WESTBROOK — York High’s smothering defense and scoring drives to bracket halftime paved the way to 22-6 Class C South road win on Friday at Westbrook High.
York’s defense, led by linemen Matt Charpentier and Chris Connors, held Westbrook to just 78 rushing yards – 53 coming on a first-quarter sweep by speedy Steven White – and then teed off on quarterback Carter Dow in the second half.
The Wildcats’ offense got the job done, too, with three second-quarter scores including a 32-yard field goal by Peter Martin on the final play of the first half for a 16-0 lead. York emphasized its advantage by taking the second-half kickoff and crisply moving 75 yards in six plays with Sam Fogg scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run for a 22-0 lead.
“We practice the two-minute drill a lot and we practice that very scenario where we’re getting the ball in a position where we can kick a field goal,” said York Coach Matt Nelson. “That was what, as a coach, was great to see the kids execute that two-minute drill.”
It was the second straight win for York, now 2-1. York beat Biddeford, 34-33, on Sept. 10 by stopping a last-play two-point conversion attempt.
Westbrook fell to 0-3, one week after losing to Cheverus, 36-34, in a game where Cheverus stopped Westbrook’s late two-point conversion attempt to tie the game.
“We were just focusing on containment because they’re a very heavy outside running team,” said York’s Charpentier, one of the Wildcats’ three returning two-way starters. “We were making sure we held our gaps and that they didn’t get outside of us because if they did that would be a bad day for us.”
After a scoreless first quarter, York got on the board first on a 44-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Gavin Davis to Jake Fogg, who found empty space on a deep crossing pattern.
Brody Gullison gave York a boost with several runs that gained big chunks. He finished with 114 rushing yards on 14 carries. After a short Westbrook punt following a three-and-out from deep in its own territory, Gullison ripped off runs of 14 and 15 yards to set up a 3-yard scamper around the end for the touchdown by Davis.
Another three-and-out on Westbrook’s next possession led to York getting the ball at its own 40 with 52.6 seconds left before half. Davis (8 of 19, 137 yards) completed three straight passes to set up Martin’s field goal.
Westbrook’s touchdown came with 2:48 left in the game when quarterback Carter Dow (4 of 20, 147 yards), who had been sacked on three of his previous four dropbacks, escaped pressure and found Gavin Tanner open in the right flat. Tanner showed impressive burst to run away from York’s defenders for an 87-yard touchdown.
“You get down three scores and that sort of forces you to throw the ball a little bit” said Westbrook first-year head coach Sam Johnson. “I’m proud of the kids hanging in there and competing their butts off. We couldn’t really get a run, couldn’t really get a push and drives stalled. I think we’ve kind of hung our hats on being able to move the ball quickly and obviously that didn’t happen.”
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