YAIAA Week 1: Not the right result but an 'emotional' return for West York's Miller

The clock wound down on a wild opening night of YAIAA high school football.

There were blowouts ... some close games ... and one heartbreaker ... and two head coaches picked up their first victories.

Here's the rundown of what happened on the gridiron Friday night:

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ELCO 42, West York 18: Emotional return for Miller

Ron Miller was flashing back all day.

He knew his first game back at West York after an eight-year absence would weigh on him. Especially with a number of his former players either now a part of his coaching staff or being honored for their contributions before the game.

He also knew it was the first time many of his players took the field in a jam-packed stadium.

The result was a 24-point home loss to ELCO Friday in West York’s home opener. The Bulldogs flashed their offensive potential but also made a number of critical mistakes and didn’t have an answer for ELCO running back Jake Williams.

“It was amazing to be back on this field,” Miller said. “It’s been an emotional day all around. It’s been a special couple weeks. Very disappointed in the result, but I’m very proud of what we’re working toward.”

Williams rushed for 231 yards on nine carries and scored five total touchdowns. He scored on his first three carries – totaling 199 yards on those touches.

Still, West York trailed just 21-12 at halftime. And the Bulldogs could’ve scored more if not for a fourth-and-goal stall and an early fumble. Junior quarterback Isaac Roberts made a number of big plays including a 26-yard scoring pass to Sherrod Anderson right before halftime.

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And West York’s defense was starting to bottle Williams up with three consecutive stops. However, the Bulldogs mistakenly kicked to Williams to start the third quarter and the star running back took it 88 yards for his fourth score of the game.

“Our safeties got sucked inside, and he’s a good runner,” Miller said about Williams. “Those first three touchdowns on three touches, that’s hard to overcome.”

Roberts finished the game 12-of-18 for 142 yards and two total touchdowns. Freshman Malik Cain rushed for 56 yards on seven carries and Anderson had 50 yards on six catches. West York ran a number of trick plays including a fake extra point and an onside kick.

ELCO passed the ball just twice the entire game.

Miller said his players are still “fighting what’s happened in the past” after four straight losing seasons. He said there was a point in the game when the oldest West York player was 16.

West York’s schedule gets tougher the next two weeks with a trip to Red Lion and a home game against perennial Class 5A playoff team Exeter Township.

“It’s not going to be easy, but we knew that,” Miller said. “When you throw the lights on things get a lot faster. I hope we mature midway through the season and make some noise. We’re not going to quit.”

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South Western 19, Susquehannock 7: Mustangs seal the win with pick-6 on last play

The last play summed up the entire game. With one exception, every time Susquehannock drove, regardless how close the Warriors got to the end zone, South Western came up with a defensive stop.

On the last play of the game, Cade Baumgardner picked off Susquehannock’s Josh Pecunes and ran nearly the entire length of the field for a touchdown and the only points of the second half. That was his second pick of the second half. The first came when he stepped in front of Ben Lippy in the end zone to steal a potential game-tying score.

Bryce Graham and Jackson Hersh put the Mustangs on the board on their first possession. Graham, who shared the quarterback duties with Tanner Truelove, hit Hersh on the 1 and the senior wide receiver used his 6-2 frame to fall into the end zone.

The Warriors used some timely running and throwing by Pecunes to find the red zone late in the first quarter, but the Mustangs’ defense held and got the ball on downs at the 2. Susky nearly had a safety on the next play, but Graham was ruled down just inside the playing field.

Offsetting penalties on the Mustangs’ first punt forced a second kick. That one took a Warriors’ bounce and set them up just 30 yards from the end zone. Pecunes threw in Joe Fuller’s direction, and the lanky wide receiver won the possession battle with a South Western defender for Susky’s only score.

Austin Rollman put the Mustangs in front for good when he found the end zone to end a lengthy drive that included converting fourth-and-short in the red zone.

Week 1 YAIAA football scores

Dover 41, Northeastern 7: The Eagles jumped out to a 21-7 halftime lead and cruised past Northeastern for the second straight season.

Central York 45, Central Dauphin 35: Juelz Goff isn't just the best player in York County. He proved Friday he's one of the best in District 3 and perhaps the entire state. The University of Pittsburgh commit rushed for 284 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Panthers past a much-improved Rams team. He started the game with a 45-yard score and added 62- and 55-yard scampers in the fourth quarter to put the game away every time the Rams closed the gap to three points. Sophomore Brooklyn Nace got the start at quarterback for the Panthers, who led 24-21 at halftime.

Wyomissing 56, Kennard-Dale 7: Trailing by three touchdowns right before halftime, the Rams got a sign of life when Jessup Sharp hit David Smith with a 23-yard score. But it was all Wyomissing after that. Collin Niedrowski and Justice Hardy both had over 100 yards for the Spartans.

Lancaster Catholic 48, York Catholic 12:  The return of Friday night lights led to some fireworks at York Catholic, and Lancaster Catholic's offense looked unstoppable. RJ Gonzalez had three touchdowns: one rushing, one receiving and a punt return, while Elijah Cunningham added two rushing TDs of his own. The Crusaders' defensive line was dominant, constantly forcing York Catholic’s QB Mason Boyer to make plays out of the pocket. Boyer showed good mobility, scoring on a QB keeper on the second York Catholic drive, and standout RB Evan Kipple added a touchdown of his own for a strong night on both sides of the ball for him.

Biglerville 14, Pequea Valley 7: The game was locked 7-7 after the third quarter but a late score lifted the Canners over Pequea Valley in a close game for the second straight season.

Trinity 49, Delone Catholic 12: Shamrocks sophomore Messiah Mickens is as advertised. The Penn State commit rushed for over 200 yards and three long scores as Trinity won the rematch for the District 3 semifinals last year. Trinity got off to a fast start with a 36-yard scoring run by Mickens and a 54-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Wray to Cole Cappawana. The Squires made it a game with a long drive and short touchdown run by Brady Dettinburn, but Mickens answered with a 66-yard score. A short touchdown pass from Denver Ostrum to Dettinburn briefly put Delone back in the game before the Shamrocks surged ahead.

Waynesboro 21, Spring Grove 3: In a battle of teams with new head coaches, the Rockets struggled offensively in Tom Trone's debut. Spring Grove trailed 14-0 at halftime and couldn't generate momentum.

Littlestown 23, Boiling Springs 8: The Bolts have struggled against the Bubblers in recent years but turned the tide on Corey Bittle's first night as head coach. Alex Popoff threw three touchdowns — including two to Zyan Herr. The Bolts jumped out to a quick lead on a 59-yard catch-and-run by Bryson Lookingbill and led 16-0 at halftime.

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Annville-Cleona 52, Hanover 19: The Nighthawks trailed 33-0 before quarterback Gavin Trish got their offense going with consecutive touchdown passes. He finished with three passing scores, including two to Joey Wilkinson. But Hanover could not slow down the Dutchmen offense all game.

Eastern York 46, Columbia 0: The Golden Knights stunned their cross-river rivals with a dominant performance. It was their first win over Columbia since 2018.

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Hempfield 16, Dallastown 14: It was a heartbreaker for the Wildcats, who led the entire game until there were only 33 seconds left. With 2:58 to play, Hempfield took over at its own 21 and drove down the field until Jackson Landis pounded the ball in from the 1-yard line in the final minute. Dallastown led 14-3 at halftime after two touchdown passes from Matt Stone to Michael Scott but couldn't score in the second half.

York County Tech 14, James Buchanan 7: Scott Mathena started his tenure at York County Tech with a thrilling win. The Spartans trailed 7-0 at halftime but a punt return score by KingZion Matai followed by a safety gave them the lead. Colton Nafe added another touchdown and the Spartans kept the Rockets out of the end zone on a drive inside their 20 in the final minute.

East Pennsboro 37, York Suburban 6: The Panthers dominated the first half and led 30-0 at the break. Suburban scored its lone touchdown by recovering their own fumble and taking it to the end zone in the third quarter.

Ephrata 34, Red Lion 32: The non-league game went down to the wire, with the Mountaineers winning just their second season opener since 2003. Red Lion had narrowed the Mounts' lead to two before Ephrata's Nick Keller intercepted Lions QB Christopher Price with a little more than two minutes left in the game to seal it.

Juniata Valley 40, Fairfield 19: No other details were available in the non-conference game.

Correspondent Brendan Jones contributed to this report.

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Saturday's schedule

Bermudian Springs at New Oxford, 7 p.m.

Harrisburg vs. York High at York Suburban, 8:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: YAIAA high school football scores: Week 1 final results