YAIAA football Week 2: Star running back has stunning start, Rose Bowl takeaways and more

Maybe it's the adrenaline.

Maybe it's all the offseason work.

Maybe, as he said last year, he's just a different breed.

Whatever the reason, Juelz Goff doesn't get tired.

"Well, sometimes," he said sheepishly.

The Central York running back proved last year how good he is. He rushed for over 1,600 yards. Led the Panthers to a 10-2 record. Announced his verbal commitment to the University of Pittsburgh.

Still, he entered his senior season with more eyes on him and more leadership responsibility. How would he handle it?

By rushing for 284 yards and six touchdowns on 26 carries in an impressive 45-35 road win over Central Dauphin on opening night.

"I don't worry about numbers during the game. I do what I'm asked to do," Goff said. "We wanted to tire them out so we continued to run because they couldn't stop it."

That's Goff in a nutshell. Humble, soft-spoken yet completely confident in his abilities.

He doesn't have much time to rest on his laurels, and he doesn't want to. Central York goes to the road to face another traditional Mid-Penn powerhouse, Cumberland Valley, this Friday.

It's one of a number of interesting non-league matchups in the YAIAA for Week 2. Dallastown (0-1) is hosting Manheim Township (1-0) while York High (0-1) hosts Hempfield (1-0).

Cumberland Valley is coming off a 35-6 loss to an excellent Manheim Township team, but the Panthers aren't expecting an easy win Friday. Coached by former Central York coach Josh Oswalt, the Eagles are huge up front and always play the Panthers tough. They handed Central York its only regular season loss last year.

"We were ticked off," Goff said about last year's game. "We want to get that game back from them. And now it's time. We got a chip on our shoulders."

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Central isn't a one-man team. Sophomore quarterback Brooklyn Nace started his varsity career by going 14-of-18 for 123 yards. Senior guard Trevor Wentz leads an undersized but tough offensive line and the Panthers are loaded with playmakers on defense.

Still, it's the running back wearing No. 0 that makes the Panthers go. Known for his straight-ahead and speedy running style last year, Goff showed off more moves last Friday — weaving through traffic with smooth but deliberate cuts.

Panthers coach Gerry Yonchiuk reiterated that Goff reminds him of another former Pitt runner who played in District 3 — LeSean McCoy.

"I had the unfortunate job of coaching against Shady and (Goff's) ability in the open field reminds me of him," said Yonchiuk, who coached at Central Dauphin East when McCoy was at Bishop McDevitt. "Shady could go 100 miles per hour and cut. A human shouldn't be able to do that. Juelz has a little of that ability and I'm just happy he plays for us."

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Central York has been known more for its quarterbacks than running backs in recent years. Goff was the first Central York runner to top 1,000 yards since his brother, Noreaga, did it in 2016. He has the potential to put up numbers this season no Central York running back ever has.

Of course, that's not his focus.

"It's just part of the game plan," he said. "I don't worry about that. It's just on to the next play."

What we learned Week 1

Inaugural Rose Bowl has snags but still draws huge audience

The headlining matchup of the inaugural York Rose Bowl Classic went later into the night than anyone wanted.

But it also packed the bleachers on both ends of York Suburban's Trojan Stadium.

Suburban athletic director Ron Coursey has run similar events at two different schools, but a new year and new venue inevitably brought challenges. He acknowledged there were things that could be improved in the future.

Still, he said over 10,000 tickets were sold for the five-game event that ran from Friday to Saturday. Suburban's stadium has a capacity around 5,000 and over 6,000 tickets were purchased the second day.

"We got good crowds, we didn't have any issues with safety and security, and we created great experiences for the kids," Coursey said. "Things that need to be improved are starting the game times earlier and trying to elevate the matchups."

More on the event: York's Rose Bowl ends with York High hitting a Harrisburg buzzsaw in anticipated showdown

Coursey said all five matchups were "good on paper" but acknowledged "when you're dealing with teenagers you don't know what you'll get." Two of the contests were exciting — York County Tech held off James Buchanan 14-7 in the final minute of Friday's opener and Steel-High overcame a strong comeback attempt by Pittsburgh's Imani Christian in a 42-27 win Saturday afternoon.

Harrisburg's win over York High and East Pennsboro's 37-6 victory over York Suburban Friday evening were the result of great teams facing inexperienced ones.

But it was Saturday's opener that dropped jaws and altered the schedule of the weekend. Reigning Class 5A state finalist Imhotep Charter blasted Virginia's Life Christian Academy 87-0 in a game that lasted nearly three hours even with a running clock in the second half. It was 60-0 at halftime.

While the game reminded some observers of the infamous Bishop Sycamore scandal, there was an explanation for the situation. Life Christian went 3-6 against a national schedule last season but went through a coaching change that led to a number of Division I players transferring.

The game's long run time pushed back the start times for the rest of Saturday's games. The York High-Harrisburg matchup started after 9 p.m. and concluded after midnight.

"The Life Christian we researched and we thought we were getting was not the program we got," Coursey said. "And to make it worse Life Christian was talking a lot of trash on social media to Imhotep, and then Tep beat them 87-0. That was an unfortunate circumstance where a team was talking the talk and did not walk the walk."

There was also some consternation from fans who learned upon arrival that all tickets sales were done digitally through GoFan. York Suburban released a statement about the new process Tuesday before the game. Cash purchases ended up being accepted due to the confusion.

Coursey said fully digital ticket sales, which are also used by the PIAA for state events, will be used by York Suburban for all sporting events moving forward. Prices for home football games are $5 for adults and $1 for visiting students with a $1 service fee. York Suburban students attend for free.

Coursey said the hope is to get more YAIAA teams like Central York, Dallastown and West York included in the event moving forward.

"I would love for it to be a true York Rose Bowl," Coursey said. "If we can fill the field with a majority of York and Harrisburg teams and mix in a a few out-of-towners, that is what makes the event so special."

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Surprises galore

There were numerous scores that likely opened eyes Friday.

Eastern York stormed past Columbia, 46-0, at home. While the Golden Knights brought back a lot of players, they were also coming off a 2-8 season and starting a new quarterback. They hadn't beaten their cross-river rival since 2018.

Columbia has just over 20 players on its roster this season, but it was still quite a statement for Eastern.

Littlestown also beat Boiling Springs 23-8 after losing to the Bubblers by close to 50 points in each of the two previous seasons.

On the flip side, Spring Grove lost to Waynesboro, 21-3, in new coach Tom Trone's first game. The Rockets have owned this matchup in recent years and appeared to still have the edge with Waynesboro coming off a 3-7 season.

Week 2 schedule

All games 7 p.m. Friday

Manheim Township at Dallastown

Eastern York at Fairfield

Susquehannock at Littlestown

Gettysburg at New Oxford

Red Land at Northeastern

West York at Red Lion

Hempfield at York High

Dover at South Western

Kennard-Dale at Spring Grove

Donegal at York Suburban

Bermudian Springs at Boiling Springs

Biglerville at Susquenita

Delone Catholic at Lancaster Catholic

York Catholic at Camp Hill

Hanover at Columbia

York County Tech at Kutztown

Central York at Cumberland Valley

Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Pitt commit Juelz Goff off to great start for Central York football