Behind senior LB and ‘dog’ of a QB, York earns first win over Rock Hill in six years
To York, he’s Aybo.
To Rock Hill, he’s the elusive, headache-causing York quarterback who never saw a collapsed pocket he couldn’t slither his way through.
And to everyone watching on Friday night in Rock Hill, Ayden Davis was the right-handed and light-footed engine of the York offense — the sustainer of so many long, time-consuming York drives that ultimately delivered York its first win over York County rival Rock Hill High since 2015 by a score of 17-12.
“That’s a dog right there,” said senior linebacker MeKayle Burris of Davis, who finished the game with 122 yards and two touchdowns rushing and 36 yards passing. “He did his thing tonight. Ran the ball. Made a couple plays throwing it. But that’s a dog.”
Don’t let that praise go over your head.
Because Burris himself, York’s appointed leader on the defense who was seemingly in the mix of every meaningful defensive play on Friday night, is a tough creature, too.
And Davis knows it.
“He helps us get better at practice every day,” Davis said postgame with a big smile. “We’ve just been working on our craft for the past two weeks since the Cox Mill loss. He helps our offensive line get better every week.”
York controlled Friday night from start to finish: The team’s first drive, which was propelled by a 39-yard run by Davis and a 27-yard reception by Jevon Long, ended in a 22-yard field goal knocked in by Zayne Beardsley to make it 3-0.
The Bearcats responded early in the second quarter, after a long drive saw Rock Hill quarterback Matthew Wilson punch a touchdown in from 1 yard out to make it 6-3 (after a missed PAT).
But then the Cougars settled into a rhythm, unflinchingly taking the game’s juju from their 5A opponent, which outnumbered them by the tens.
With just over two minutes left in the second quarter, the Cougars converted a fourth down inside Rock Hill’s 20 via a reverse with Long (again). And then, a few plays later, Davis bounced his way through Rock Hill tacklers from 4 yards out for his first touchdown of the day and a 10-6 York lead.
The third quarter started slow, but Burris wouldn’t let it pass him by without making the singularly most important play of the day: With the Bearcats driving, the linebacker was sitting back in coverage when defensive lineman Andre Johnson tipped a pass. Burris saw it and snatched it out of the air and returned it inside the Rock Hill 10-yard line.
York scored three plays later — a 4-yard Davis scramble, complete with a few offensive linemen pushing their sophomore quarterback across the goal line.
“AJ tipped it off, and I just saw it and went and got it,” Burris said with a big smile.
Rock Hill showed some life at the end, punctuating a time-consuming drive with a touchdown with 56.4 seconds left to push the score to 17-12. But a failed onside kick and then a few more carries — including one from running back Frank Thompson, who finished Friday night with 19 carries for 87 yards — made the score moot.
Head coach Dean Boyd, after shaking hands with all of Rock Hill’s players, ran to his team and celebrated with them.
This win meant a lot to York — this year’s team and the football program Boyd has been trying to build since he returned to his alma mater in 2019.
“This is the type of win we gotta have,” Boyd told reporters postgame. “I’ve been trying to preach our culture and what we’re trying to do with ‘The York Way,’ and until you have a big win, or a win against someone you’re not really supposed to beat, it’s hard to sell that.
“And being able to beat a Rock Hill team ... it’s huge for our program, it’s huge for our kids to see that if you do things the right way, you continue to work, that good things happen to you.”
This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 11:53 PM.
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