YORK — There isn’t a lot of deception to York’s offense. Oh, sure, occasionally the Wildcats will fake a handoff to Cullen McCarty and quarterback Cole Merritt will scoot around an end.

But for the most part, York gives the ball to McCarty and he follows his blockers between the tackles.

“We just like to play power football,” said running back Jack Neary, “and see if you can beat us.”

So far, nobody has.

Falmouth was the latest team to try, and the result was a 37-14 York victory Friday night as McCarty ran for 241 yards on 33 carries. He scored three touchdowns, two on short runs of 4 yards each and another when he burst through the line and outran the Falmouth secondary for a 74-yard score.

“Our offensive line is great,” McCarty said. “They did awesome blocking. We just play smash-mouth football.”

York is 3-0. Falmouth is 2-1.

McCarty rolled up 130 yards in the first half as York jumped to a 20-0 advantage.

The Wildcats nearly allowed a touchdown on Falmouth’s opening drive, but an illegal block negated the 5-yard run by Connor Aube. Falmouth failed to convert a fourth-down pass, and the first quarter ended 0-0.

“For a team that was very anxious to play a good game, that was a setback for us,” said Falmouth Coach John Fitzsimmons, whose team amassed more than 100 yards in penalties, including three involving unsportsmanlike conduct. “At times we were playing well, but they’re high school kids, and their emotions got caught up in it. Losing their composure really caused some problems for us.”

A tough 21-yard run by Neary set up the first touchdown, a 1-yard sneak by Merritt.

The Wildcats then took advantage of a Falmouth penalty for running into the punt receiver on a fair catch to mount a 37-yard scoring drive capped by McCarty’s 4-yard run.

After another Falmouth punt, McCarty ripped off his long run and Trevor LaBonte’s second PAT kick made it 20-0.

LaBonte later kicked a 25-yard field goal and was 4 of 5 on extra points, missing one only after York was penalized 5 yards. The Wildcats also had their share of penalties – 80 yards.

“It’s a rivalry game, so you know you’re going to get that,” McCarty said. “Maybe a little too much.”

Falmouth scored on a 5-yard run by quarterback Noah Nelson late in the first half and a 92-yard kickoff return by George Gilbert late in the third quarter that made it 30-14.

McCarty scored from 4 yards on the first drive of the second half to lift York to a 27-6 lead. Neary got York’s final TD on an 8-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats finished with 357 yards rushing. Merritt completed 5 of 7 passes for 65 yards.

McCarty shouldered more of the rushing load because of a freak injury at the end of practice Thursday night to James Orso, who plays linebacker in addition to running back. Connor Elsemore, a junior who had no varsity experience, filled in well.

“This team just plays extremely hard,” said York Coach Randy Small. “We’re not big, but we’re quick and we play hard.”

Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or

Gjordan@pressherald.com

Twitter: GlennJordanPPH

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