Weekly Rewind (Sept. 24-29)
There were certainly some wild football scores across the area Friday night. Defense seemed to take the week off as nine teams scored at least 35 points, including two that hit at least 52. Add it all up and that means only five games out of 14 did not have a team reach 35 points. Have you caught your breath yet?
1. Football is, obviously, a team game. But Eastern York running back Alex Cooley set a pair of individual records Friday night during his team's 62-37 rout of Hanover. Cooley went off for 500 rushing yards to break the District 3 single-game record that was established a full four weeks earlier by Lancaster Catholic's Roman Clay in a win over Dallastown. Clay rushed for 442 yards in the win. (More about Cooley's night after the jump)
That wasn't the only record for Cooley, who scored eight touchdowns against the Nighthawks. The senior also passed former Littlestown standout Jeremiah Collins to become the YAIAA's all-time leading rusher. Cooley has 4,559 yards rushing yards for his career. Eastern hosts Littlestown on Friday.
2. There were two big results out of Adams County that will have a profound effect on the YAIAA Division III football race.
First, Delone Catholic continued its current roll with a 43-28 shootout win vs. Biglerville. And remember, this was a Canners team that came in undefeated and riding high after dropping Littlestown the week before.
Speaking of the Bolts, they suffered another punch to the gut Friday, this time courtesy of York Catholic. Quarterback Dustin Crouse fumbled late in the game and the Fighting Irish recovered at the Littlestown 14. Three plays later, James Dougherty missed on a 35-yard field goal attempt. But, Bolts coach Mike Lippy had called time out before the kick, giving Dougherty another chance. On cue, he nailed it to complete a 24-point comeback in a 38-35 win.
3. The aforementioned games weren't the only ones that featured wild scores and thrilling finishes. At West Shore Stadium, Red Land forced a turnover in the second overtime to outlast rival Cedar Cliff, 35-28. The Patriots pulled out the win despite losing quarterback Kyle Biddle in the third quarter with a shoulder injury. ... York County Tech picked up its first win of the season in a scoring frenzy vs. Fairfield. The teams combined for 93 points and 920 yards of total offense. The Spartans won, 52-41. ... Red Lion also secured its first win by rallying from a 21-6 halftime deficit to beat Kennard-Dale and do-everything stud Dan Hare, 35-28. Hare accounted for all four Rams touchdowns (one rushing, two on punt returns and one passing).
4. Don't forget: You have until 5 p.m. today to vote for our YAIAA Athletes of the Week. We have polls up and running for Girls' AOW, Boys' AOW and Football Player of the Week.
5. It isn't wrapped up just yet, but it appears fairly safe that Bermudian Springs will be celebrating a YAIAA Division III field hockey title sooner rather than later. The Eagles beat Delone Catholic, 1-0, Thursday to take a two-game lead on the Squirettes (8-3 overall, 5-2 division) with three to play. Bermudian (11-1, 7-0) can clinch the title today at Hanover (4-6, 2-4).