York’s ‘program-changing’ win over Catawba Ridge wasn’t pretty, but the end was memorable
A few seconds before the last play of a win that will surely echo around the city of York for a while, linebacker Javarus Guthrie wasn’t sure what to do.
It was fourth down. Ball over 70 yards away from the end zone. Cougars up over Catawba Ridge, 19-13. Less than a minute left in the game.
The York defense had played as well as it had all season on Friday night at home — intercepting Catawba Ridge quarterback and Class of 2024 overall No. 1 college prospect Jadyn Davis three times and holding Catawba Ridge to under 240 yards of total offense.
But it needed one more play.
Enter Guthrie: The sophomore, after looking at the sideline and receiving a last-second change-of-instruction, blitzed from the slot. He passed the right guard untouched, running so fast that he was never seen.
“As soon as he hiked the ball, I saw the tackle wasn’t looking at me, and I had a free angle,” Guthrie told The Herald with a big smile on his face. “Free angle right there. And I had to hit him.”
Boom.
Guthrie’s game-ending hit served as the climactic end of York’s 19-13 win that head coach Dean Boyd said postgame was “program-changing.”
And then, the Cougars stormed the field. It was a joyous moment for a team that hasn’t yet notched a pretty win but has still, against odds and expectations, emerged as a formidable South Carolina 4A team this season.
And it has done that because it simply, somehow, finds ways to win.
“It’s hard to win,” Boyd told The Herald postgame, his voice strained hoarse and his hair looking a bit more gray than it did at kickoff. “And when you win, no matter how you win, you gotta celebrate those things. You can’t take them for granted. We didn’t play well tonight on offense. But we played well enough to win. And when you do that, you gotta celebrate it.”
York found a way to win
Let’s be as clear as day: Nothing about Friday night in York was pretty.
The night started with a Catawba Ridge fumble on the game’s opening kickoff that was recovered by York. The Cougars, just 20 yards away from the end zone, lost yardage and turned the ball over on downs.
This would be an omen for the rest of the game. In the first half, specifically, York only managed 13 yards of total offense. Catawba Ridge had 90 yards — but not without giving up a pick-six (intercepted and scored by York’s Debo Hall) that gave York a 7-3 lead heading into the break.
“When we couldn’t move the ball offensively in the first half, I got really concerned,” Boyd said. “But our defense gave us the lead at halftime, and we were able to hang onto it.”
Admittedly, the second half was more eventful: On York’s first possession of the third quarter, quarterback Ayden Davis found a streaking wide receiver Jevon Long for a 71-yard touchdown. A missed extra point meant that York was up, 13-3.
And then, after two more York interceptions were not leveraged into points (one by Zy Brown and the other by Demaurion Stewart), Catawba Ridge put together back-to-back scoring drives in 50 seconds to tie the game up late in the fourth quarter.
The first? Catawba Ridge marched all the way down to the 1-yard line but had to settle for a field goal, one knocked in by Kohen Kozel to make it 13-6.
And the second? After a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, running back Tyler Jones punched in a touchdown from 12 yards out. 13-13.
But this is what York does — or at least has done in its now five-game, at times head-scratching win streak: After not having a good offensive drive all night, the Cougars melted three minutes off the clock and marched over 70 yards for the touchdown it needed.
The final run came via the legs of York’s sophomore offensive leader, its quarterback, Davis — via a 2-yard score. 19-13.
Another missed PAT kept the York sideline on edge. But then came another clutch series by the York defense that ended in a game-sealing sack that was heard ‘round town.
“Ayden Davis came through,” Boyd said postgame, remarking on the only offensive drive worth remembering on Friday night. “He made some big plays in that drive. We kept running weak-side on them. They found something there late, running weak on them. And our offensive line, who struggled all night long, finally tired those big boys out and went to work. And that was the key to the game.
“We could’ve really tucked our heads down after they scored. That could’ve been the ball game. And we didn’t let it. We kept fighting.”
Statistical leaders for York, Catawba Ridge
The Cougars were led by Long, who ended with three catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. They also saw contributions from Davis, who ran for 42 yards and threw for 101 yards and one touchdown and one interception, and running backs Frank Thompson (29 yards) and RJ Glasgow (15 yards).
The Copperheads saw admirable performances from Tyler Jones, who took 19 carries for 79 yards, and receivers Trevor Testerman (53 receiving yards) and Jacobie Henderson (45 yards). Davis completed 16 of 34 passes for 127 yards.
Postgame, Guthrie, who was holding a sledgehammer in his hand as a reward for his big, game-sealing hit, was asked postgame what this win over a top-10 S.C. 4A team means about his team’s potential.
He flashed another smile: “We can go a long ways, man,” he said. “We can go a long ways. All we gotta do is keep showing up to practice every day. Play hard. Just play hard.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2021 at 12:20 AM.
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