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York County Tech rides momentum to win


York County Tech head coach Charlie Troxell isn’t shy about the fact that he has a handful of weapons on his fast-paced offense. From 6-foot, 3-inch wide receiver Jordan Ray, to the smaller Terrence Romey, Troxell knows that his offense can strike at any minute.

That’s what the Spartans did in a 28-6 victory at Kennard-Dale on Friday night.

With eight seconds left in the first quarter and the score stuck in a scoreless tie, Troxell gave his quarterback Josiah Smallwood one command.

“Call your own line,” he told Smallwood.

That meant Smallwood had the chance to choose the play — five-and-out. Smallwood dropped back and heaved a pass downfield to Ray, who grabbed the ball, broke a couple tackles and was gone for the 75-yard touchdown that ignited the Spartans' offense.

“Anytime I go to the line, I want the deep ball,” Ray said. “When he called the five-and-out, I was like, ‘You have to catch it and make your legs work and get to the end zone.’ … When I catch it, it’s like if you don’t score, you fail.”

That connection, one of four on the night between Smallwood and Ray, helped open up the Kennard-Dale defense and give the offense room to work. York County Tech ran the high-powered attack smoothly throughout, keeping the host Rams guessing.

The victory comes just a week after the Spartans upset Eastern York, 30-24. It was a game in which York County Tech used the same formula — Smallwood hit Ray for two deep touchdowns.

Troxell knew his team could keep the momentum going but had to stay focused.

“We just keep progressing,” he said. “It’s steps. We’re taking these steps to get better. I think it’s building. … The test this week was to see if we can hang in there and not be overconfident about our last win. We just got to keep it going.”

Next up will be a big matchup with Littlestown, a team that moved to 3-0 with a win against Eastern York on Friday night.

For Kennard-Dale, the offense woes continued. After failing to score in a 58-0 loss to Hanover last week, the Rams took until the final minute to score on Friday.

Kennard-Dale did nearly double its season total with 181 total yards. Shawn Ellis was a bright spot, rushing for 44 yards and grabbing two catches for 41 yards.

York County Tech_8_12_8_0_—_28

Kennard-Dale_0_0_0_6_—_6

First Quarter

YCT – Jordan Ray 75 pass from Josiah Smallwood (2-point conversion good), 0:00

Second Quarter

YCT – Benjamin Jackson 6 rush (2PC failed), 5:57

YCT – Smallwood 1 rush (2PC failed), 2:29

Third Quarter

YCT – Tyrese Smallwood 13 rush (2PC good), 5:19

Fourth Quarter

KD – Dalton Stike 29 rush (2PC failed), 1:00

Team Statistics

 _YCT_ KD

First downs_15_9

Rushes-Yards_32-171_35-95

Passing_9-19_7-17

Passing Yards_193_86

Total Yards_364_181

Punts_3-106_7-204

Fumbles-Lost_3-2_5-2

Penalties-Yards_4-35_3-20

Individual Statistics

Rushing — YCT, Isaiah Colon 8-30, Tyrese Smallwood 4-34, Benjamin Jackson 9-39, Josiah Smallwood 6-12, Rasdashan Dixon 2-16, Kevin Parker 2-29, Terrence Romey 1-11. KD, Shawn Ellis 12-44, Dalton Stike 15-41, Michael Lizzi 4-10, Mark Hushon 3-0, Jonathon Rineholt 1-0.

Passing — YCT, Josiah Smallwood 9-19-193. KD, Dalton Stike 7-15-86, Noah Hulslander 0-2.

Receiving — YCT, Terrence Romey 4-55, Jordan Ray 4-127, James Villafana 1-11. KD, Shawn Ellis 2-41, Michael Lizzi 2-15, Mark Hushon 3-30.