Ninth-ranked Cougars open region play
The York Comprehensive High School football team opens region play Friday against Rock Hill after last week’s 40-20 win against Boiling Springs where Cougar Wally Wilmore scored four touchdowns.
The homecoming game will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the YCHS stadium.
Cougar head coach Bobby Carroll understands the urgency associated with region play.
“It’s for the marbles now,” Carroll said of the Region 3-AAAA opener. “You get to keep them. We’re not playing funzies anymore. It is for keeps.”
Carroll said the Bearcats, which lost 10-7 to Sumter last week, are a formidable opponent.
“Rock Hill’s got a good football team,” Carroll said. “We’ve seen a little bit of them on tape.”
Carroll said the Bearcats feature a pass-happy offense and an effective running game. “Our boys will be up for the challenge,” he said. “We played an extremely close game with them last year, winning in the waning seconds.”
The Bearcats’ defensive front stymied the Cougars’ offense for much of the game at District Three Stadium last year.
“Mike Biddix is their defensive coordinator,” said Carroll. “He and I coached together. He’s a good football coach, a season conditioning coach.”
Carroll added: “We’ll have our work cut out for us, but you know, that’s what this game’s all about. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be fun.”
In assessing the win over Boiling Springs, Carroll lauded the Cougars for marked improvement from the previous game against Chester.
“It was a good road win,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it. We played much better than the week before. We gave up some points tonight to keep them kind of around.”
Carroll spoke in glowing terms of Boiling Springs quarterback Mason Streater. “They’ve got some good players.”
Carroll said the win over the Big 16 school gives the Cougars another half-point in the 4A playoff format, if the Bulldogs have a winning season.
“We’re 4-1 and rolling on,” he said. “That’s our fourth year in a row of beating Boiling Springs. They’re probably one of the top 10 largest schools in the state.”
He added: “Hats off to our kids for playing so hard.”
Wilmore’s game included touchdown runs of 1, 8, 4 and 8 yards. Senior Brandon Garvin penetrated the end zone from a yard out and junior running back Paul Moore closed out the scoring with a 33-yard touchdown run.
“It was a good win on the road,” said senior Caleb Clayton. “We just came in and executed the game plan. We had a little adversity here and there, but we bounced back, played hard and got the win.”
Clayton recalls last year, when the Cougars stumbled a coupled times before making a playoff run that reached the state finals.
“We had a lot of momentum going into the region undefeated and had a couple bumps there,” he said, referring to Northwestern and Fort Mill. “We’re really focused on playing every game.
“We haven’t played our best game yet. The key for the Cougars is to play four quarters.”
While he is excited about a four-touchdown game, Wilmore lauded his teammates.
“A big credit goes to the offensive line,” said the team’s big-play threat. “I had all day to throw and the receivers did a good job of running their routes. I give all of them the credit.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Ninth-ranked Cougars open region play."