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Top-10 YAIAA games from 2015-16


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A look back at the top games from the 2015-16 high school sports year:

New Oxford at Bermudian Springs football, Sept. 4 (New Oxford 24-21): Very few expected this game to be competitive after the Colonials went 0-10 in 2014 and the Eagles went 10-0. But New Oxford broke its nearly-two-year-long losing streak on a game-winning 27-yard field goal by Luis Partida as time expired to spoil Bermudian Springs’ first game on its new turf field. Partida, a member of the school’s soccer team, had just joined football a few weeks earlier. It was the only field goal he kicked all season. Bermudian Springs’ new field also saw two other dramatic games in 2015: the Eagles' 20-17 win over York Catholic on a touchdown pass by backup quartback Tristan Hoke with 15 seconds left; and a 17-14 loss to rival Biglerville on a last-second field goal that gave the Canners the division title.

West York vs. York Suburban football, Oct, 16 (York Suburban 23-22): It was a Week 7 showdown between two unbeaten teams in Division II. By the end of the night only York Suburban could still hold that claim. It came down to a field goal from Suburban’s Jonas Atkinson with five second left in the game, and with his team trailing by two points. The kick went through the uprights and sealed the win for the Trojans in what was a back-and-forth affair.

Dallastown vs. Dover girls' soccer, Oct. 22 (Dallastown 3-2 in double OT): Talk about being in the right place at the right time. That was the case for Dallastown’s Carson Gold, who booted the game winner in the second overtime to clinch the Wildcats a YAIAA girls’ soccer championship. Dallastown watched a 2-0 first half lead slip away in the second half after Dover’s Brook Firestone scored twice.

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Video: Central York vs. Spring Grove basketball's sensational season series
Brandon Stoneburg's top memory from the 2015-16 sports season was the season-long battles that unfolded between Central York and Spring Grove on the high school hardwood.

South Western vs. Spring Grove football, Nov. 6 (Spring Grove 28-21): It was a wild final few minutes between the Rockets and Mustangs in this late season meeting. With 1:51 left to play, South Western tied the game on 61-yard drive that was capped off with Brock Geiman running the ball into the end zone. But the deadlock was short lived, as Rockets' quarterback Jake Messersmith threw a 54-yard touchdown pass with 1:34 left, which served as the game-winning play.

Delone Catholic vs. York Catholic girls' basketball, Jan. 5 (53-49 Delone Catholic in OT): It took an extra period of play to decide a winner between the Division III rivals. York Cathiolic’s Jania Wright tied the game off a free throw with no time remaining, but Delone opened the extra frame with a 6-2 run to come away with the win.

South Western at Spring Grove wrestling, Jan. 27 (Spring Grove 31-24): With the YAIAA Division I title hanging in the balance, the archrivals both entered this dual meet with undefeated division records. The excitement continued to build after the meet was pushed back a day due to the 30-inch January blizzard, and hundreds of fans from both teams packed the gym to see what would happen. South Western won the first six matches to build a 21-0 lead, before Spring Grove stormed back to win seven of the last eight matches (two by forfeit) and win 31-24. Two of the final three matches that were wrestled went to triple overtime, and Rockets freshman 113-pounder Clay Baker won a hard-fought decision to put Spring Grove ahead for good in a classic dual that will be remembered for years to come.

Red Lion vs. Central York girls' basketball, Feb. 12 (35-34 Red Lion): It was clutch free-throw shooting from Courtney Dimoff that clinched the Lions a YAIAA title. Dimoff hit back-to-back shots from the foul line to give Red Lion a 32-31 lead with 2.6 seconds left in what was a low scoring affair. Up until that point Dimoff was held to just five points in the game.

Spring Grove vs. Central York boys' basketball, Feb. 23 (52-51 Central in OT): Jared Wagner never had a bigger basket than the one he scored with two seconds left in overtime of the District 3 semifinals. Wagner put-back his own rebound to send the Panthers to their first district title appearance since 1984 and avenge a loss to Spring Grove the Panthers suffered during the YAIAA title game.

York Catholic vs. Kennard-Dale girls' lacrosse, April 26 (9-8 York Catholic in OT): It was the overtime heroics of Anna Linthicum that helped York Catholic defeat Kennard-Dale, something no YAIAA team had done in the regular season since 2011.  Coming into the game, both the Rams and Irish had been undefeated, and Kennard-Dale had to come from behind to force overtime.

York Catholic vs. Central York boys' lacrosse, May 3 (14-13 York Catholic in OT): Eli Doyle played the role of hero for the Irish, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to clinch a share of the YAIAA regular-season title. The overtime win was also York Catholic's first since 2010, and it snapped a seven game losing.

Dallastown vs. Northeastern baseball, May 17 (4-3 Dallastown): A base hit by Dallastown’s Brandon White helped drive in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh of the YAIAA title game. The Wildcats had held a 3-0 lead before Northeastern runs in the fifth and sixth tied the game. That was before White won the game in the final frame.

York Suburban vs. Holy Redeemer boys' volleyball, June 4 (3-2 York Suburban): It took five games for the Trojans to advance to the state semifinals. After winning the first two games 25-22 and 25-15, Holy Redeemer took the next two games to force a fifth.  Facing match point in the deciding game, Suburban staved off elimination by picking up three straight points to get the win.