Everything goes right for Ephrata as it stops short-handed Twin Valley

By Mike Drago Last updated Oct 15, 2023

Twin Valley quarterback Evan Myers runs for a first down Friday against Ephrata. (Tim Macrina photo)

2023 Berks football coverage presented by

Utilities Employees Credit Union

By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor

EPHRATA — Ephrata football coach Kris Miller had a couple of surprises in his back pocket Friday night; he was saving them for unbeaten Twin Valley.

There was a flea-flicker that went for a touchdown. A new formation that unleashed Angel Collazo for some big early runs. And a new strategy on kickoffs.

Each wrinkle led to an early touchdown and 20-point lead as the Mountaineers surprised the Raiders 52-33 to move into a first-place tie in Section 3 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

“Everything kind of went right,” Miller said.

Not for the Raiders (4-1, 7-1) it didn’t.

They were coming off a pair of thrilling one-point wins that extended the best start in program history but committed some critical errors early in the game.

With two of the league’s best players, Drew Engle and Evan Johnson, unable to start or play much due to injuries the Raiders didn’t have the firepower to overcome those early mistakes and saw their hopes for a perfect season and outright Section 3 title disappear.

“Give Ephrata credit,” said Twin Valley coach Brett Myers. “They came out on fire and we didn’t match that. They deserve all the credit. Their kids played really hard.”

Myers didn’t use the absence of Engle and Johnson – who have combined for over 2,000 rushing yards – as an excuse. He didn’t even bring it up. When asked about his backfield tandem he said “they’re OK,” but obviously they weren’t.

Neither started or appeared on Twin Valley’s game-opening possession. Engle got a couple touches and Johnson one carry on the second possession but it was apparent they weren’t up to speed. They usually run rings around opposing defenses.

“We wanted to see what they could do,” Myers said, “and it was clear they weren’t themselves. You’re not gonna risk a kid like that just to try to win a football game.”

Engle, who averaged 11.2 yards per carry through the first seven games, had four carries for 9 yards; he didn’t play after the first quarter. Johnson, who was averaging over 10 yards per carry, had one carry for 0 yards.

Raiders Ben Savidge takes down Brayden Brown. (Tim Macrina photo)

Twin Valley had been averaging 338 rushing yards per game; it finished with 154. For the first time this season it didn’t produce a 100-yard back.

Neither Engle or Johnson returned kicks or played in the defensive backfield; that proved to be problematic, as well. They’re the best athletes in Twin Valley’s secondary – Engle was an all-league second-team pick last year as a freshman – and would’ve been a big help against Ephrata’s high-powered offense.

As it turned out the Raiders couldn’t stop them. The Mounts punted just once and didn’t turn the ball over. They got 136 rushing yards and two TDs from 200-pound back Brayden Brown and 117 yards and one TD from the shifty Collazo.

Quarterback Sam McCracken threw a pair of scoring passes and for 144 yards; he also ran for two scores.

All told the Mounts piled up 24 first down and 488 total yards. They made a ton of penalties but were able to overcome most of them and gave the Raiders little chance to close that early gap.

“We’ve gotta tackle and block better,” Myers said. “No excuses. Give Ephrata credit; give Coach Miller credit. They did a great job.”

Twin Valley fumbled the ball away on its first possession after driving deep into Ephrata territory, then misplayed a kickoff later in the first half, the fumble giving the Mounts the ball at the 23.

Ephrata scored off each turnover and used a flea-flicker from Collazo for a 44-yard touchdown pass in building a 20-0 lead with 4:22 left in the first quarter.

The fumbled kickoff was the result of a low line-drive kick by Evan Honberger that was hard to handle. It’s the first time Ephrata has employed that tactic.

“(Before this week) he struggled with anything but a deep kick,” Miller said of Honberger. “With the speed that they have back deep, we knew we couldn’t kick the ball deep to start, so we drilled him all week on that.

“The football’s not round; it takes some funny bounces and it worked out exactly the way we hoped it would. That was a huge moment in the game.”

Somehow the Raiders scrambled back and went into halftime trailing just 27-17. They were still in the game late in the third quarter after Ean Winchester’s 1-yard TD run and a two-point conversion pass to Jordan Rose cut Ephrata’s lead to 42-33.

Following the ensuing kickoff the Raiders had the Mounts backed up on their own 11, but a personal foul gave them a first down.

A third-down sack would’ve forced the Mounts to punt but a personal foul on the play kept alive what became a 16-play drive that resulted in a field goal and 45-33 lead with 9:39 remaining.

When Brown stormed in to block a punt and give the Mounts possession at the Raiders’ 10 with 7:55 left Twin Valley’s hopes were essentially dashed.

“We had to take advantage of our opportunities,” said Miller, “and we did.”

Twin Valley completes its league schedule next week against Daniel Boone. It can clinch a tie for first with a win but it’s chance for an outright title seem remote. Ephrata wraps up league play next week against Muhlenberg. Garden Spot can get a share of the title if it closes with wins over Elizabethtown and Solanco.

“We’ve got a bunch of tough kids that work really hard,” Myers said, “and I’ve gotta do a better job of getting them prepared to play a team like (Ephrata).”

Mounts’ Angel Collazo scoops up a first-quarter fumble. (Tim Macrina photo)

	1	2	3	4	Final
Twin Valley	7	10	16	0	33
Ephrata	20	7	15	10	52

Scoring summary

1	Ephrata	Collazo, 8 run (Honberger kick)	8:34
1	Ephrata	Keller, 44 pass from Collazo (Honberger kick)	5:23
1	Ephrata	Pfaultz, 23 pass from McCracken (run failed)	4:22
1	Twin Valley	Winchester, 9 run (Frey kick)	0:47
2	Ephrata	Brown, 47 run (Honberger kick)	10:21
2	Twin Valley	Safety, ball snapped out of end zone	2:34
2	Twin Valley	E. Myers, 18 run (E. Myers run)	1:44
3	Ephrata	Knowles, 25 pass from McCracken (Honberger kick)	9:38
3	Twin Valley	Winchester, 1 run (Winchester, pass from E. Myers)	6:46
3	Ephrata	McCracken, 1 run (Brown run)	4:56
3	Twin Valley	Winchester, 1 run (Rose, pass from E. Myers)	3:35
4	Ephrata	Honberger, 35 FG	9:39
4	Ephrata	McCracken, 1 run (Honberger kick)	5:18

Team statistics

	Twin Valley	Ephrata
First downs	20	24
Rushes-yards	34-153	50-289
Passing yards	160	199
Total yards	313	488
Passes	11-24-0	9-15-0
Fumbles-lost	2-2	0-0
Punts-average	3-34.3	1-50.0
Penalties-yards	6-58	11-125