York-Adams Week 2 football preview: West York, Dallastown set for another dogfight (or catfight)
If Friday's chapter of the West York-Dallastown rivalry is anywhere near as entertaining as last season's was, then YAIAA football fans are in for a treat.
The last time these perennial powerhouses met on the field, the Wildcats handed West York its only loss of the regular season — a 21-20 thriller that included two touchdowns in the final three-plus minutes. Dallastown stopped West York on a two-point conversion, then made another defensive stand after the Bulldogs recovered the ensuing onside kick.
But what about this season? West York (0-1) is coming off a heartbreaking loss to rival Central York in which the Bulldogs scored 14 fourth-quarter points to take the lead, only to give up a last-minute touchdown.
Dallastown, meanwhile, struggled early in its opener against Lancaster Catholic, but eventually found its rhythm and pulled away to win, 26-14.
West York and Dallastown both rushed for more than 200 yards but struggled in pass defense. Can the Bulldogs end the Wildcats' three-game win streak in this series? You can watch the game live at GameTimePA.com. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Dallastown.
Gridiron Challenge: Click here to predict the Week 2 winners
Friday's games
Cedar Cliff (1-0) at South Western (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Cedar Cliff, 55-33
The skinny: Expect a high-scoring game. These teams combined for 88 points when they played last season and put up a combined 92 points in wins last week.
Colts must: Score points. This hardly seemed to be an issue for the Colts in a 54-20 win against Penn Manor last week, but South Western boasts the most dangerous offense in the YAIAA, so it could become a shootout.
Mustangs must: Force turnovers. The Mustangs forced five fumbles last week against Gettysburg, recovering two, and also made two interceptions. Those types of plays will make a big difference in a game where defensive stops could be hard to come by.
Waynesboro (1-0) at Biglerville (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Biglerville, 34-28
The skinny: The Canners scored with less than two minutes remaining to edge the Indians last season.
Indians must: Hold onto the ball. The Indians committed four turnovers in a 60-28 win against Kennard-Dale last week. In a closer game, those mistakes could be deadly.
Canners must: Start fast. The Canners played their best football after the first quarter last week in a double-overtime loss to Annville-Cleona. Cleaning up that start could make a difference if this game comes down to the wire again.
Big Spring (1-0) at Dover (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Big Spring, 10-9
The skinny: Dover looks to open the season with two straight wins against Mid Penn foes.
Bulldogs must: Run the ball. Big Spring had much more success on the ground in Week 1 (244 yards) than through the air (23 yards, two interceptions).
Eagles must: Cut down on the penalties. Dover was penalized 12 times for 120 yards in Week 1.
Central York (1-0) at Cumberland Valley (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Cumberland Valley, 28-17
The skinny: Perennial powerhouse Cumberland Valley stands in Central's way of a 2-0 start.
Panthers must: Ride the momentum. Last week's win against rival West York was huge for the Panthers' confidence. If they can ride that, a 2-0 start against two solid opponents is a very real possibility.
Eagles must: Repeat their Week 1 performance, when Cumberland Valley held Spring Grove to 17 rushing yards and forced seven punts.
Manheim Township (0-1) at Red Lion (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Manheim Township, 47-6
The skinny: The Lions play at home for the first time since losing two teammates, Stone Hill and Nick Mankin.
Blue Streaks must: Shore up the run defense. After giving up 417 yards on the ground last week, the Blue Streaks will need to improve against the run.
Lions must: Control their emotions. There will be tears and plenty of hugs at Horn Field on Friday night. The first few minutes, especially, could be tough for the Lions.
Northern York (1-0) at Middletown (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Middletown, 18-9
The skinny: Polar Bears look for win No. 2 in the Greg Bowman era.
Polar Bears must: Keep running the ball. Northern racked up 329 rushing yards in their win against Susquehannock. If the Polar Bears scamper for anywhere near that amount this week, it would be a big boost.
Blue Raiders must: Slow down Michael Kearney. Northern's senior ran for 177 yards and two scores last week behind fullback Bobby Shelly.
Red Land (1-0) at Carlisle (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Red Land, 19-18
The skinny: Carlisle seeks revenge for last season's heartbreaking loss.
Patriots must: Feed Justin Johnson. The 5-foot-7 junior tormented York Suburban's defense (32 carries, 231 yards, one touchdown) last week. The Patriots will need a big day from him if they hope to knock off Carlisle.
Thundering Herd must: Air it out. The Herd threw for 281 yards to beat Mechanicsburg.
Susquehannock (0-1) at York Catholic (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: York Catholic, 36-0
The skinny: In search of his first win at Susquehannock, head coach Steve Wiles faces a familiar YAIAA Division III foe from his days coaching Delone Catholic.
Warriors must: Get the run game going. No Warrior ran for more than 42 yards last week.
Irish must: Forget Week 1. The Irish were completely dominated by Northeastern. Use that as motivation rather than let it linger.
Video: GameTimePA TV football preview show
William Penn (0-1) at J.P. McCaskey (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: J.P. McCaskey, 28-21
The skinny: Two teams looking for their first win battle in Lancaster.
Bearcats must: Limit turnovers. Four interceptions and a lost fumble crippled the Bearcats last week.
Red Tornado must: Run forward, not backward. The Red Tornado running game lost 29 yards on 28 carries against Harrisburg.
York County Tech (1-0) at Eastern York (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Eastern York, 26-8
The skinny: Can the Spartans already eclipse last year's win total?
Spartans must: Force turnovers. Three interceptions and a forced fumble helped boost York County Tech from a 14-0 deficit to a 27-21 victory against Pequea Valley.
Golden Knights must: Convert an extra point. This is nitpicking and really just an oddity, but Eastern missed three kicks and failed a conversion after four touchdowns against Columbia.
York Suburban (0-1) at Northeastern (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Northeastern, 44-0
The skinny: Can York Suburban avoid falling to 0-2 for the third consecutive season?
Trojans must: Find a complement to the passing game. Thomas Merkle connected with Collin Mailman on five passes for 117 yards, and Merkle totaled 165 passing yards. But other than that, the offense struggled (38 rushing yards on 23 carries).
Bobcats must: Commit fewer penalties, which was Northeastern's lone blemish (10 penalties for 93 yards) in an otherwise impressive victory last week.
Gettysburg (0-1) at New Oxford (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Gettysburg, 42-6
The skinny: New Oxford snapped a losing streak of nearly 23 months with last week's win against Bermudian Springs and now looks to beat another Adams County rival.
Warriors must: Stay positive. It's hard to keep a good mindset after a 38-13 loss, but the young Warriors need to realize that defeat came at the hands of South Western, perhaps the best team in the league.
Colonials must: Be consistent. The Colonials sped to a 13-0 lead last week but quickly let it turn into a 14-13 deficit. New Oxford recovered to win on a last-second field goal, but some consistency could keep it from coming down to the wire like that.
Bermudian Springs (0-1) at Boiling Springs (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Bermudian Springs, 36-6
The skinny: The Eagles are coming off just their second regular-season loss since 2010.
Eagles must: Win the special teams battle. The difference in the Eagles' last-second, Week 1 loss to New Oxford was special teams. Bermudian let two snaps go over punter Noah Aeppli's head, which resulted in a safety and great field position for the opponent. That can't happen again.
Bubblers must: Protect the ball. Boiling Springs fumbled the ball four times last week in a 35-0 win against Littlestown.
Littlestown (0-1) at Greencastle-Antrim (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Greencastle-Antrim, 49-14
The skinny: Littlestown isn't only looking for its first win of the season, it's also looking for its first points.
Thunderbolts must: Find the end zone. Boiling Springs kept the Bolts off the scoreboard last week, and that can't happen against a Blue Devils team that scored seven touchdowns in this game last year.
Blue Devils must: Bend but not break. The Blue Devils allowed a 50-yard pass and 46-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 32-29 overtime win against Chambersburg last week.
Delone Catholic (0-1) at Columbia (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Delone Catholic, 48-7
The skinny: Both teams want to shake off disappointing Week 1 losses.
Squires must: Limit the big plays. Last week, the Squires gave up four touchdowns of 65 yards or more — and three of them were 85 yards or more.
Crimson Tide must: Move the chains. Columbia didn't cross midfield for three quarters last week against Eastern.
Gridiron Challenge: Click here to predict the Week 2 winners
James Buchanan (0-1) at Fairfield (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Fairfield, 16-12
The skinny: Both teams were blown out and shut out in Week 1.
Rockets must: Limit turnovers. The Rockets turned the ball over three times in plus-territory in last week's 33-0 loss to Hanover.
Green Knights must: Get on the board early. Both teams are coming off disappointing losses in Week 1. A quick score could go a long way to changing the mood on the sidelines.
Hanover (1-0) at Kennard-Dale (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Hanover, 35-7
The skinny: Hanover, coming off a 2-8 season, started the season with a decisive win and looks to keep that momentum going.
Nighthawks must: Keep up the pressure. Hanover forced five turnovers on its way to an impressive 33-0 victory over James Buchanan.
Rams must: Hold on to the ball. Seven fumbles are too many. Of those, four were lost, but that's still too many.
Spring Grove (0-1) at Mechanicsburg (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last year: Spring Grove, 17-7
The skinny: Both teams are looking for their first wins of the season.
Rockets must: Improve their offense. The Rockets were shut out, 33-0, by Cumberland Valley last week and mustered 162 total yards.
Wildcats must: Improve their defense. The Wildcats scored 33 points last week but still lost by double digits to Carlisle as the Thundering Herd scored seven touchdowns.