WELL-TIMED WIN
Falcons stay unbeaten by rallying from 14-0 deficit against big rival
YORK — As has been the case for almost all of the past 11 seasons, the York-Tabb rivalry produced a thriller. As has been true of most of their meetings, York prevailed, although it needed overtime to beat the Tigers 21-14 in their Bay Rivers District game at Bailey Field on Tuesday.
John Michael Cassidy gave York the winning score, running 1 yard for a touchdown on third down in overtime. The Falcons (3-0 overall, 2-0 district) then limited the Tigers (1-2, 1-1) to a single yard on two carries to start the overtime, then forced two incompletions to clinch the
victory.
The Falcons had to survive a tense moment in final four seconds of regulation. Tabb drove from its 32 to the Falcons’ 15 in an attempt to snatch the victory, but Joseph Kim’s 32-yard field-goal attempt to end regulation was wide left, and the teams moved to overtime.
The Falcons had opportunities to score in the first quarter, when they twice got inside the Tabb 25. But a rash of mistakes, along with a Tigers defense that gave up just 16 yards in the first half, left the Falcons scoreless.
York’s first chance came when Cole Chapin recovered a fumble at the Tigers’ 22 four plays after the kickoff. The Falcons would stall, however, as they committed four penalties before Christian Maynor and Carlos Mason sacked York quarterback Ramsey Hayyat for a 12-yard loss on fourth down.
The Falcons got as far as the Tabb 18 on their next possession, but went backward on what would be the fifth of 11 first-half penalties, then were stopped on fourth down as Mason combined with Tyrese Pettaway for another sack of Hayyat.
The Tigers dominated the rest of the half. Emmit Marks completed passes of 16 and 22 yards to tight end Zach Coldsnow, who made a nice leaping catch on the first reception. Pettaway capped the nine-play, 60-yard drive on a 14-yard draw to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 8:07 remaining in the half.
With linebackers Maynor and Tanner Wells continuing to shine, the Falcons were forced to punt three plays later. Daniel Lopez dropped York’s John Michael Cassidy for a 10-yard loss on the punt try. A play later, Marks lofted a beautifully placed pass to Ty Powell for a 35-yard touchdown to send the Tigers into the dressing room with a 14-0 halftime lead.
The defensive nature of the contest continued into the third quarter. Tabb’s Michael Hertz stopped York for a loss with a fourth-down tackle, before the Falcons’ Jake Verry returned the favor by sacking Marks for an 8-yard loss.
York, which averaged 48 points in its first four games, took just four plays to cover the 53 yards following that play to get on the scoreboard. The Falcons covered the first 27 yards on Hayyat’s 12-yard pass to Tri Cartwright and a 15-yard penalty against Tabb.
After a 4-yard run by Cassidy, Hayyat connected with Jayden Flood-Brown on a slant for 23 yards and a touchdown. The Falcons’ 2-point conversion try failed, and Tabb’s lead was 14-6 with 5:30 to play in the third.
The Falcons continued to go to the air with success on their next possession. Hayyat completed passes of 25 and 19 yards before passing over the middle to Rashad Stepney for a 19-yard touchdown. Cassidy ran in the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 14 with 12 seconds to go in the third quarter.