York, PA - Even if it took a miracle, West York kicker Chris Markel knew he wasn't going to miss a second opportunity when the Bulldogs hosted Dallastown Friday night.

The senior left-footer had missed wide with less than five minutes remaining, but got a chance again with only 10 seconds left.

Set up by a have-to-see-to-believe play, Markel calmly buried a 35-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining, capping West York's stunning 17-15 comeback victory over the Wildcats.

"The first time I rushed it and I hooked it to the side. The second one I took my time and lined up my block better," Markel said. "As soon as I saw it go up, I knew it was there. About a half second later I saw it had the distance.

The kick helped the Bulldogs improve to 2-0 on the young season. But how the second chance came to be will have fans on both sides talking for years.

After Markel's miss, Dallastown ran off eight plays, including a pair of third-down conversions. On third-and-12 from midfield, Wildcats quarterback Andrew Henry rolled out to his right and his pass hit receiver Malik Lewis at the same time as West York defensive back Zach Smith.

The contact forced the ball up in the air and somehow into the waiting hands of the Bulldogs' Brock Snellbaker, who returned the interception to the Wildcats' 13-yard-line.

"Smitty was fighting his man, I went to get the ball and strip it out, but it popped up and I took it as far

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as I could," Snellbaker said.

Bulldogs coach Ron Miller called it one of the best games he has ever been a part of -- especially the finish. West York ran three plays after the pick, the last of which was a sideline completion to Snellbaker, who got out of bounds, stopping the clock and setting the stage for Markel.

"I was frustrated and didn't feel like any of the bounces were going our way and that happened. We never quit," Miller said of Snellbaker's interception. "We were talking field goal after that play. I didn't have much doubt on the second one. I knew it was going to go through."

Dallastown (0-2) coach Kevin Myers blamed himself for the loss.

"That falls on my shoulders losing this one. With 50 seconds to play you should run the ball," he said. "Their kid made a hell of a play. We dared our kids to play great and they did against a heck of a football team."

Still, after seeing Henry complete 12-of-24 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown, Miller said trying to convert the first down was the right call.

"As a friend of Kevin's, I feel terrible for him. It was a good call," Miller said. "We had some problems with their rolling out. They did a great job protecting the corner and I don't think we did a good job with contain."

The Wildcats carried much of the play in the second half, running 37 plays to the Bulldogs' 22. Alpha Khan gave Dallastown the lead with his 1-yard touchdown run, capping a 16-play, 65-yard drive.

However, on the ensuing successful 2-point conversion, the Wildcats had an ineligible man downfield and Henry was sacked on the second try from the 8-yard-line.

Henry hit Lewis for an 8-yard touchdown on the opening series of the game. West York answered on quarterback Brandon Kinneman's 9-yard run late in the first quarter.

Kinneman found Snellbaker on a 9-yard scoring strike, giving the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead, nine minutes before halftime and Dallastown recorded a safety a minute and a half later after a punt pinned West York on it's 2.

@stevenavaroli; 771-2060

 

Dallastown  7    2    6    0 -- 15
West York  7    7    0    3 -- 17

First Quarter
   Dt -- Malik Lewis 8 pass from Andrew Henry (Josh Chronister kick), 8:59
   WY -- Brandon Kinneman 9 run (Chris Markel kick), 1:05
Second Quarter
   WY -- Brock Snellbaker 9 pass from Kinneman (Markel kick), 9:14
   Dt -- Safety, Josiah Mincer tackled in end zone, 7:36
Third Quarter
   Dt -- Alpha Khan 1 run (run failed), 3:25.
Fourth Quarter
   WY -- Markel 35 FG, :10.
 
-- Dt -- WY
First downs -- 15 -- 7
Rushes-yards -- 40-116 -- 26-139
Passing -- 12-24-3 -- 8-16-0
Passing yards -- 148 -- 45
Total yards -- 264 -- 184
Punts -- 4-38.3 -- 4-46.0
Fumbles-lost -- 1-0 -- 2-1
Penalties-yards -- 4-30 -- 7-53

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- Dallastown, Andrew Henry 14-41, Alpha Khan 9-41, Robert Catchings 11-26, Keith Matthews 4-8, Sean Roberts 2-0; West York, Brock Snellbaker 7-61, Brandon Kinneman 10-48, Josiah Mincer 4-23, Zach Smith 1-4, Steve Wilson 3-3, Team 1-0.
   Passing -- Dallastown, Andrew Henry 12-24-3-148; West York, Brandon Kinneman 8-16-0-45.
   Receiving -- Dallastown, Malik Lewis 4-53, Robert Catchings 3-22, Josh Chronister 2-43, Drew Romesberg 1-21, Chandler Green 1-8, Alpha Khan 1-1; West York, Zach Smith 4-35, Brock Snellbaker 3-8, Joey Smith 1-2.