2016 In Review
Friday was another tough night when our Bulldogs traveled to Dallastown for a YAIAA non-league contest and fell 56-20.
West York fell behind 28-0 in the first quarter and while the Dogs never recovered in full from that early deficit, they didn't give up either.
Corey Wise threw three touchdowns, one each to Jamal Anderson, Justin Wetzel and Shane Kauffman. Wise finished with 169 yards passing against the much-larger Wildcats defense and Kauffman led the way with five catches for 90 yards.
Ay'Juan Marshall led the ground game with 12 carries for 51 yards, including a 19-yard burst.
Unfortunately, Dallastown had its running game going as the Wildcats amassed 405 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
Still, Dallastown coach Kevin Myers said he thinks with the speed at the skills positions, the Bulldogs can right their ship as the season wears on.
"(West York) has got some guys on the outside that can flat out fly," he said. "That is going to be a huge bonus for them the rest of their season. They've definitely got some downhill threats on that team."
September 2 at Central York L 15-45
September 9 vs Dallastown L 6-63
September 16 at Manheim Central L 0-63
September 23 vs Eastern York* L 10-27
September 30 at Kennard-Dale* W 33-6
October 7 vs Governor Mifflin L 20-49
October 14 at York Suburban* L 7-38
October 21 vs Susquehannock* W 29-28
October 28 vs Dover* L 7-14
November 4 at Gettysburg* L 9-14
*Denotes YAIAA Division II game
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2017 Season
August 25 at Governor Mifflin L 13-48
September 1 vs Central York L 13-28
September 8 at Dallastown L 20-56
September 15 vs Manheim Ctrl L 6-66
September 22 at Eastern York* L 18-27
September 29 vs Kennard-Dale* W 34-28
October 13 vs York Suburban* W 34-0
October 20 at Susquehannock* L 28-29
October 27 at Dover* L 20-28
November 3 vs Gettysburg* L 13-30
*Denotes YAIAA Division II game
Simply looking at the final score, things may have looked like there was no fun for the Bulldogs and their fans. Yet, that wasn't really the case against Manheim Central, one of the top teams in District 3 5A.
True, 66-6 is not a pretty score, however the first eight minutes showed what West York is capable of the rest of the season.
First, they held the Barons to a field goal on the opening drive - no easy task. Then, after getting the ball, Kelvin Matthews ran 39 yards on the first play from scrimmage and the Bulldogs followed that run with a perfect trick play many will be talking about for years.
Quarterback Corey Wise tossed a backwards pass to Jamal Anderson, who promptly threw a perfect strike to a streaking Justin Wetzel behind the Manheim defense for a 46-yard touchdown.
And West York recovered a fumble on the ensuing Barons' possesision, however the Dogs turned the ball over and were never able to recover.
Still, for a moment we were treated to thoughts of upsetting one of the area's best teams. That should make the rest of the season, starting with the Division II opener at Eastern York on Friday, pretty interesting.
The Bulldogs offense broke loose against Eastern York on Friday night. Sophomore quarterback Corey Wise completed 15 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns and Ay'Juan Marshall ran for a season-high 138 yards.
Unfortunately, Eastern York was victorious, 27-18.
West York was down only one when Eastern's Logan Kline scored to make it 14-6. A short while later, a fortunate bounce went the Golden Knights' way when an Eastern recovered a muffed punt in the Bulldogs' end zone.
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The Bulldogs reached the win column after a huge game from Ay'Juan Marshall, who topped 300 yards rushing on the night, as West York topped Kennard-Dale, 34-28.
Marshall scored on back-to-back touchdown runs of 51 and 88 yards, and added a 45-yard kickoff return. The junior now has 633 yards rushing on the season after becoming the first Bulldog to top 300 yards in a game since Brandon Real in 2008.
Jamal Anderson and Corey Wise also scored touchdowns on the ground, and Andrew Lamanna caught four passes for 62 yards.
Coach Jeremy Jones said the win was much needed.
"It's kind of the same as last year. We just need confidence," he added.
The Dogs trailed 14-8 at halftime and were down two after a 19-point third quarter and held the Rams off the scoreboard in the fourth to help the come-from-behind effort.
"I told them at halftime it seemed like we kept waiting for something bad to happen," said Jones. "We ran a couple of plays that we didn't run much in the first half and started having success."
West York has a bye this week before hosting York Suburban on Oct. 13.
"I think (the bye) is good for us. We are banged up," Jones said. "It would be nice to keep the momentum going this week, but getting healthy is more important in the long run."
After the Bulldogs earned their first win of the season on October 6, coach Jeremy Jones said his team was looking forward to its bye week.
It was a good time to get healthy, despite finally getting some momentum.
Friday night at West York proved the coach right as the West York offense and defense clicked in a 34-0 shutout of York Suburban.
Suddenly, the Dogs are in second place in Division II with a 2-1 league and 2-5 overall record.
"We are pleased. We've got some momentum going and believe in ourselves. This looks like West York football," said Jones.
On a cool, rainy night, Jones was understandably more conservative in play calling. And when you have a back like Ay-Juan Marshall, that's not a bad thing.
Marshall carried the ball 25 times for 245 yards and four touchdowns. The junior now has 878 yards for the season.
Andrew Lamanna caught a TD pass from Corey Wise for the Bulldogs' other score against the Trojans.
Up next is a trip down to Susquehannock, the team that is tied for first in Division II with a 3-0 league and 5-2 overall mark. Jones is aware of how good the Warriors are running their Wing-T offense. At least, the West York defense has proven what it can do and will look for another solid effort.
"They only run about four plays, but they run them really well," he said. "Our kids are positive and upbeat. They finally believe in themselves."
Despite a break-out performance for quarterback Corey Wise, the Bulldogs were unable to hold onto a lead and fell at Susquehannock, 29-28.
Wise completed 16-of-29 passes for 232 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns as West York built a 28-7 halftime lead, ready to pull off a huge upset that would put the Dogs in contention for a Division II crown.
But it wasn't to be as the Warriors rallied, with 22 second-half points and held on for the win.
Still, the night showed us how far the Dogs have come and how much they have improved since the beginning of the season.
In addition to Wise's performance, Jamal Anderson hauled in a 98-yard touchdown pass/run. Ay'Juan Marshall ran for another 71 yards, plus had a 31-yard reception. Andrew Lamanna had seven catches for 79 yards and a score, while Eli Bentzel had five catches, including a 49-yard TD pass from Justin Wetzel.
On defense, Wetzel led the way with 13 tackles and Ethan Sloat added 10. Savon Henderson recovered a fumble and Anderson returned an interception 98 yards for a TD.
Ay'Juan Marshall ran for 179 yards and a touchdown, but unfortunately it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs fell at rival Dover, 28-20.
Marshall also caught three passes, plus returned a kickoff 85 yards for another touchdown, but the Eagles were able to chew up 301 yards on the ground, while running 59 offensive plays to effectively keep the ball away from West York's offensive playmakers.
Jamal Anderson rushed four times for 48 yards with a touchdown, and caught two passes for 64 more.
Eli Bentzel anchored the Dogs's defense taking part in 18 tackles, while Nick Spadafora, Justin Wetzel and Drew Robinson were in on 10. Ethan Sloat had two sacks on Dover quarterbacks.
West York held a 14-7 lead after the first quarter and entered the final period with a 20-14 advantage, only to see the Eagles score 14 in the last 12 minutes.
The 2017 season closed on a tough note for the Bulldogs, who lost 30-13 against a District 3 playoff-bound Gettysburg squad.
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The Warriors scored 14 points in the first quarter, and led 21-7 at the half, as West York saw its season end with a 2-8 record.
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Still, the Bulldogs were in most of their games in the second half of the season, following a murderous stretch of larger schools they opened the season against.
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Ay'Juan Marshall added to his team lead in rushing, going for 105 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown. The junior finished his campaign with 1,233 yards and nine touchdowns. Senior Jamal Anderson closed out his Bulldogs career, with a 54-yard run. He scored three touchdowns this season.
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Corey Wise led the quarterbacks with 80 completions in 178 attempts. The sophomore threw for 1,121 yards and 11 scores. Andrew Lamana caught 30 passes for 336 yards and six touchdowns, while Eli Bentzel made 20 catches for 232 yards and two scores.
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On defense, Drew Robinson made 83 tackles with two sacks and Justin Wetzel made 68 stops with two fumble recoveries and two interceptions.