Quarterback Ryder Smith Posts 272 Yards, 2 Touchdowns In York Institute’s 26-13 Win At DeKalb County

By Michael Lindsay

The York Institute Dragons (3-4) traveled to DeKalb County (3-4) on Friday and won a rain-soaked contest against the Tigers, 26-13.

“It was an ugly one tonight,” said York head coach Mark Pemberton. “We had a huge rain, and I thought our kids really overcame it. Defensively, we played really well and we keep getting better. This was a great team win.”

Dragon quarterback Ryder Smith posted 136 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground while going 5-9 for 136 yards and a TD through the air. Linebacker Landen Robbins led York defensively with 17 tackles (9 solo), two sacks and four TFLs.

“Ryder had some long runs,” said Pemberton. “They (DeKalb) were tough defensively and shut some of our run game down. We were able to find something that we were able to gain yardage with. We actually threw the ball well in the first half, even with all that rain.”

After trading three-and-outs on their opening possessions, York struck first as Smith hit Israel Cagle down the middle of the field for a 67-yard touchdown pass to give the Dragons a 7-0 lead with 1:00 remaining in the first quarter.

DeKalb County answered with 4:23 left in the first half as quarterback Jesse Foutch rushed in a three-yard touchdown. York’s Preston Smith blocked the PAT to preserve York’s 7-6 lead into the halftime locker room.

York Institute opened the third quarter with a fourth-down stop in DeKalb County, setting up a Drake Garrett one-yard touchdown run with 7:08 remaining in the third to give the Dragons a 14-6 lead.

Smith tacked on to York’s lead later in the third quarter as he took a quarterback keeper 60 yards for a touchdown, extending the Dragons’ advantage to 20-6 with 2:20 to go in the third period.

A long Smith run to open the fourth quarter set up a three-yard Calvin Voiles touchdown run to make the score 26-6 York with 11:29 remaining in the contest. DeKalb County answered less than two minutes later as Foutch hit Levi Cripps for a 10-yard touchdown pass to pull the Tigers with two scores at 26-13 with 10:10 left in the game.

York’s defense held out the Tigers from there as they went on to win by a 26-13 final.

The Dragons have won three of their last four games and travel to non-region foe Upperman (5-2) next Friday while Dekalb County hosts White County (7-0, 2-0) in Region 4-4A play.