Ephrata claims share of Section title, playoff berth
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Matt Pawlikowski — LNP/Lancasteronline
EPHRATA — The streak wasn’t as long, but the emotions of Ephrata’s players, its coaching staff, and what seemed like the entire community resembled the movie “Undefeated.”
Sheer joy.
Behind some stellar defense and an offense that mostly moved the ball at will, the Mountaineers posted a 38-12 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 win over visiting Elizabethtown on Friday night.
The win not only earned the Mounts a share of the Section 3 title with Garden Spot and Twin Valley but it also unofficially moved them into the District 3 Class 5A playoffs. The title and postseason berth would be the Mounts’ first since 1987.
“I love these kids so much, and it is so cool the love they have for each other and the heart they play with,” Ephrata coach Kris Miller said. “It is a special group of kids, and I could tell all week they aren’t ready for the season to be over.
“It’s a new season now. Everything is 0-0, and I will take my kids over anyone else. I would never count them out, anybody, anywhere. So we will see.”
On a night where Brayden Brown hit the coveted 1,000-yard mark, and Evan Honberger broke the season record for scoring by a kicker, Ephrata scored all the points it needed in the first quarter.
Just over five minutes into the game, Sam McCracken found Quintin Pfautz on a 43-yard rocket. On the option, Jeremiah Knowles hit Pfautz for two, and it was 8-0.
The next Ephrata series was a little longer.
It took four plays.
This time, McCracken took it in from 5 yards out. Knowles also kept it, adding another two, and it was 16-0.
Friday was also Senior Night, and, appropriately, one put the final points of the quarter on the board. This time it took just one play and was a defensive gem. Clay Ringler made a great pick and took the ball 49 yards to the house.
The amazing thing? At half, it was 24-0, and the Mounts needed only 21 offensive plays to do it.
Ephrata ultimately took a 31-0 lead on another pinpoint strike from McCracken to Nick Keller, then scored its final points as McCracken, flashing some nice moves up the middle, went in from 7 yards out.
The Bears finally got on the board with just over nine minutes to play, when Brady Moran took it in from a yard out. Zachariah Steffy put the final points on the board late in the third.