Depew said. "So that's been big for us all year."

York Catholic started the second half with the ball on its own 40 and marched 60 yards in ten plays to double its advantage when Kinard plowed in from 1 yard out.

A promising Littlestown drive came to a halt early in the fourth quarter when Wes Storey fumbled after he had gained a first down. After forcing an Irish punt, the Bolts appeared to be in a good spot when Jackson Hornbrook gained 21 yards down to the York Catholic 20-yard line before fumbling.

"We had three huge turnovers at bad times and six or seven dropped passes tonight that really hurt us," Littlestown head coach Mike Lippy said. "You can't really say anything to Wes or Jackson. They're out there busting their tails for us. It was just unfortunate."

Kinard took the ensuing handoff and went 65 yards down the right sideline, setting up his own 18-yard touchdown run that capped the scoring with 6:34 remaining.

For the night, Kinard carried the ball 25 times for 160 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Yokemick ran for 123 and a score on 17 totes. And as a team, the Irish gained 329 yards rushing.

"Our guys up front did the job done tonight," Depew said. "For the first time all year, really. This was the best that our offensive line has played this season."

Littlestown held a 14-7 lead after the opening frame. Kinard scored on York Catholic's first drive of the contest, then the Bolts cashed in on back-to-back drives.

Storey capped the first drive with a 29-yard touchdown run on a counter play, then on the final play of the quarter, Connor Geiman threw a halfback pass to Hornbrook for a 65-yard touchdown.

Littlestown racked up 381 yards of total offense and 19 first downs. Storey led the way with 117 yards on 19 carries, and Hornbrook snagged five balls for 133 yards.

"We moved the ball up and down the field, but couldn't finish off drives," Lippy said. "It's been that way all year for us. But we're not going to stop trying. We've got four games left, and we're going to give everything that we have."

York Catholic71477—35Littlestown14000—14

First Quarter

YC — Jakkar Kinard 2 run (Luke Brennan kick), 7:29

Lt — Wes Storey 29 run (Alex Potts kick), 3:01

Lt — Jackson Hornbrook 65 pass from Connor Geiman (Potts kick), 0:00

Second Quarter

YC — Kinard 25 pass from Daniel Yokemick (Brennan kick), 4:34

YC — Yokemick 5 run (Brennan kick), 3:01

Third Quarter

YC — Kinard 1 run (Brennan kick), 9:03

Fourth Quarter

YC — Kinard 18 run (Brennan kick), 6:34

YCLtFirst Downs1519Rushes-Yards50-32941-185Passing5-10-012-28-0Passing Yards68196Total Yards397381Fumbles-Lost1-04-3Punts2-53.02-29.0Penalties4-372-10
Individual Statistics

Rushing — York Catholic, Kinard 25-160, Yokemick 17-123, Sean Lamont 5-41, Brandon Creisher 1-3, Brennan 1-2, Andrew Polson 1-0. Littlestown, Storey 19-117, Drew Matthews 6-30, Cody Boyd 7-23, Dylan Morey 3-6, Jose Ariza 3-6, Hornbrook 1-3, Dylan Sizemore 1-0, Austin Watters 1-0.

Passing — York Catholic, Yokemick 5-10-68-0. Littlestown, Boyd 11-27-131-0, Geiman 1-1-65-0.

Receiving — York Catholic, Brennan 3-37, Kinard 1-25, Nick Anzalone 1-6. Littlestown, Hornbrook 5-133, Ben Snouffer 4-40, Morey 1-11, Potts 1-6, Trenton Hartlaub 1-6.