Two 12-0 programs battled in the Northern Region Championship game on Friday afternoon at Stone Bridge High School as the Bulldogs, from the Liberty District, played host to the Yorktown Patriots, who make their home in the National District.
In one of the craziest back-and-forth contests in recent memory, Stone Bridge battled back from a 22-point deficit in the second quarter with 55 unanswered points to take a 33-point lead in the fourth quarter only to see Yorktown cut it to 12 points before a kickoff return capped the scoring in a game that saw 119 points put on the board.
Scoring SummaryFirst QuarterSTONE...Dailey 2 yards, PAT Smedley...STONE 7-0
YORK...Stewart 65 yards, PAT Wall...TIE 7-7
YORK...Wall 24-yard field goal...YORK 10-7
Second QuarterYORK...Roebuck to Stewart 14 yards, PAT blocked...YORK 16-7
YORK...Roebuck to Yore 34 yards, PAT Wall...YORk 23-7
YORK...Stewart 22 yards, PAT blocked...YORK 29-7
STONE...Dailey 7 yards, two-point Yarborough run...YORK 29-15
STONE...Burns 4 yards, PAT Smedley...YORK 29-22
Third QuarterSTONE...Goldring punt return 44 yards, two-point failed...YORK 29-28
STONE...Strahin 1 yard, two-point failed...STONE 34-29
STONE...Burns to Yarborough 20 yards, PAT Smedley...STONE 41-29
STONE...Yarborough 40 yards, PAT Smedley...STONE 48-29
STONE...Dailey 1 yard, PAT Smedley, STONE 55-29
Fourth QuarterSTONE...Burns to Yarborough 90 yards, PAT Smedley...STONE 62-29
YORK...Stewart 65 yards, two-point failed...STONE 62-35
YORK...Stewart 14 yards, two-point Roebuck to Yore...STONE 62-43
YORK...Roebuck to Gregory 30 yards, PAT Wall...STONE 62-50
STONE...Golding kickoff return 87 yards, PAT Smedley...STONE 69-50
Keys to the GameWeather the StormUsing their single wing formation attack, the Bulldogs struck first and struck quickly on their opening possession using a combination of Sterling Dailey runs and a big play action pass from quarterback Ryan Burns to wideout Jimmy Higgins down the middle of the field to advance the ball into the red zone where Dailey capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run on fourth down sweeping around the right side of the line. The carry was Dailey's sixth on the seven-play 68-yard drive.
The Yorktown offense answered back quickly scoring on their third play from the line of scrimmage after two failed downs when quarterback Will Roebuck found wide out Nick Yore on a hitch route and the Pats' receiver lateraled the ball to a streaking M.J. Stewart who outraced the Stone Bridge defense down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown to tie the contest at one touchdown apiece.
On their very next possession, Stone Bridge fumbled the ball away to Yorktown with Stewart scooping up a loose ball on the Bulldogs 30-yard line giving the Patriots outstanding field position. After converting back-to-back fourth downs to move inside the Stone Bridge 10-yard line, the Pats were stopped on the Bulldogs 8-yard line leading to a 24-yard field goal from Yorktown kicker Charlie Wall to give the Patriots a 10-7 lead.
On the ensuing possession, a 24-yard run by Sterling Dailey moved the Bulldogs across midfield to the Yorktown 35-yard line but, later in the drive, M.J. Stewart undercut a Jimmy Higgins route at the Patriots 5-yard line picking off the Stone Bridge pass thwarting the Bulldogs' drive.
Taking over deep in their own zone, Roebuck found time by rolling to his right allowing him to find Yore behind the secondary for a 50-yard bomb to the Stone Bridge 23-yard line and a roughing the passer penalty moved the ball to the 13 nearing the end of the first quarter. Three plays later, running back M.J. Stewart took a swing pass from Roebuck and scampered into the end zone to push their lead to 16-7 after Allen blocked the point after attempt.
A Stone Bridge fumble on the ensuing kickoff gave the ball back to Yorktown on the Bulldogs 35-yard line which led to yet another Yorktown touchdown a play later when Roebuck found Yore up the sideline for a 34-yard scoring strike making the Pats lead 23-7 as they had scored 17 points off three Stone Bridge turnovers.
On the first play of the next drive, Stone Bridge fumbled again and the Patriots recovered, this time on the Stone Bridge 29-yard line. Three plays later, M.J. Stewart shook defenders sweeping left, darting back to the right and zig-zagging his way into the Stone Bridge end zone for his third touchdown of the first half making the lead 29-7 Yorktown.
Fighting Back, Finding LifeA 25-yard run by Dailey again put the Bulldogs into Yorktown territory as he was pushed out of bounds at the Pats 31-yard line. He later capped the scoring drive with an 7-yard touchdown run that, along with a successful two-point converstion, cutting the Yorktown lead to 29-15, giving the Bulldogs some life.
On Yorktown's next possession, the offense moved the ball into Stone Bridge territory but a sack by Jon Allen on third down forced a punt giving Stone Bridge light at the end of the tunnel as a score before halftime would send them into the locker room down only one score.
That is exactly what happened as a couple of big Yarborough runs around the edge and some doses of Dailey up the middle of the Yorktown defense pushed ball into the Pats' red zone with 50 second left in half when Ryan Burns capped the scoring drive with 4-yard plunge for a touchdowns to send the teams into halftime with Yorktown leading 29-22.
Ride Momentum; DominateLikely feeling great coming back from a three-touchdown deficit, Stone Bridge cam out of the locker room fired up on both sides of the ball getting a three-and-out stop forcing a Yorktown punt.
Catching the ball at the Yorktown 44-yard line, Rassaun Golding sprinted right and darted through the Yorktown coverage team to open space for a touchdown cutting the Yorktown lead to one (29-28) after the Bulldogs failed to convert a two-point conversion. Momentum had shifted but the Patriots still held onto their lead.
However, that didn't last long as the Patriots fumbled on the first play of their next drive as a trio of Stone Bridge defenders hit Yorktown ball carrier forcing a fumble that was recovered by Jon Allen at the Patriots 10-yard line setting up the Bulldogs offense with an opportunity to give the team their first lead of the ball game which they took three plays later when Christian Strahin found the end zone from a yard out as the Bulldogs led 34-29.
On the next three Yorktown possessions, the Stone Bridge defense shut down the Patriots forcing three consecutive three-and-out drives and all three led to scoring drives by the Stone Bridge offense.
First, quarterback Ryan Burns found D'Ante Yarborough on a 20-yard scoring strike with the receiver corraling a diving catch into his chest landing in the Patriots end zone making the score 41-29.
Next came a 40-yard scoring run by Yarborough on an end-around play which pushed the Bulldogs lead to 48-29 in the middle of the third quarter as the state's top-ranked Division Five team started stretching their legs and exerting their dominance.
Instead of punting at the end of their next possession, the Patriots opted to attempt a fake punt throwing deep down the sideline for a streaking Micah Gregory, but Goldring stepped in front of the pass at the Stone Bridge 45-yard line then crossed the field behind a wall of blockers returning the ball to the Yorktown 11-yard line setting up another score as Dailey capped a short drive with a one-yard touchdown run giving Stone Bridge a 55-29 lead heading into the final quarter of the title game.
Cleaning UpWith the game all but in the bag, Stone Bridge shot the dagger into the Yorktown hopes early in the fourth quarter as Burns found Yarborough behind the Patriots secondary off a play-action pass from his own ten-yard line for a 90-yard scoring strike.
Though Yorktown fought back with two scoring runs from Stewart and a touchdown pass from Roebuck to Gregory, Stone Bridge collected the victory and advanced to the state playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.
Top PerformersStone Bridge offensive line...Though the Stone Bridge offense suffered some woes early in the contest, the big men in the trenches were getting movement and controlling the line of scrimmage leading to a number of big running plays for the Bulldogs ball carriers when they held on to the ball. Once the turnover issue was resolved, the Stone Bridge offense was compeltely unstoppable with most of the credit due to the o-line. In total, the Bulldogs rushed for 327 yards and threw for 163 giving them 490 yards of offense in the contest.
Sterling Dailey, RB, Stone Bridge...Utilizing their single wing attack more than any other formation, the Bulldogs spent most of their night direct snapping the ball to their go-to running back who made big things happen by rushing for 152 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. Additionally, on the other side of the ball, Dailey matched up with YOrktown wideout Nick Yore in the second half after the Pats big man out wide spent the first half making big plays in the passing game.
D'Ante Yarborough, WR, Stone Bridge...The Bulldogs go-to guy out wide scroed three times on the night with a touchdown run and two scoring receptions including an incredible diving snag on a 20-yard pass and an over-the-top 90-yard reception off play-action. In total, the senior collected three receptions for 119 yards on the night.
Rassaun Goldring, RET, Stone Bridge...Though he had some ball security issues early in the contest, the Bulldogs return man made a number of big plays in the win including a punt return and kickoff return for scores and his interception and return off a Yorktown fake punt led to another Stone Bridge touchdown that all but sealed the victory for the champions.
M.J. Stewart, RB, Yorktown...The Yorktown junior scored five touchdowns for the Patriots and thrwarted two Stone Bridge drives in the first half by collecting both a fumble recovery and an interception as the Pats carried a 29-22 lead into halftime. On the evening, Steart finished with 220 yards of offense by rushing for 202 yards on 18 carries and totaling 18 receiving yards on three catches.
Other NotablesWill Roebuck, QB, Yorktown...Connected on 12 of 22 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns.Nick Yore, WR, Yorktown...Caught seven passes for 118 yards and one touchdown while lateraling another to Stewart on the hook-and-lateral play in the first quarterJon Allen, DE, Stone Bridge...Along with bringing constant pressure up front, Allen recorded a couple of big sacks at key moments, recovered a fumble and batted down a screen pass.This post was edited on 11/24 12:45 AM by VaPrepsRod
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