STUART MORTON touched down twice as Huddersfield YMCA got their Yorkshire II promotion bid back on track.

A 31-11 win over Ripon at Laund Hill strengthened their grip on the second automatic spot.

YM, beaten by leaders Pocklington the previous week, are now 13 points clear of nearest rivals Barnsley with a game in hand.

But in the opening 25 minutes, neutrals could have been forgiven for thinking it was 10th-placed Ripon who were chasing promotion.

Well marshalled by half-backs Scott McAra and Rob Nicholson, they dominated the opening proceedings and it was only down to some string defence that they were kept out.

And when YM attacked, they invariably gifted possession back to the visitors through basic errors.

When McAra finally gave Ripon the lead with a drop goal, it seemed to sting YM into action with veteran forward Neil Walker fielding a clearance kick deep inside his own half before charging downfield.

The ball was quickly recycled to Adam Ryder, who drew the defence before freeing his winger Morton to score out wide.

James Swift converted to give YM a 7-3 lead which really was against the run of play.

McAra’s penalty reduced the deficit to a point, but the YM forwards were beginning to assert their authority in the loose with the all-action back row of Mark Whitehead, Sam Hodge and Fabio Leonne-Mazza to the fore.

A smart move down the left involving the back row and winger Chris Beever should have ended with a try for Whitehead, but unfortunately, he couldn’t hold the final pass.

Even so, the writing was now on the wall as the home side upped the tempo, and shortly before the interval, the pressure told.

Impressive full-back Nick Clarke was the man to go over, scoring by the posts to leave Swift with a straightforward conversion for a 14-6 lead.

YM started the second half strongly, immediately putting Ripon on the backfoot when Simon Wilson’s penalty pushed them onto their own five-metre line.

From there, the home eight drove the opposition back for a deserved try for Stephen Dyke.

Ripon were tiring and YM dominating in both tight and loose, and from a set scrum, Neil Pollock, who had taken over at No8, picked up and sent supporting scrum half Wilson haring through a gap.

He drew his marker and handed over to Morton to score his second try, and the home side were now cruising at 24-6.

Ripon pulled a score back when the ball squirted out of the side of a ruck and McAra touched down.

But man of the match Beever had the final say when he intercepted a loose pass and sprinted 40 metres to score by the posts, with Swift converting.

YMCA are next in action away to Roundhegians on Saturday week.

YMCA: Clarke, Morton, Ryder, Williams (Pollock, 43mins), Beever; Swift, Wilson; Sanderson (Hill, 63mins), Stu Dyke, Ste Dyke, Neilly, Walker, Hodge, Leonne-Mazza (Lumb 48mins), Whitehead.