Record night by Andre Weidman carries Ephrata over Fleetwood
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Matt Pawlikowski — LNP/Lancasteronline
EPHRATA — Earlier in the week, when asked what he knew about Fleetwood, Ephrata coach Kris Miller had just four words to say: “We have to win.”
Friday night at War Memorial Field, the Tigers, despite having lost their previous three, certainly made things interesting, especially in the second half.
But each time Fleetwood quieted the home crowd, the Mounts had an answer: Andre Weidman.
Not only did the senior and his offensive line take matters into their hands when it mattered, but his 33 rushes for a program-record 382 yards in a 48-28 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 win.
“All week we said we have to run the ball, and when we can run the ball our offense is nasty,” Weidman said. “This feels great; I’ve been waiting for this record, now I can just play football and have fun. I’m fully healthy and back to my normal self.”
Weidman also broke the program record for career rushing yards, set by Eric Freese,
His effort was part of an attack that saw the Mounts pile up 597 total yards.
Fleetwood quarterback Jack Riffle completed 18 passes and threw for 230 yards and two TD, helping the Tigers dig out of a 21-0 hole early in the second quarter. Ty Wamsher had eight catches and Tristan McFarland seven.
Ephrata (2-2, 4-3) took the opening kickoff 62 yards and scored when Sam McCracken found Jeremiah Knowles for a 32-yard score.
After holding the Tigers on fourth down the next series, the Mounts’ second score also came on a McCracken-Knowles connection, this time from 31 yards out.
The third Ephrata scored also was a pass, but it was a screen to Weidman from 27 yards out that seemed to set up the rest of his day.
Fleetwood made things interesting with the opening series of the second half, when quarterback Jack Riffle, under pressure, found Owen Kotsch, but the PAT was no good and the Mounts held a 21-13 advantage.
Kotsch blocked a punt with just under five minutes left in the third, leading to another Tigers score, but the Tigers again missed the PAT and trailed 21-19.
The Mounts soon began to pull away.
Ultimately, Weidman’s score from 8 yards out with just under two minutes left in the fourth put the game to rest, and an interception by Clay Ringler on the Tigers’ final series ended any thoughts of a comeback.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Fleetwood | 0 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 28 |
| Ephrata | 14 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Ephrata | Knowles, 32 pass from McCracken (Jones kick) |
| 1 | Ephrata | Knowles, 31 pass from McCracken (Honberger kick) |
| 2 | Ephrata | Weidman, 27 pass from McCracken (Jones kick) |
| 2 | Fleetwood | McFarland, 9 pass from Riffle (Maurek kick) |
| 3 | Fleetwood | Kotsch, 28 pass from Riffle (kick failed) |
| 3 | Fleetwood | Kotsch, 48 blocked punt return (pass failed) |
| 3 | Ephrata | Weidman, 14 run (Honberger kick) |
| 4 | Fleetwood | Maurek, 22 FG |
| 4 | Ephrata | Brown, 20 run (Jones kick) |
| 4 | Fleetwood | Brickle, 10 run (kick failed) |
| 4 | Ephrata | Weidman, 8 run (Honberger kick) |
Team statistics
| Fleetwood | Ephrata | |
| First downs | 18 | 22 |
| Rushes-yards | 30-117 | 41-409 |
| Passing yards | 230 | 188 |
| Total yards | 347 | 597 |
| Passes | 18-35-1 | 11-21-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 1-27.0 | 2-15.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 10-70 | 14-160 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Fleetwood: Brickle 17-86, Riffle 4-19, Wamsher 2-7, McFarland 2-5, Killian 5-0.
Ephrata: Weidman 32-382, Brown 2-19, McCracken 7-8.
PASSING
Fleetwood: Riffle 18-35-1–230.
Ephrata: McCracken 11-21-0–188.
RECEIVING
Fleetwood: Wamsher 8-91, McFarland 7-81, Kotsch 2-45, Tomes 1-13.
Ephrata: Knowles 4-92, Boley 2-36, Weidman 2-35, Collazo 2-24, Pfautz 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS
Ephrata: Ringler.