York, PA - York County Tech football coach Doug Wilkinson said a game against Bermudian Springs offers very few surprises. The difficulty comes in trying to stop the Adams County school's relentless offensive attack.

The Spartans (0-4, 0-3 YAIAA Division III) gave as good as they got on a hot Saturday morning, but the Eagles had too much and went home with a 41-8 win.

"They're well-coached, and they are tough kids who play hard," Wilkinson said. "You have to work hard with them to match them. Defensively, except for a couple of breakdowns, I thought we played really well."

The game featured a scary moment early in the third quarter as Tech senior Judonn Mitchell suffered an injury while playing defense. He was removed from the field on a backboard and transported to the hospital, but Wilkinson said after the game that the move was merely precautionary.

Running backs Tristan Sponseller and Zach Stroup each scored twice for Bermudian. Stroup led all rushers with 95 yards, while Sponseller added 79 yards on the ground. Bermudian scored in each quarter.

"We did what we wanted to do which is win a football game and keep ourselves in the thick of it," said Bermudian coach Jon Defoe, whose team is now 4-0, 3-0 in YAIAA Division III. "I give Tech credit. Their kids fought really hard and hung in there and competed and really pushed us."

But Tech couldn't focus simply on the running game. Quarterback Michael

Advertisement
Moore threw for 162 yards and could have had many more but for a few drops in the first half. He hit Brandon Markle for a 40-yard scoring pass in the first quarter and set up an earlier touchdown from Sponseller with a 57-yard completion to Alex Orwig.

"He's just been getting more comfortable and making more and more plays each passing week," Defoe said of his senior quarterback. "We need that component this year. Trying to get a little more production of (the passing game) is going to be big for us the next few weeks."

Bermudian even benefited from some good fortune. The Eagles held on to the ball after all three of their fumbles, even scoring their final touchdown when Moore recovered a mishandled exchange from the 2-yard line in the end zone.

The Spartan read option offense provided a new challenge for Bermudian. Tech put up 158 yards on the ground but could only find paydirt once when fullback Calvin Savary plunged over from 3 yards out in the third quarter. However, Wilkinson walked away satisfied.

"We get a little better every week. That's the best football game we have played this year," he said. "Bermudian is a really good football team, and Jon does such a great job every year, but I was OK with the way we played today. My kids played hard today."
 
Bermudian  14    7    7    13 -- 41
York Co. Tech  0    0    8    0 -- 8

First Quarter
   BeS -- Tristan Sponseller 3 run (Aaron Rebert kick), 8:15
   BeS -- Brandon Markle 40 pass from Michael Moore (Rebert kick), :55
Second Quarter
   BeS -- Zach Stroup 41 run (Rebert kick), 10:49
Third Quarter
   BeS -- Sponseller 3 run (Rebert kick), 7:36
   YCT -- Calvin Savary 3 run (Stephaun Montouth run), 1:53
Fourth Quarter
   BeS -- Stroup 2 run (kick blocked), 9:55
   BeS -- Moore recovered fumble in end zone (Rebert kick), 4:18
 
-- BeS -- YCT
First downs -- 18 -- 12
Rushes-yards -- 41-229 -- 47-158
Passing -- 6-14-0 -- 6-10-0
Passing yards -- 162 -- 45
Total yards -- 391 -- 203
Punts -- 2-48.5 -- 5-25.4
Fumbles-lost -- 3-0 -- 0-0
Penalties-yards -- 0-0 -- 2-25

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- Bermudian Springs, Zach Stroup 14-95, Tristan Sponseller 14-79, Josh Stroup 5-29, Spencer Greenfield 1-10, Landon Mohney 3-9, Damon Becker 3-5, Michael Moore 1-2; York Tech, Calvin Savary 21-68, Dalmar Dickson 15-42, Stephaun Montouth 9-32, Judonn Mitchell 1-11, Nashied Bones 1-5.
   Passing -- Bermudian Springs, Moore 6-14-162-0; York Tech, Dickson 6-10-45-0.
   Receiving -- Bermudian Springs, Brandon Markle 2-56, Z. Stroup 2-12, Alex Orwig 1-57, Sponseller 1-38; York Tech, Bones 5-35, Mitchell 1-10.