A new coach, a new quarterback, and some new personnel on the offensive line left the 2018 Dallastown Wildcat football team adjusting to a lot of change.

Ron Miller, Dallastown’s new head coach, previously lead the West York Bulldogs and ended his last season there in 2014 with a total record of 86-25.

Miller coached a total of nine seasons at West York and successfully brought home a District III championship during his tenure.

This year, he took over for long time coach Kevin Myers, who retired at the end of the 2017 season with a record of 83-60 and 13 total seasons of coaching.

Along with Myers’ retirement and many key players being lost to graduation, Miller had many empty holes to fill.

Some players in the starting lineup learned entirely new positions this year.

Senior Jordan Cook went from playing as a wide receiver on offense and safety on defense to being the starting quarterback this season.

“I played backup quarterback last year, so it wasn’t all new to me, but this year, being the only one and having the game sometimes rest all on me was new. It was a little hard getting used to that,” Cook said.

Cook seemed to adjust well, rushing for 1025 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. He also threw for 568 yards and 3 TDs.

Two other seniors Jamal Brandon and Noah Strine went from playing fullback to the offensive line.

For all of the changes, some things remained the same.

Seniors Raymond Christas and Nyzair Smith picked up where they left off last season as league leaders.

Smith has been a force in the YAIAA, setting rushing records and leading the team in scores.

When asked what adapting to new changes this year was like, Smith said it wasn’t too difficult he just needed to get comfortable.

“The way I stayed consistent was staying on top of my game and remaining humble and working even harder with my teammates in the summer,” Smith said.

Smith did remain extremely consistent this year and was a leader on the team, touching the ball on the majority of the offensive plays.

He had 257 carries for 1985 yards and 24 rushing touchdowns. He ran for over 100 yards in 6 of the 10 regular season games.

In a York Daily Record interview, Miller claimed that Smith is one of the top three running backs he has coached through 24 years of high school and college football.

Even Red Lion coach Jesse Shay said that Smith’s “acceleration is second to none” because “he goes 0 to 60 better than anyone in the league.”

The Wildcats ended their season with a record of 5-5 and their last game played was against Red Lion on Friday, October 26.

After league losses to William Penn and Central York, the Wildcats had one final chance to make it to districts but fell short with a 17-10 loss to Red Lion on senior night.

According to Christas, the team was always in the championship hunt but just missed out on some key opportunities, especially in the games against rivals Red Lion and Central.

“These last two games are always close, physical, down to the wire games, and in order to get a shot at districts and a division title, you have to win those kinds of games,” Christas said. “Unfortunately we came up short this year and weren’t able to get it done, letting key opportunities in both games slip through our hands.”

According to Smith, the end was bittersweet.

“It was a special season for me because I got to play with my teammates one last time,” Smith said. “It’s hard because we will never get the chance to all play together again.”