Smith County got their first win of the season on Friday night, beating the York Dragons 7-0 on homecoming night in a game where both defenses stepped up.
With both teams rushing, both teams took a lot of time off the clock, but neither team was able to get into scoring position until Smith County made it into the red zone at the start of the second quarter. The Owls were unable to keep the ball moving however, getting stopped at the 20 and being forced to take a field goal, which they missed with 8:37 left in the 2nd quarter. After the missed field goal, neither team was able to get anything going offensively, with the closest either team came to scoring was when York got the ball back with 24 seconds left in the first half. York was able to break off two runs for a combined gain of nearly 40 yards down to the 15, but time expired as they were running the second play and both teams went to halftime scoreless.
The Owls got the ball to start the second half, but Smith County started off the second half on the wrong foot throwing an interception just 2 minutes into the half to give York the ball around midfield. York broke off a 30 yard screen on the first play to get inside the 25 but weren’t able to do anything after, turning the ball over on downs.
The Owls were forced to punt on their next drive, with the Dragons breaking another screen pass for 20 yards to the 30, and York built off of this and looked to be driving towards the first score of the night, but Jay Phillips was able to intercept the football at the 5 with about 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to stop the Dragons scoring threat.
The Owls offense couldn’t get anything going on their next two drives, with the Owls being forced to punt, forcing a fumble to get the ball back, and then being forced to punt again. The Owls second punt pinned the York Dragons deep, and a few plays later the Owls defense was able to get the first score of the night as Peyton Hix was able to intercept the ball and run it in for a touchdown to give the Owls a 7-0 lead with 7:10 left in the game.
York broke off a 35 yard run first play to the 45, gaining another couple first downs to get to the 23 and looked as if they were going to bounce back with a score of their own, but the Owls were able to stop the Dragons on fourth down and get the ball back with two minutes left in the game. On third down, the Owls looked as if they may have to punt the ball back to York with under one minute left in the game, but a facemask penalty resulted in a first down and the Owls were able to run down the clock and secure their first win of the season, 7-0.
What’s next for the Owls?
The Owls will travel to Livingston Academy on 9/25 for their first road game of the season.
