Eastern line overpowers West York, 27-10
The play that started it all for Eastern York came late in the second quarter. Eastern York trailed West York, and the Knights faced a fourth-down situation.
After quarterback Seth Bernstein came to the sideline during a timeout, he returned to the field, dropped back to pass and threaded a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Kurnik.
It only got worse for West York.
Eastern's defense forced a three-and-out, got the ball back and ran Bernstein right at West York's front line four straight times for a score.
Then, Eastern's defense forced a fumble and punched in another Bernstein rushing touchdown.
The wild turn of events allowed Eastern York to shock West York, 27-10, on the Bulldogs' home field, marking the Knights first win in almost 20 years against West York. Eastern's last win against West York came in 2002. Meanwhile, West York is off to its worst start since it went 0-5 to open the 2013 season.
Bernstein, who rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another, ran for 140 yards on 21 carries. Bernstein also completed 7-of-14 passes.
"They beat us last year and tried to embarrass us," Bernstein said. "We came here and we wanted to embarrass them, and have a first win for our coach."
Eastern scored 20 points in the final 3:35 of the second quarter. And that was the ball game, since neither team managed to score in the second half.
In the four-play, 59-yard drive where Bernstein ran off center on four consecutive plays, Eastern (1-3) caught West York (0-4) in a matchup disadvantage. The Knights had more blockers than West York had defenders, Eastern coach Jeff Mesich explained.
"Honestly the kids up front on the line and the running back, Keegan Corwell, were just dominating," Mesich said.
West York tried to rally, and it moved the ball on its opening drive of the second half. But quarterback Anton Johnson left the game after a 22-yard run. Johnson, however, could have been banged up just before half, when he fumbled inside West York's 10-yard line and struggled to put any weight on his left ankle after the turnover. His replacement, Justin Wetzel, threw three interceptions on his three pass attempts, and West York never advanced inside the 20-yard line in the second half.
"They've always been one of the best programs in the York-Adams league, and to come here and to win is pretty special for our program," first-year Eastern coach Mesich said after securing his first win with the Knights.
"We gave Seth the opportunity, the kids made blocks and that young sophomore is starting to grow a little bit."
Eastern York_7_20_0_0_—_27
West York_0_10_0_0_—_10
First Quarter
EY – Logan Kline 7 run (Brennen Shenk kick), 11:05
Second Quarter
WY – Evan Keim 29 kick, 11:05
WY – Ay’Jaun Marshall 36 run (Keim kick), 8:11
EY – Jimmy Kurnik 21 pass from Seth Bernstein (Shenk kick), 3:34
EY – Bernstein 1 run (kick failed), 1:05
EY – Bernstein 8 run (Shenk kick), :33
_EY_ WY
First downs_13_11
Rushes-Yards_42-241_33-92
Passing_7-14-0_4-15-4
Passing Yards_82_54
Total Yards_323_146
Punts_4-23.0_3-31.7
Fumbles-Lost_3-1_1-1
Penalties-Yards_9-77_9-81
Rushing — EY, Bernstein 21-140, Kline 6-81, Cole Witman 3-10, Keegan Corwell 9-16, Kaleb Corwell 2-2, Team 2-(-5). WY, Marshall 8-48, Anton Johnson 13-28, Cadence Thomas 10-24, Justin Wetzel 2-(-8).
Passing — EY, Bernstein 7-14-0. WY, Johnson . 5-12-1, Wetzel 0-3-3.
Receiving — EY, Kurnik 2-28, Witman 2-6, Kline 1-24, Jahshim Snyder 1-15, Martin 1-9. WY, Thomas 2-28, Joe King 2-20, Andrew Lamanna 1-6.