Game of the Week: Twin Valley Raiders (7-0) vs. Ephrata Mountaineers (6-1)
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Twin Valley (7-0) vs. Ephrata (6-1)
Kick: Friday, 7, at War Memorial Field, Ephrata.
Section 3 records: Raiders 4-0, Mountaineers 3-1.
Series: Ephrata leads 1-0.
Last year: Ephrata 35-15
2022 recap: Andre Weidman, Ephrata’s all-time rushing leader, ran for three touchdowns and 187 yards as the Mounts scored the first three TDs. He scored on runs of 1, 3 and 2 yards, helping Ephrata to a 35-7 lead after three quarters. Evan Johnson and Jaydon Goebel scored TDs for the Raiders, who were limited to 154 rushing yards and 233 total yards.
Raiders update: Off to best start in program history. . . Ranked No. 10 in state in Class 4A the past 2 weeks. . . Can clinch a tie for the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 title with a win. . . Beat Garden Spot 35-34 last week, handing the Spartans their first loss. . . Needed to block a PAT with 5:40 left and get a 33-yard TD run by Drew Engle with 1:22 remaining and a PAT by Sam Frey to win it. . . Also had to withstand game-ending 37-yard field goal attempt. . . Seven-game winning streak matches longest in program history, first accomplished in 2007. . . Have won 9 straight regular season games. . . Engle, a sophomore, went over 1,000 yards last week; he leads Section 3 backs with 1,078 yards. . . Junior Evan Johnson needs 35 yards to reach 1,000 yards; he finished last season with 993 yards. . . Junior QB Evan Myers has passed for 831 yards and 6 TDs; he finished last season with 1,204 yards. . . No. 1 in total offense in the 37-team Lancaster-Lebanon League, averaging 459.7 yards per game. . . No. 1 in rushing, at 338 yards per game.
Did you know? Twin Valley’s only football championship in 27 seasons came in 2007 when it tied Wyomissing in Section 2 of the Inter-County League.
Mountaineers update: Sam McCracken threw 3 touchdown passes in a 55-28 bounce-back win at Fleetwood last week. . . Took only loss of the season the week before, 42-22 at Garden Spot. . . Can earn a share of first place in Section 3 with a win Friday and one over Elizabethtown in Week 10. . . McCracken has passed for 1,328 yards and 12 TDs, with just 4 INTs. . . He’s also a threat to run; he has scored 5 TDs. . . Senior Jeremiah Knowles, an all-league WR and DB as a junior, has 19 receptions and 4 TDs. . . Leading receiver is Angel Collazo, with 25 catches and 3 TDs. . . Brayden Brown, a 200-pound tailback, is a load to handle out of the backfield. He has rushed for 677 yards and a team-leading 8 TDs. . . TE/LB Quintin Pfautz was a two-way first-team all-league pick as a junior. . . Ranked No. 3 in the league in total offense, averaging 405 yards per game. . . Averaging 39.4 points. . . Defense ranks around the middle of the pack in L-L. . . Allowing 21.4 points. . . Ranked No. 9 in District 3 Class 5A power ratings; top 12 qualify.
Fast fact: Twin Valley has never won more than seven games in a season. The Raiders finished 7-5 in both 2007 and 2022.
| SECTION 3 | League | Overall | PF | PA | Up next |
| Twin Valley | 4-0 | 7-0 | 279 | 123 | @ Ephrata |
| Garden Spot | 3-1 | 6-1 | 275 | 123 | @ Central Mountain |
| Ephrata | 3-1 | 6-1 | 275 | 150 | Twin Valley |
| Elizabethtown | 1-2 | 1-6 | 57 | 229 | Fleetwood |
| Solanco | 1-2 | 2-5 | 139 | 223 | Daniel Boone |
| Fleetwood | 0-3 | 3-4 | 190 | 217 | @ Elizabethtown |
| Daniel Boone | 0-3 | 1-6 | 121 | 205 | @ Solanco |
