Muhlenberg loss doesn’t take the shine off Aaron Shuker’s big performance
Some of Aaron Shuker’s prayers were answered Saturday afternoon, but not all of them.
The Muhlenberg senior showed off his considerable football skills, scoring a pair of touchdowns, but his team lost again, falling to Ephrata 41-20 in a non-league game at War Memorial Field.
The Muhls hurt themselves with mental mistakes at critical times and some poor tackling, but Shuker’s teammate gave him a chance to shine.
He broke off a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to put the Muhls on the board in the second quarter, then sprinted around right end in the third quarter on a 64-yard touchdown run. He rushed for 106 yards on just nine carries and caught a pair of passes for 40 yards.
“I pray for this stuff every day,” said the 5-9, 180-pound running back. “It’s great to see that it’s coming together, because I worked so hard in the offseason. I’m thankful it all came together — all glory to God. I love being able to embrace it, and being able to embrace my teammates.”
Shuker was the bright spot during an afternoon that saw the Muhls lose for the 18th straight time; they have won just one game over the last four seasons.
Defense again was an issue as the Muhls couldn’t stop Ephrata’s 6-2, 210-pound tailback, Andre Weidman, who’s fast and strong; he went for 143 yards and three TDs on 16 carries.
Weidman constantly got a big push from his offensive line, which dominated the trenches, and seemed to be running downhill all day. He scored on runs of 9, 4 and 22 yards; he also had an 81-yard kickoff return.
The Muhls, who trailed 27-7 at the half, finally stopped the Mountaineers’ offense on the first series of the second half and forced a punt on fourth-and-7. A penalty for having 12 men on the field advanced the ball 5 yards; Weidman and the offense returned to the field and he ran for 6 yards to extend the drive.
Five plays later he was in the end zone and it was 34-7.
“We have to cut down on mental mistakes in crucial situations” said Muhlenberg coach John Lorchak. “We can’t have those, because it makes the path even more monumental.”
Late in the first half the Muhls put their together their best drive, moving from their 30 into the red zone. Shuker’s 22-yard catch-and-run moved it the 12; before they could run another play the Muhls were hit with three consecutive procedure penalties, pushing the ball back to the 27. The drive eventually stalled on fourth down at the 17.
“Those mistakes, we’ve just got to make sure they don’t happen,” Shuker said. “We always shoot ourselves in the foot. We need to all be on the same page.”
Sophomore quarterback Kyle Archie, making his first start, showed poise and play-making ability. He connected on his first eight passes and late in the game broke off a 40-yard run.
He was under heavy pressure much of the game, and took three sacks.
“His learning experience is going to be, a lot of times, under fire,” said Lorchak, who was pleased to see Archie check off at the line once and complete a pass. He completed 9-of-12 passes without an interception.
Muhlenberg allowed a program-record 44.6 points per game last season and defense again is an area of concern. The Muhls were pushed around up front, had trouble wrapping up Weidman, and several times left receivers uncovered. They were also caught with 10 men on the field on one play and the Mounts took advantage with a big gainer.
It didn’t help that they lost their best defender, all-league linebacker Brodie Faessen, to a thigh bruise; he didn’t play after the first quarter.
The Muhls were also hurt by five fumbles, three of which they lost, including one recovered in the end zone by Ephrata’s Deric Hoover.
“We’re a young team,” Lorchak said. “We’ve just got to continue to build off the positives, (and) there were positives on all sides of the ball.”
The biggest was Shuker, an all-league second-team running back as a junior and one of the fastest players in the Berks Football League.
He showed that several times, particularly on his third-quarter TD run. He took an inside handoff, bounced it outside, picked up a seal block from tight end Anthony Little and was gone.
“I’m taking it,” Shuker thought to himself when he saw that running lane open up. “I’m faster than these guys, that’s it.”
Shuker wasn’t discouraged, despite the lopsided score and another week without a W.
“For all the young guys we had, we came out with good effort, the whole game, not just the first quarter,” he said. “I felt the line was giving me good opportunities, so I give them props for that. I felt they held their own enough for me to make the move.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 7 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
| Ephrata | 14 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 41 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Ephrata | Weidman | 9 run | Jones | Kick | |
| Ephrata | E. Knowles | 83 pass | Mortimer | Jones | Kick |
| Muhlenberg | Shuker | 91 kickoff return | Hnautick | Kick | |
| Ephrata | Weidman | 4 run | Jones | Kick | |
| Ephrata | Hover | Recovered fumble in end zone | Kick failed | ||
| Ephrata | Weidman | 22 run | Jones | Kick | |
| Muhlenberg | Shuker | 64 run | Kick failed | ||
| Ephrata | Ringler | 4 pass | Mortimer | Jones | Kick |
| Muhlenberg | Dipini | 16 run | Hnautick | Kick | |
Team statistics
| Muhlenberg | Ephrata | |
| First downs | 10 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 27-172 | 48-320 |
| Passing yards | 92 | 114 |
| Total yards | 264 | 434 |
| Passes | 9-12-0 | 4-6-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 5-2 | 2-2 |
| Punts-average | 4-30.2 | 1-46.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-30 | 2-25 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Muhlenberg: Shuker 9-106, Archie 8-33, Rivera 6-23, Dipini 2-12, Cavanna 2-(-2)
Ephrata: Weidman 16-143, Litten 13-88, Mortimer 11-72, Stidham 3-16, Pfautz 1-6, Musser 1-(-2)
PASSING
Muhlenberg: Archie 9-12-0–92
Ephrata: Mortimer 4-6-0–114
RECEIVING
Muhlenberg: Cavanna 3-19, Shuker 2-40, Zerr 2-18, Little 1-9, Rivera 1-6
Ephrata: J. Knowles 3-110, Ringler 1-4