YORK — Randy Small, even after losing the first two games of season, liked the potential he saw in his York High School football team.

The Wildcats coach said the team needed to stay patient for a couple of weeks, let some of the younger, inexperienced players get their feet wet at the varsity level, and after that, the results would be different.

He was right.

The Wildcats scored two touchdowns in the first two minutes of Saturday’s Class B crossover game with defending state champion Mt. Blue, built a 28-7 lead at halftime, ran for more than 200 yards and cruised to a convincing 42-21 win over the Cougars.

“The biggest thing we did today was that we played physical and we got back to hitting and playing York football,” Small said. “We hit today, and we haven’t hit like that in years. Mt. Blue is a very good football team, and that’s why we picked them (in our crossover game). I told the kids we had to be patient.”

Mt. Blue’s Alex Gilbert fumbled the opening kickoff, and York’s Ethan McDonough pounced on the loose football at the Mt. Blue 19-yard line.

Three plays later, York senior quarterback Ross Hogan plunged in from the 1 and scored his first of three touchdowns as York (2-2) led 7-0 barely one minute into the game.

Jacob Willams fumbled on the first play of the Cougars’ ensuing possession, and York’s Dan Bock recovered the ball at the Mt. Blue 9.

Two plays later, Hogan scored from 3 yards out for a 14-0 lead less than 3 minutes into the game.

“That certainly gave them momentum,” Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin said. “Not only turning the ball over, but where we turned it over. You can’t start like that, and York took advantage of it. I think that start kind of shocked our kids a little bit.”

Mt. Blue (2-2) got on the board early in the second quarter as Williams ran in from the 5, cutting York’s lead to 21-7. The Cougars, on their first possession of the second half, went on a 12-play, 82-yard drive as Pratt ran in from the 1. The final Mt. Blue score came on its next possession, as Pratt and Dustin Richards hooked up on a 6-yard pass on fourth-and-goal with 6:40 left in the fourth.

Pratt completed 14-of-25 passes for 99 yards, connecting with Cam Abbott six times for 30 yards.

Hogan later scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter. He also threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Lee in the first quarter and a 53-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Pidgeon in the final minute of the half that increased York’s lead to 28-7.

“Going up 14-0 that quick was huge and was a big momentum swing for us,” Hogan said. “Mt. Blue is a good team. They have some big boys on that team, but Coach (Small) broke it down for us and we just went out there and executed.”

The Wildcats faced a third-and-9 from their own 47 with 42.4 seconds left in the half when Hogan found Pidgeon in the middle of the field for a completion. Pidgeon broke for the right sideline and was able to escape the grasp of Mt. Blue’s Richard Storer at the 20 and scampered in for the score.

“We called timeout right before that play and just went over the coverage,” Hogan said. “I got Jordan the ball and let him do his thing. He’s just a great athlete and is really fast; you’re not going to catch that kid from behind.”

Both Small and Parlin said Pidgeon’s touchdown was one of the turning points of the game.

“We just had a blown coverage there at the end of the half,” Parlin said. “If we stop them there it’s a different feeling at halftime. York made the plays and we didn’t.”

The Wildcats then took the second-half kickoff and marched 66 yards on eight plays, all runs, with the drive capped by Sean Kelly’s 37-yard touchdown run down the Mt. Blue sideline.

“The play right before the half got us going, and we knew we were going to get the ball to start the third,” Small said. “We got a long, methodical drive and that’s what we wanted.”

Kelly carried four times for 57 yards on the drive. The bruising senior ran for 155 yards on 22 carries and eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the second consecutive week.

“We needed a win today and we got it,” Kelly said. “This was a big game for us. I am so proud of the line today, the defense did a great job and the whole team just did awesome.”

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