By Michael Lindsay
The York Institute Dragons earned their third consecutive victory Friday evening as they defeated Livingston Academy in one of the Upper Cumberland’s oldest rivalries, 50-12.
With the effects of Hurricane Helene still bearing down on Jamestown, the Dragons rushed for 287 yards and scored 50 points without completing a pass. Running back Logan Pannell amassed 185 yards and 4 touchdowns for the Dragons.
“The run game was working tonight,” said York head coach Derwin Wright. “With the way the weather was, we came out in our shotgun wing-T and unbalanced it, and were able to run the buck sweep pretty good. It was a great night for Logan Pannell and Blake Voiles. Our quarterback (Nathaniel Tipton) and O-Line did a great job blocking.”
Livingston quarterback Kaiden Weitzel went 7-15 for 86 yards and a touchdown through the air for the Wildcats.
After York’s defense forced a punt on the game’s opening drive, the Dragons scored on their first offensive play as Pannell broke loose for a 34-yard touchdown rush. Blake Voiles tacked on the 2-point conversion to give the Dragons an 8-0 lead with 8:54 remaining in the opening quarter.
Livingston responded on the ensuing drive as a Shane Roberts 51-yard kickoff return set up the Wildcats in York territory, where Andrew Goolsby rushed in a 2-yard touchdown to bring the Wildcats within 2 points at 8-6 late in the opening frame.
York extended their lead to 16-6 with 1:19 left in the first quarter as Joseph Linder broke off a 20-yard touchdown run along with a 2-point conversion by Voiles.
The Dragons extended their lead to 24-6 midway through the second quarter as a Pannell 3-yard touchdown rush along with a Kole Brannon 2-point conversion gave York an 18-point lead with 7:07 left until halftime.
Livingston Academy would get on the board again before halftime as Jesse Gentry hauled in a 21-yard touchdown reception from Weitzel to make the score 24-12 at halftime.
The Dragons controlled the second half as they outscored Livingston 26-0 in the third and fourth quarters.
Pannell found the end zone on a 6-yard rush with 7:22 left in the third period to put the Dragons ahead 30-12.
York’s defense got on the board for their next touchdown as Linder took a 57-yard interception return to the house for a touchdown to give the Dragons a 37-12 lead following a Shane Roberts extra point.
Pannell tacked on a 12-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter followed by a Lane Robbins 7-yard touchdown rush to cap off York’s 50-12 victory over Livingston.
York Institute improves to 3-2 overall and hosts Oneida (3-2, 1-1) in Region 2-2A play next week. Livingston falls to 3-3 and hosts Stone Memorial in Region 4-4A play on Friday.
“We have to come in Monday ready for practice,” said Wright. “You’re either getting better or worse every day. I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of what we can be on offense. Our quarterback (Tipton) can throw the ball and we’ve got to get that going a little better.”
