Football: York's Orso returns to field after missing previous three games with ankle injury
By Jay Pinsonnaultjpinsonnault@seacoastonline.com
Oct 14, 2014 at 12:03 PM Oct 14, 2014 at 12:03 PM
Jimmy Orso injured his ankle on the last play of practice before the Falmouth game on Sept. 19.
The senior running back/outside linebacker missed the next three games, but was back on the field last Friday in York's 31-12 victory over Greely.
"It felt awesome being out there," said Orso, who estimated he was at 90 percent. "I missed it. The ankle feels good. It didn't get any worse. It got hit one time in the second quarter and it hurt, but it's fine now."
Orso, who practiced all week, didn't see any time on offense, but played all the defensive snaps until the reserves came in late in the game.
"He can give a hit, we just don't want him getting tackled," York head football coach Randy Small said. "The healthier he gets, the more playing time he'll get."
Small was glad just to have Orso at his disposal on defense.
"He's one of the best outside backers in the league, hands down," Small said. "He holds the edge and we haven't had that since he got hurt. He was awesome out there, he didn't look like he missed three games."
Catching on
Senior tight end Mark MacGlashing only caught one pass against Greely, but it was a big one as he hauled in a 63-yard touchdown from Cole Merritt on York's second play of the second half and gave the Wildcats a 24-6 lead with 11:02 left in the third.
Merritt, a senior who completed 5-of-6 passes for 92 yards, hit MacGlashing on the flat in front of the York sideline. It appeared that a host of Rangers had MacGlashing under control, but the 6-foot, 205-pound captain broke free around the midfield and scampered down the right sideline for the score.
"He's a tough, strong kid," Small said. "You can't arm tackle him. They went high on him and he just brushed them off. He has earned his stripes because he has put in his time in the weight room. He's in the gym all the time and that run typifies his hard work."
York's Cullen McCarty ran for 203 yards on 29 yards, his fourth straight 200-plus game. The 6-foot, 195-pound junior now has 1,222 yards through six games this season for an average of 203.6 yards a game.
"I had high expectations for me this year," McCarty said. "I can't do it without my line and the backs blocking for me."
McCarty had three runs of more than 10 yards and eight runs of more than 5 yards.
"He's a special kid, you can't really put it another way," Small said. "He fills the holes and his teammates love blocking for him and they work so well together. He's as excited when someone else scores. He's very unselfish and has never once asked for the ball, but I'd be a fool for not giving it to him."
The Wildcats ran for 318 yards on the night as Jack Neary ran for 37, Ben Finitz for 30, and Merritt and Hynes each for 27.
Passing game held in check
Greely junior quarterback Matt Pisini completed just 6-of-15 passes for 123 yards as Sam Peck caught three balls for 62 yards.
"They do what they do and they try to bump the edges and go deep on you and they have the athletes to do that," Small said. "But we had a lot of pressure on the edge and they do a lot of sprint action stuff. I thought we were in their face and anytime you have someone in your face, it's a tough decision."
York will try to win its seventh straight on Friday when it plays host to Fryeburg Academy (2-4).
"We're going to practice hard this week and we're going to play hard," York senior Jordan Pidgeon said. "We're not looking past Fryeburg. We're going to prepare like we always do. It's very important to win Friday and get to 7-0."
Fryeburg has lost three straight games, most recenlty a 41-6 loss last week against Falmouth.
Its two wins have come against Mt. Ararat (14-11) and Kennebunk (14-12).
"It's great to be 6-0 but it's not about the (wins and losses) right now," Small said. "We're getting a little better each week."