Sheldon Crawford came up big for the Copperheads in their match up against York Friday. Photos by Rob Upton Photography.

Fort Mill sometimes doesn’t get the respect it deserves as a football town, according to Catawba Ridge head coach Zac Lendyak.

Coming off the heels of a blowout victory over a region foe, that perception may start to change soon.

Catawba Ridge notched eight touchdowns, including two key defensive scores in the first half, to secure a runaway 59-21 victory over visiting York Comprehensive High School Friday night in front of a packed stadium at The Pit in Fort Mill.

The Region 3-4A victory extends Catawba Ridge’s unbeaten streak to 7-0 this year, including a 2-0 start in region play.

“I think, sometimes, Fort Mill doesn’t get the recognition it deserves as a football town,” Lendyak said. “We’re doing it our way. We take that to heart. The kids put in a ton of work; we play hard like everyone else. I couldn’t be more proud to come out here and do this the way we do it.”

Senior running back Tyler Jones, who had 89 rushing yards on 15 carries, scored two rushing touchdowns to reach eight scores on the year.

Quarterback Tyler Fikis found receiver Sheldon Crawford for a 40-yard score on Catawba Ridge’s first drive to open the scoring. Fikis later called his own number on a short touchdown run to open the second half.

Jackson Burger took advantage of a York fumble, delivering a 10-yard scoop-and-score to put the Copperheads up by two scores heading into the second quarter, kicker Kohen Kozel notched a 42-yard field goal, and Ira Mister snagged a 20-yard pick-six to cap off a 14-point swing just before halftime.

Mister and backup quarterback Nate Thomas both scored offensive touchdowns in the fourth quarter, when Lendyak started emptying his bench.

York quarterback Ayden Davis was responsible for all of the Cougars’ points, including two short rushing touchdowns and a 65-yard passing score to Javarus Guthrie with eight minutes to play.

But the Catawba Ridge defense forced Davis into three interceptions and sacked the quarterback at least four times. With the loss, York falls to 4-3 on the year and 0-2 in region play.  

Mister says Catawba Ridge plays with plenty of confidence.

“We rely on each other,” he said. “If the offense messes up, the defense has got us. If the defense messes up, the offense has got us. We’ve got each other’s backs.”

The home team got off to a hot start.

After consecutive first downs, Fikis threw his first pass of the night, a 40-yard pitch and catch to Crawford, who found himself wide open through the middle and could have waltzed into the end zone to give the Copperheads the early 7-0 lead.

A few drives later, the defense started to shine. After pressuring York quarterback Davis to the far sideline, a timely hit caused Davis to fumble the football, where Burger was there to pick up the simple scoop-and-score from just 10 yards out.

Catawba Ridge then forced two sacks on York’s next drive, leading to a punt. On York’s next possession, with nine minutes left in the second quarter, the defense forced Davis out of the pocket and into an errant pass, which got tipped and landed in the arms of junior Jake Sines.

The Copperheads converted on the ensuing possession, with Kozel converting a 42-yard field goal to make it 17-0.

York needed a trick play to kickstart its offense. On their own 45-yard line, the Cougars called a flea flicker, which allowed Avery Crowder to fling a 42-yard pass to Akevv Mason.

The Cougars made it to the 7-yard line, where Davis dashed in on the far pylon to cut the lead to 10 with 2:58 left in the first half.

But the comeback attempt was short-lived.

Fikis made strong passes to Miles Baucom and Brandon Raysor to help put the Copperheads back into York territory, Jones and Mister made crucial runs to keep the sticks moving, and Jones took the glory with a 15-yard rushing touchdown to cap off a 62-yard drive that lasted eight plays and about two minutes.

York got the ball back with about 40 seconds to play, but Davis gave up another interception on the first play, this time to Mister, who ran it back from 20 yards out to make it 31-7. The touchdown meant Catawba Ridge secured two touchdowns in the space of about 17 seconds.

“When the ball came in my hands, I knew I had to go to the crib,” Mister said. “To get that score before the halftime, that was big time.”

“Anytime you can get points on defense,” Lendyak said. “It makes things a lot easier offensively.”

After the halftime break, Fikis picked up his second touchdown of the night with a 5-yard run after big gains by Crawford and Jones to put Catawba Ridge up by 31.

York eventually answered late in the third quarter when Guthrie broke out for a 28-yard rush, leading Davis to push his way into the endzone a few plays later from a yard out.

But Catawba Ridge quickly put up three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with plenty of backups playing valuable minutes. Thomas secured the final score of the night, while backup kicker Camden Gifford scored all four of Catawba Ridge’s second-half point-after attempts.

Jordan Gilliam picked off Davis one last time in the fourth quarter.

“It’s gonna start sounding like a broken record, but they show up every week,” Lendyak said. “I knew it would be handful to stop (Davis and Guthrie), but the defense showed up again and showed out.”

Both teams will be back in region action 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14. Catawba Ridge next hosts Lancaster, while York plays Northwestern in Rock Hill.

Jackson Burger scoops up a fumble and heads for the end zone for Catawba Ridge against York Friday night.