Unbeaten Catawba Ridge runs win streak to 7 in high school football victory over York

Catawba Ridge runners rumbled for more than 300 yards and five touchdowns against York on Friday, helping the Copperheads to an emphatic 59-21 home win over the Cougars. Catawba Ridge was also dominant on defense, holding York to fewer tha 300 yards of total offense while forcing four turnovers.

It was a strong showing for the Copperheads (7-0, 2-0) which continues its hot start.

Friday, they scored on their third play from scrimmage — a 40-yard touchdown from senior quarterback Tyler Fikis to sophomore wideout Sheldon Crawford — and were up 31-7 at the half.

“We knew we could expand the playbook a little bit with (Fikis),” head coach Zac Lendyak said. “And we wanted to try to take a shot early. We knew that they knew we could run the ball, but we weren’t sure if they knew how well we could throw it. And we wanted to try to sneak one in there early and kind of get in their head a little bit. Make them think they got to cover that field, and we were able to do that in that first drive.”

Fikis, a senior in his second game back after missing four games with an ankle injury, also ran for a score.

“To score in the first three plays on our first drive on offense, it just really shift the momentum to our side,” Fikis said. “And you know it brings confidence to all the guys on offense, so it was great to get started with that.”

Catawba Ridge also got a lot of rushing production from running backs Tyler Jones, Ira Mister and Evan Hamilton. The trio combined for 242 yards and three touchdowns.

Dominant defense

The Copperhead defense also made an impact, keeping York in check for most of the game.

“I’m really happy with them,” Catawba Ridge defensive coordinator Chris Rust said. “These kids work their butts off. Every day in practice for me, they do exactly what I ask them to do. And they play aggressive and hard and fast. That’s all I ask of them, and they did a good job.”

Catawba Ridge also had two defensive touchdowns — both of which came in the first half. A first-quarter fumble recovered for touchdown by junior Jackson Burger and a pick-six by Mister just before the end of the half helped Catawba Ridge put the game out of reach.

“It’s incredible having a defense so dominant,” Fikis said. “Even in games where our offense isn’t clicking fully, we can trust our defense to get their offense off the field and let us keep trying new stuff and keep working to put points on the board.”

It was a tough showing for York, which lost its second straight game to open region play.

“Everything went wrong,” York head coach Dean Boyd said. “From the jump, things just went bad from the very beginning. We ran into a buzzsaw. They’re a good football team, first of all, but then we had everything in the world go wrong for us.”

The Cougars found some success on offense. Quarterback Ayden Davis had more than 160 yards combined with three total touchdowns. But York couldn’t overcome those four turnovers, or their three drives that ended in turnovers-on-downs, or their defense allowing a season-high 59 points.

“We got to continue doing the little things that we’re not doing,” Boyd said. “We got to concentrate on getting those things better. Because those little things lead to big things that make a big difference. And we’re not doing those right now.”

Catawba Ridge has matched its program best with seven consecutive wins and will look to extend its streak Friday at home against Lancaster.

York (4-3, 0-2) looks to stop its losing streak at two. The Cougars go on the road to face Northwestern.

Kickoff for both games next week is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

This story was originally published October 8, 2022 at 12:28 AM.