Fleetwood Tigers hoping only good things ahead after rough Section 3 stretch
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
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After running a gauntlet over the past month that has included Twin Valley, Garden Spot and now Ephrata, Fleetwood football coach Steve Pangburn would rather look ahead than behind.
He was ready to leave Saturday’s 52-28 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 loss to Ephrata in the rear view mirror as soon as possible.
“On to the next,” he said after seeing the Tigers fall behind by four touchdowns early in the second half and unable to make up ground the rest of the way.
Sam McCracken and the Mountaineers (3-1, 6-1) put up some big offensive numbers as they tuned up for their Section 3 showdown next week with unbeaten Twin Valley. Ephrata still has a chance for a league title, or at least a share of one.
The Tigers?
Pangburn is hoping the worst part of their season is behind them. They couldn’t hang with the top teams in Section 3 – Twin Valley, Garden Spot and Ephrata, who are a combined 19-2. They put up 49, 48 and now 52 points on them, respectively.
They do have hopes of breaking their league losing streak and making the playoffs. Their final three games are against Elizabethtown (1-6), Solanco (2-5) and Daniel Boone (1-6). They’re all winnable for the Tigers (0-3, 3-4), who could squeeze into the District 3 Class 4A Tournament by winning out.
“That’s our goal,” said Pangburn. “It starts (Friday) with Elizabethtown.”
The Tigers started well Saturday, giving their Homecoming crowd some hope.
They opened the game with an 80-yard drive and took a 7-0 lead on Jason Petion’s 38-yard TD run and Homecoming King William Maurek’s PAT.
Then the Mountaineers got the ball and, well . . . the Tigers had trouble stopping them. Ephrata scored on eight of its 12 possessions, seven of them TDs.
McCracken passed for 254 yards and three TDs, two to Jeremiah Knowles.
He completed his first five passes and 12-of-19 overall as he helped the Mounts bounce back from a 42-22 loss to Garden Spot last week.
It was his third straight game of 250 or more passing yards; he’s had eight TD passes in that span.
“Sam was really efficient and put the ball on the money and was able to keep the chains moving,” said Ephrata coach Kris Miller. “He’s just a special kid.”
The Tigers also had trouble slowing down 200-pound junior running back Brayden Brown, who rushed for 76 yards and scored a pair of second-quarter TDs, helping Ephrata to a 25-7 halftime lead.
Overall, the Mounts finished with 23 first downs, seven passing plays of 20 or more yards and 429 total yards. It was the most yardage and most points Fleetwood has allowed this season.
“We struggled on that side of the ball tonight,” Pangburn said of his defense. “Anybody with two eyes can see that.”
Poor special teams play allowed Ephrata to start half of its possessions on Fleetwood’s side of the field and led to a quick touchdown to open the second half as Nick Keller returned a kickoff 88 yards for a TD and 31-7 lead.
The Tigers did show some good signs in the second half, especially when senior running back Czion Brickle got more involved in the offense. He ran for 92 second-half yards and a pair of scores and finished with over 100 yards for the sixth time in seven weeks. He got a lot of those yards after contact.
The Mounts had trouble bringing him down. At one point early in the second half, after he ran for three first downs on the same series, Miller called a timeout to readjust his defense.
“He kept finding holes,” Miller said of Brickle, who has run for a team-leading 853 yards and scored 10 TDs. “They were just beating us on the line of scrimmage.”
“We love that kid,” Pangburn said of Brickle. “He only needs a crease and you see what he can do. He’s slippery and strong.”
Though they trailed by three scores or most of the second half the Tigers never stopped pushing. They had 15 first downs and 214 total yards after intermission and scored on the final play of the game, when Jack Riffle found Mason Musitano with a 12-yard TD. It was Musitano’s eighth catch and Riffle’s 17th completion.
“We’re gonna play till there’s three zeroes on the clock,” Pangburn said.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Ephrata | 8 | 17 | 20 | 7 | 52 |
| Fleetwood | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Fleetwood | Petion, 38 run (Maurek kick) | 8:42 |
| 1 | Ephrata | Knowles, 28 pass from McCracken (Brown run) | 4:48 |
| 2 | Ephrata | Brown, 9 run (Keller, pass from McCracken) | 9:57 |
| 2 | Ephrata | Brown, 3 run (run failed) | 8:51 |
| 2 | Ephrata | Honberger, 35 FG | 0:00 |
| 3 | Ephrata | Keller, 88 kickoff return (run failed) | 11:46 |
| 3 | Ephrata | Knowles, 12 pass from McCracken (Honberger kick) | 6:48 |
| 3 | Fleetwood | Brickle, 3 run (Maurek kick) | 1:50 |
| 3 | Ephrata | Pfautz, 50 pass ( Honberger kick) | 1:02 |
| 4 | Fleetwood | Brickle, 8 run (Riffle run) | 5:50 |
| 4 | Ephrata | Thomas, 6 run (Honberger kick) | 1:39 |
| 4 | Fleetwood | Musitano, 4 pass from Riffle (no attempt) | 0:00 |
Team statistics
| Ephrata | Fleetwood | |
| First downs | 23 | 22 |
| Rushes-yards | 39-141 | 34-204 |
| Passing yards | 288 | 154 |
| Total yards | 429 | 358 |
| Passes | 14-21-0 | 17-31-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 1-32.0 | 5-23.4 |
| Penalties-yards | 14-118 | 11-98 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Ephrata:Brown 17-76, Knowles 4-28, McCracken 8-20, Thomas 7-16, Grant 3-1.
Fleetwood: Brickle 17-103, Petition 10-73, Riffle 4-23, Killian 1-2, McFarland 1-2, Maddocks 1-1.
PASSING
Ephrata: McCracken 12-19-0–254, Grant 2-2-0–34.
Fleetwood: Riffle 17-31-1–154.
RECEIVING
Ephrata: Collazo 4-93, Knowles 4-77, Pfautz 2-61, Keller 2-40, Ringler 1-13, Pugh 1-4.
Fleetwood: Musitano 8-92, Domenech 3-12, McFarland 2-10, Petition 1-24, Moore 1-11, Brickle 1-4, Killian 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS
Ephrata: Knowles.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Ephrata: Honberger 25.
