McCracken passes unbeaten Ephrata past Daniel Boone
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 Daryl Simione — LNP/Lancasteronline
EPHRATA — Ephrata quarterback Sam McCracken threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as the unbeaten Mountaineers rolled past Daniel Boone 48-7 in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 game Friday night at War Memorial Field.
McCracken set the school record for career passing yards.
Several big passing plays sparked the Mounts’ offense. Ephrata’s first touchdown came after a 37-yard pass from McCracken to Angel Collazo down the far sideline, and McCracken took it in from there on a 2-yard run.
The Mounts (2-0, 5-0) added to their lead on an 18-yard touchdown pass from McCracken to Jeremiah Knowles on the final play of the first quarter.
McCracken threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Quintin Pfautz midway through the second quarter to set the career passing mark, and added a 10-yard touchdown to Collazo just before the half to give Ephrata a commanding 35-0 lead at the break.
Facing fourth-and-2 from the Ephrata 45 early in the second quarter, the Blazers ran a quarterback sneak to try to pick up the first down. But Ephrata’s Brayden Brown and Charlie Lydamore were there to make the stop and give the Mounts possession.
On the next play McCracken connected with Knowles on a nifty, 50-yard screen play, setting up Knowles’ 9-yard touchdown run.
Daniel Boone (0-2, 1-4) quarterback Dean Rotter rushed for 40 yards and passed for 77. Fred Lacey rushed 12 times for 80 yards and scored the Blazers’ lone touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
McCracken finished 15-of-17 passing for 288 yards. Knowles and Collazo combined for 10 receptions and an even 200 yards.
The win by Ephrata sets up a battle of undefeated teams next week when the Mounts take on Garden Spot.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Daniel Boone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Ephrata | 14 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 48 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Ephrata | McCracken, 2 run (Honberger kick) |
| 1 | Ephrata | Knowles, 18 pass from McCracken (Honberger kick) |
| 2 | Ephrata | Knowles, 9 run (Honberger kick) |
| 2 | Ephrata | Pfautz, 34 pass from McCracken (Honberger kick) |
| 2 | Ephrata | Collazo, 10 pass from McCracken (Honberger kick) |
| 3 | Ephrata | Brown, 8 run (Honberger kick) |
| 4 | Daniel Boone | Lacey, 2 run (Aidukas kick) |
| 4 | Ephrata | Ochieng, 6 pass from Grant (kick failed) |
Team statistics
| Daniel Boone | Ephrata | |
| First downs | 12 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 32-180 | 30-182 |
| Passing yards | 73 | 293 |
| Total yards | 253 | 475 |
| Passes | 5-13-1 | 16-18-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 4-31 | 1-35 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-41 | 6-59 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Daniel Boone: Lacey 12-83, Moyer 10-57, Rotter 9-36, 1-4.
Ephrata: Grant 3-62, Collazo 1-53, Brown 10-34, McCracken 10-15, Knowles 2-13, Thomas 4-5.
PASSING
Daniel Boone: Rotter 9-36-0–36.
Ephrata: McCracken 15-17-0–287, Grant 1-1-0–100.
RECEIVING
Daniel Boone: Heffner 3-57, Welker 1-17, Kryman 1-(-1).Ephrata: Collazo 6-89, Knowles 4-119, Pfautz 2-51, Keller 2-23, Ochieng 1-6, Ringler 1-5.
