Skip to main content

Dorsey sparks Delone Catholic to victory over York County Tech


In a game that he dominated from start to finish, Delone Catholic running back Tavian Dorsey didn't want his one mistake to define him.

The senior had carried the Squires during a wild contest against York County Tech, but his fumble midway through the third quarter had led to a a go-ahead touchdown and a 28-27 Spartans lead. With the Squires back on top 35-28 in the fourth quarter, Dorsey was determined to put the game away.

"This was the seniors' final game on this field," Dorsey said. "We had the mindset that if we lost tonight our season was basically over. That was my motivation there."

With just over seven minutes remaining, Dorsey took a handoff at the Squires' 25 and burst into the open field, shaking off multiple defenders on his way to a 75-yard TD run that put Delone up by two scores in an eventual 49-28 win.

As impressive as the run was, it was just one of many explosive plays by Dorsey on Friday. In a game in which he finished with 314 total yards (238 rushing, 76 receiving), Dorsey scored four touchdowns and gained double-digit yardage on nine plays.

"Tavian is really fluid and fast," head coach Corey Zortman said. "He has a great ability to not get down on himself. He never has a bad day."

Early on, it didn't look like Delone Catholic would need a big performance in the second half from Dorsey. After scoring the games' first three touchdowns, the Squires appeared to be going into half with a comfortable 21-8 lead. But with 12 seconds left, Zortman had a little trickery up his sleeve.

Instead of throwing a Haily Mary or just taking a knee, Zortman called a screen pass to Dorsey from the Squires own 41. His running back made the call look genius, taking the pass from Brian Shermeyer 59 yards to the end zone to make it 27-8 at the break.

"I thought maybe we were going to do a Hail Mary or something, and then Shermeyer said we were running a screen," Dorsey said. "I just wanted to make something out of nothing."

But what looked like a blowout became a much more interesting game in the second half. The Spartans scored twice in the first 56 seconds of the third quarter on a 58-yard pass from Damarius Wiggins to Maurice James and on a 43-yard fumble return by Wiggins on the following possession. A short run by Matt Rossi following Dorsey's fumble gave the Spartans their first lead.

It would be short lived, though, as the Squires would retake the lead on a Sean Sneeringer touchdown run before Dorsey put the finishing touches on the win. Now 4-5 on the season, Delone Catholic needs to beat Hanover next week to stay in the playoff hunt, according to Zortman.

"That game (Delone Catholic vs. Hanover) used to bring this town to its feet," Zortman said. "It's kinda neat to get a win leading into next week."

First Quarter

DC — Tavian Dorsey, 8 run (5:14, Brandon Hall kick)

Second Quarter

DC — Brian Shermeyer, 6 pass to Zach Hart (7:50, Hall kick)

DC — Zach Hart, 14 run (3:27, Hall Kick)

YCT — Damarius Wiggins, 5 run (0:17, pass to Jordan Ray)

DC — Shermeyer, 59 pass to Dorsey (0:00, Hall's kick no good)

Third Quarter

YCT — Wiggins, 58 pass to Maurice James (11:44, pass failed)

YCT — Wiggins, 43 fumble return (11:04, run failed)

YCT — Matt Rossi 2 run (3:01, Rossi run is good)

Fourth Quarter

DC — Sneeringer, 4 run (11:01, pass to Katz)

DC — Dorsey, 75 run (7:03, Hall kick)

DC — Dorsey, 7 run (5:02, Hall kick)

YCTDCFirst downs916Rushes-Yards26-11154-401Passing5-15-14-7-0Passing Yards144106Total Yards255507Punts4-360-0Fumbles-Lost2-23-3Penalties-Yards6-404-45
Individual Statistics

Rushing — York County Tech, Wiggins 7-25, Rossi 8-25, Ben Jackson 2-(-3), James 4-11, Isaiah Colon 3-36, Josh Matias 2-17 Delone, Dorsey 24-238, Sneeringer 7-42, Zach Hart 10-39, Ryan Hart 4-47, Logan Panzer 5-9, Caden Rosenberry 2-20, Shermeyer 2-6.

Passing — York County Tech, Wiggins 5-13, 144, 1 INT, Colon 0-2. Delone, Shermeyer 4-7, 106

Receiving — York County Tech, Rossi 3-48, Ray 1-38, James 1-58. Delone, Dorsey 2-76, Katz 1-24, Zach Hart 1-6.