Eastern York rolls Gettysburg for third straight win
Both Eastern York and Gettysburg entered with a chance to win three games in a row and take control of YAIAA Division II, and it was the Golden Knights who came away victorious.
Eastern defeated Gettysburg, 31-13, on Friday to spoil the homecoming festivities at Warrior Stadium. The Warriors (3-3, 2-1) were unable to establish any momentum throughout the game, losing two fumbles and squandering decent field position. Gettysburg totaled 287 yards on offense.
After starting 0-3, Eastern York (3-3, 3-0) has turned its season around, and every game the team plays begins with an unlikely source of inspiration.
“Well, we have a teammates’ grandma who gives us a speech every week,” Eastern running back Logan Kline said after the win. “She told us we had the steering wheel this week and we're in the driver’s seat.”
The Golden Knights took that to heart and drove down the field briskly, scoring their first touchdown just a minute and a half into the game. Kline broke off a 37-yard run and found the end zone to give Eastern a 6-0 lead. A lead would not relinquish.
Kline also picked up five receptions for 71 yards to add to his 110 yards on the ground. As a team, the Golden Knights rushed for 223 yards.
“Hey, we’ve got 27 kids, but 27 strong,” Eastern York’s head coach Jeff Mesich said. “It’s a Mike Tomlinism that you have so many guys on the team but only 11 of them on the grass at a time, so you want our 11 to be ready to go.”
Mesich’s team proved it was ready to go offensively from the first drive of the game and on, and would mirror those results on the other side of the ball.
Thanks to the Golden Knights' aggressive rush defense, the Warriors were unable to get their star running back Edny Celius going. Coming into the game, Celius was a top-five rusher in the YAIAA, averaging 9.04 yards per attempt with eight touchdowns on the season.
While the senior was able to pick up just 64 yards on 18 carries against the Golden Knights, he did account for all of Gettysburg’s scoring on the night. With less than a minute remaining in the first quarter, Celius rushed 23 yards into the end zone to close the gap and make it a 12-7 game. He later added a short, 2-yard score in the third quarter, but it was too little too late.
Eastern_12_13_6_0_—31
Gettysburg_7_0_6_0_—13
First Quarter
EY – Logan Kline 37 rush (kick failed), 10:33
EY – Seth Bernstein 7 rush (kick failed), 3:59
Gb – Edny Celius 23 rush (Jake Bridel kick), 0:58
Second Quarter
EY – Kline 6 rush (Brennen Shenk kick), 7:52
EY – Keegan Corwell 9 rush (kick failed), 1:48
Third Quarter
Gb – Celius 2 rush (kick failed), 6:06
EY – Kline 4 rush (rush failed), 3:50
Team Statistics
_EY_ Gb
First downs_14_8
Rushes-Yards_43-233_28-139
Passing_7-12-99_6-21-148
Passing Yards_99_148
Total Yards_332_287
Punts_3-21.3_4-32.25
Fumbles-Lost_1-0_4-2
Penalties-Yards_9-78_1-15
Individual Statistics
Rushing — Eastern York, Seth Bernstein 11-29, Keegan Corwell 14-82, Logan Kline 16-110, Cole Witman 1-0, John Gilbert 1-2. Gettysburg, Edny Celius 18-64, Wesley Gayle 2-15, Ferrious Ashford 4-66, Bryce Newman 1-7, Josh Clapsaddle 2-(-17), Haiden Milhimes 1-4.
Passing — Eastern York, Bernstein 7-12-9-1. Gettysburg, Josh Clapsaddle 6-21-148-0
Receiving — Eastern York, Kline 5-71, Jahshim Snyder 1-29, Cole Witman 1-(-1). Gettysburg, Laion Shelton 1-26, Ashford 2-61, Codi Hower 1-39, Chad Auchey 1-17, Celius 1-5.