WAYNESBORO, Pa. – There was a lot at stake in Waynesboro’s varsity football game against Northern York on Friday on Senior Night at Buchanan Automotive Stadium.
Waynesboro was playing for its first win of the season. Northern York was playing for a higher seeding among District 3-5A teams.
For a while, it looked like the Tribe was about to pull off a stunning upset against the 7-1 Polar Bears. But, in the end, mistakes cost Waynesboro, and Northern York stuck to its relatively conservative game plan: run the ball and pass the ball occasionally.
The visitors from Dillsburg trailed 21-14 with 4:50 left in the third quarter. The Polar Bears then scored the final 17 points of the game to come away with a 31-21 victory in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Northern York joined three other teams with 8-1 records (Solanco, Conestoga Valley and Dover). They all trail No. 1 Twin Valley (9-0). Northern plays at Red Land in the last game of the season. Waynesboro (0-9) travels to play Mechanicsburg, which is 7-2 and ranked sixth in Class 6A.
Despite being a heavy underdog, the Indians played like a team wanting to win and not giving up on the season. The defense played steady throughout, and the Polar Bears relied on big plays to score two of their touchdowns.
With only seconds remaining in the first half, Northern York quarterback Mason Barnett heaved a 44-yard Hail Mary pass to wide receiver Cash Keck. Keck somehow got past the defenders to catch the ball on the fly and ran it into the end zone for the tying score.
In the second half, running back Brody Leathery got loose for a 62-yard touchdown run that gave the Bears a 28-21 lead after successfully converting the two-point conversion.
Waynesboro’s next possession ended with a fourth-down incompletion, and Northern York drove the ball to the Waynesboro seven-yard line before Beckham Kalnins kicked a 25-yard field goal to give the Polar Bears a 10-point lead with only 3:11 to play.
For Waynesboro, wide receiver Dwayne Robinson had another impressive game. After catching seven passes for 133 yards last week in a 24-22 loss at home to Red Land, Robinson caught four passes for 70 yards with two touchdowns. In fact, his first two receptions of 38 and 15 yards were TDs. The first gave the Indians a 7-0 lead and the second put Waynesboro ahead 14-7 with 39 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The Indians took a brief 21-14 lead midway through the third quarter when Mason Nickel was wide open, really wide open. He hauled in a Brayden Heimbuch pass at midfield and sprinted the rest of the way for an easy touchdown.
However, Northern York scored on its ensuing possession to make the score 21-20 after missing the extra point.
Gavin Starkey led Waynesboro in rushing with 49 yards on 11 carries. Heimbuch completed nine passes in 17 attempts for 176 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Leathery led Northern York with 146 rushing yards on 22 carries. Barnett completed nine passes in 12 attempts for 150 yards. Keck caught four passes for 102 yards.
Photos by Toya McCleary:
