Raiders come close to knocking off undefeated foe but again come up short
By Matt Hagy — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
For Twin Valley, it was an all-too-familiar feeling: A second straight week where it stood toe to toe with an unbeaten team in Lancaster-Lebanon Section 3 only to come up short.
Behind a potent rushing attack that racked up 376 yards, visiting Solanco remained unbeaten by defeating Twin Valley 32-25 Friday night.
Behind a potent rushing attack that racked up 376 yards, Solanco remained unbeaten by defeating Twin Valley 32-25 Friday night at Elverson.
“It is tough but in the end you definitely can not question these kids’ hearts and their determination,” Twin Valley coach Brett Myers said. “Solanco had all the momentum going into the half and it really was not that different from last week. It gets to be an old saying but I think if there is more time on the clock, we would still be playing.”
The Raiders were dealt a 46-42 defeat at the hands of unbeaten Elizabethtown a week ago in a wild contest. The game featured back-and-forth action but more importantly showcased the growth of the Twin Valley football program in the first year with Myers as head coach. Friday the Raiders again had a chance to take down an unbeaten.
The Golden Mules opened the game by showcasing their high-powered ground attack with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended with quarterback Brody Mellinger scoring on a 7-yard run to make it 7-0 at the 7:47 mark of the first quarter.
Twin Valley had success moving the ball its first drive, cutting the deficit to 7-3 with a 32-yard field goal from Sam Frey.
The Raiders got a huge break to open the second quarter when Solanco attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-long that was snuffed out immediately, setting them up with great field position at the 37-yard line.
The Golden Mules forced a turnover on downs after the Raiders had an Evan Myers’ 21-yard touchdown run called back due to holding. Solanco put together another long drive powered by their ground game and Mellinger extended the advantage to 13-3 with 4:14 left in the first half on his second rushing touchdown, from 4 yards out.
Twin Valley (1-2, 3-3)drove back into Solanco territory following an onside kick attempt but was once again turned away on downs, this time at the 27-yard line.
Mellinger brilliantly executed a two-minute offense by finding Elijah Cunningham for a touchdown on a 27-yard pass with just 10 seconds left in the second quarter to making it 19-3. Mellinger had just two completions on the night, and both came on that drive to Cunningham.
The late first half touchdown drive could have been an early knockout punch from the Golden Mules, but the Raiders regrouped and made the most of their initial drive to open the third quarter. They used a 10-play, 51-yard drive to cut their deficit to 19-11 after Myers found Evan Johnson down the near sideline for a 31-yard touchdown.
“The penalties hurt us, for sure,” Myers said. “I was proud at the resolve of our guys after the second touchdown got called back because of how deflating that could have been after seeing the effort of that initial touchdown. They have battled all season and never give up.”
The TD came one play after the Raiders had a brilliant touchdown pass from a scrambling Myers to Joshua Zolty called back due to an ineligible man downfield.
Solanco went straight back to the ground and went up 25-11 after Cunningham scored from 8 yards out. The Golden Mules (2-0, 6-0) missed the extra point for the third time.
Twin Valley responded as Jayden Goebel capped a 10-play, 63-yard drive with a 10-yard rushing score to make it 25-18 with 1:46 left in the third quarter. A pass interference call on fourth-and-5 from just inside its own territory kept the drive going for the Raiders.
Solanco answered the Twin Valley score by breezing down the field in seven plays after starting from their own 20-yard line and extended their lead to 32-18 on a 7-yard Harris touchdown run.
The Raiders were not finished as they battled back to make it a one-score game again at 32-25 with 8:55 left in the fourth quarter following Goebel’s second rushing touchdown of the game from 2 yards out.
The Raiders stopped Harris inches short of the yard to game at their own 38-yard line. Twin Valley got as far as the Solanco 37-yard line before failing to convert on fourth-and-6, which allowed the Golden Mules to run out the clock.
“We called the timeout before the drive to both reset our defense and tell them this is the game right here,” Solanco coach Anthony Cox said. “They made the plays when they needed to, and we contained their quarterback after he beat us earlier by escaping the pocket.
“All these guys are picking each other up on the sideline at the important moments and they have been a pleasure to coach.”
Solanco held a 416-315 total yards advantage. Harris led the way with 131 yards on 27 carries with one touchdown; Cunningham had 104 yards rushing on six carries with one touchdown. Mellinger had 55 yards on the ground and scored two touchdowns.
Myers went 11-of-27 for 152 yards through the air for the Raiders and tossed one touchdown pass and tallied 41 rushing yards as well. Goebel finished with 50 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns.
The Golden Mules will prepare for a battle of unbeatens at home Friday with Elizabethtown.
“We are looking forward to the challenge next week,” Cox said. “I have enjoyed preparing all season for some new teams we normally have not seen over the years, but now we are now back to facing someone we do know well and a strong one at that. It is a huge game for our program.”
Twin Valley hits the road next week to take on 5-1 Garden Spot.
“Our seniors deserve to go out on a high note,” Myers said. “We have four guaranteed games left and I want them to make the most of this stretch run. We have proven we can compete with the best and even though these last two weeks have been tough I know these guys can keep getting better.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Solanco | 7 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 32 |
| Twin Valley | 3 | 0 | 15 | 7 | 25 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Solanco | Mellinger, 7 run (Baber kick) | 7:47 |
| 1 | Twin Valley | Frey, 32 FG | 2:08 |
| 2 | Solanco | Mellinger, 4 run (kck failed) | 4:14 |
| 2 | Solanco | Cunnigham, 27 pass from Mellinger (run failed) | 0:10 |
| 3 | Twin Valley | Johnson, 31 pass from Myers (Myers run) | 8:13 |
| 3 | Solanco | Cunningham, 8 run (kick failed) | 5:06 |
| 3 | Twin Valley | Goebel, 10 run (Frey kick) | 1:46 |
| 4 | Solanco | Harris, 7 run (Baber kick) | 10:28 |
| 4 | Twin Valley | Goebel, 2 run (Frey kick) | 8:55 |
Team statistics
| Solanco | Twin Valley | |
| First downs | 27 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 59-376 | 27-163 |
| Passing yards | 40 | 152 |
| Total yards | 416 | 315 |
| Passes | 2-6-0 | 11-27-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 1-13.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-36 | 7-77 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Solanco: Harris 27-131, Cunningham 6-104, Forren 11-74, Mellinger 12-55, Herr 2-17, Baber 1-(-5)
Twin Valley: Johnson 8-71, Goebel 12-50, Myers 5-41, Engle 1-2, Rose 1-(-1).
PASSING
Solanco: Mellinger 2-6-0-40.
Twin Valley: Myers 11-27-0-152.
RECEIVING
Solanco: Cunningham 2-40.
Twin Valley: Johnson 4-46, Zolty 3-59, Winchester 1-21, Olsen 1-15, Spiri 1-6, Engle 1-5.