Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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  • Mounts Claim George Male Trophy!

    Mounts Claim George Male Trophy!

    Jeremiah Knowles led all Mounts with 6 receptions. Read More
  • Expectations at Ephrata

    Expectations at Ephrata

    Taylor Haupt comes up with the dig. Read More
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Upcoming Varsity Events

  • 18 Mar 2024
    Girls Lacrosse at Schuylkill Valley 07:15 PM to 09:15 PM
  • 19 Mar 2024
    Boys Tennis at JP McCaskey 04:00 PM to 06:30 PM
  • 20 Mar 2024
    Boys Tennis vs Lebanon 04:00 PM to 06:30 PM
  • 20 Mar 2024
    Boys Volleyball at Schuylkill Valley 07:00 PM to 09:00 PM
  • 20 Mar 2024
    Boys Lacrosse at Muhlenberg 07:15 PM to 09:15 PM
  • 22 Mar 2024
    Boys Tennis vs Pequea Valley 04:00 PM to 06:30 PM
  • 18 Mar - 22 Mar
  • 22 Mar - 25 Mar
  • 25 Mar - 26 Mar
  • 26 Mar - 28 Mar
  • 01 Apr - 01 Apr

Cocalico didn’t go away easily but the Ephrata girls volleyball team was able to get past the Lady Eagles, 3-1, Tuesday night in a match held at Ephrata Middle School.

After splitting the first two games by identical scores of 25-19, Ephrata earned a big 25-11 win in Game Three and then put it away with a hard-fought 26-24 decision in the Fourth.
 


Ephrata High School will once again be well-represented at next week’s District Three Girls Golf Championships after three EHS girls qualified at the L-L League Tournament Tuesday at Honeybrook Golf Club.

Junior Megan Esterbrook led the way for Ephrata, finishing in a tie with CV’s Samara Yurchak for third place overall with a round of 84. Lacey Bensing, who placed second a year ago behind teammate Lauren Smith, finished with an 86 to place fifth. and Paige Hammaker will be making her second trip to Districts following a round of 111.
 


With the game on the line in the final minutes, Manheim Township coach Mike Melnyk knew he wanted the ball in the hands of senior running back Scott Sallade.

His faith was rewarded as Sallade pounded out runs of seven and eight yards for a critical first down, and followed that up with a 34-yard sprint to the end zone for the decisive score in a hard-fought 35-28 [box score] victory for Township (1-0, Section One, 3-1 overall) over Ephrata (0-1, 0-4).
 


For the second time this year, Ephrata held a halftime lead. And for the second time this year, the Mountaineers fumbled away a victory, falling 17-7 [box score] to Conestoga Valley in Witmer Friday night.

Each team managed to play one disciplined half of football. Ephrata played well in the first half, in jumping out to a 7-0 lead, and the Buckskins a quality second half, putting up 17 points to rally for the win on a night when former star Jordan Steffy was inducted into the school's sports Hall of Fame.
 


In the estimation of Cocalico football coach Dave Gingrich, Monday represented a step forward.

More to follow, he hopes.

The Eagles took advantage of six Ephrata fumbles to register a 28-15 [boxscore] non-league victory over the Mounts in a resumption of the schools' backyard rivalry in Denver.
 


Visiting Exeter took advantage of a few big second-half plays to earn a 20-12 [boxscore] come-from-behind victory at War Memorial Field.

Leading 7-6 in the third, Exeter's Thomas Herb picked up a blocked punt and returned it 30 yards for the touchdown to give the Eagles an eight-point advantage, 14-6.


There are an unfortunate few who refer to themselves as "great range players."

Warming up on the practice tee prior to a round, they can seemingly do no wrong.

Their ball striking is perfect, their timing impeccable and their accuracy is spot on.


ImageThe posters should soon be on the walls! It's the Seventh Annual Ephrata Dodgeball Tournament benefitting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Fourteen of your classmates are affected by Type 1 Diabetes, and now is your chance to help them out. For more information check out the blog at www.dodgeballfordiabetes.com, you'll find everything you need there!

For weeks now, Mike Melnyk's Manheim Township football team has been trying to find its identity.

The Blue Streaks took a few steps forward in that endeavor Friday night.

And one huge step backward, perhaps, in the eyes of many Ephrata fans.

More on that in a minute.

Getting 133 yards on 27 carries from junior tailback Scott Sallade and 191 passing yards (including three touchdowns) from sophomore quarterback Brennan Scott, Township opened the L-L League Section One season with a 47-32 [boxscore] victory over Ephrata Friday night at War Memorial Field.


As he stood on the sidelines Friday night watching his offense squander away one golden opportunity after another in the second half, Ephrata coach Jim Vieland said he couldn't help but get that feeling.

It's been said that you only get so many chances, and Vieland knew his guys were running out of them.


Andrew Burkholder measures in at just 5-feet-6 and 145 pounds.

But Ephrata's diminutive junior backup running back was a giant against arch-rival Cocalico Friday night at War Memorial Field.

Burkholder, who earlier tossed a 67-yard halfback option pass for a touchdown, burst through the line with 18 seconds left and blocked a potential 37-yard, game-winning field-goal attempt by Cocalico's Kyle Felpel to preserve a stunning 21-20 [boxscore] victory over the heavily-favored Eagles.


Ephrata coach Jim Vieland needed only a single word Friday night to sum up his team's L-L League-opening loss to Lebanon.

"Mistakes," Vieland said as he walked off War Memorial Field after a 16-0 [boxscore] defeat.


As the saying goes: three running backs are better than one -- er, something like that.

Warwick's rushing attack made its statement loud and clear Friday night in Lititz when a trio of carriers combined for 269 yards in a 18-7 [boxscore] non-league win over Ephrata.


A chill rain? Wet field conditions? A directive by Lancaster Catholic head coach Bruce Harbach to control the line of scrimmage?

Crusaders lineman Ross Hall felt like he hit the trifecta Friday night at Ephrata's War Memorial Field.

"Love it, love it," Hall said after playing an instrumental role in Catholic's 35-7 [boxscore] non-league win over the Mountaineers.


As backyard brawls go, this one lived up to its billing.

Cocalico sophomore Liza Morgan scored the game-winning goal 4:51 into overtime as the Eagles slipped past host Ephrata 4-3 in a Section Two field hockey opener played in an almost steady rain Wednesday.


Little-known fact: The Wildcat offense really isn't the Wildcat offense.

The trendy attack, which finds a running back lining up in the shotgun, taking a direct snap and doing, well, whatever, originated at the University of Arkansas. Which is why Manheim Township coach Mike Melnyk gives a nod to its roots by calling it the Razorback offense.


ImageThe posters should soon be on the walls! It's the Fifth Annual Ephrata Dodgeball Tournament benefitting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Sixteen of your classmates are affected by Type 1 Diabetes, and now is your chance to help them out. For more information check out the blog at www.dodgeballfordiabetes.com, you'll find everything you need there!

When is a 4-1 soccer match not a 4-1 soccer match?

Well, for starters, when the final score is actually 4-2. But that's picking nits.

Manheim Township defeated Ephrata, 4-2, in an L-L League crossover contest between the leaders of Sections 1 and 2 Thursday night.

It could've easily been a 5-5, or 6-6 match.


Kate Miller's second goal of the game proved to be the winner as Solanco upended first-place Ephrata 3-2 in a Section Two field hockey game Wednesday in Quarryville.

The Golden Mares' win over Mountaineers, combined with Cocalico's 1-0 shutout of Garden Spot and Lampeter-Strasburg's 3-0 triumph over Lebanon means there is now a three-way tie for first in the standings.

Emily Beamesderfer said she wants to study marketing or elementary education when she enrolls in college next year.

Monday afternoon, Ephrata's senior forward employed both disciplines on her game-winning goal that lifted the Mountaineers over visiting Cocalico, 2-1 in overtime in a battle between Section Two field hockey leaders.

The long-running Warwick-Ephrata rivalry was put on a hold for a day by Friday's rain but the delay did nothing to change the recent history of the series as Warwick continued to dominate their backyard rivals with a 28-12 win at Ephrata's War Memorial Field Saturday.

The Warriors' claimed the George Male trophy, awarded annually to the winner, for the third straight year after dropping three straight from 2003-05 to the Mountaineers.


On the heels of a season-opening loss to Trinity, which coach Bruce Harbach called "embarrassing," the last thing the Crusaders wanted to do was come out flat against upset-minded Ephrata.

They did.

It resulted in two quick turnovers, a costly penalty and an early 7-0 hole.

But thanks to a steady dose of Kyle Smith and Tyler Purvis, Lancaster Catholic righted its ship and cruised to a 44-7 non-league win over the Mounts Friday night at Rossmere Stadium.


The Ephrata field hockey team answered a big question for new coach Rhoda Mountz Tuesday afternoon in the season opener at home vs. Manheim Township.

The Lady Mounts hadn't played since scrimmaging Elco August 19th and Mountz was wondering wheter that long layoff from competition would result in a struggle as the team opened season play on Tuesday.

Well, now worries here. The Lady Mounts came out hitting on all cylinders against the Blue Streaks. Ephrata staked out to a 3-0 lead in the first half, and, except for a five minute stretch midway through the second half, dominated play en route to a convincing 3-1 victory.


If Tuesday night's Section Two soccer game between Conestoga Valley and Ephrata was any indication of what this season is going to be like, local fans are in for quite a wild ride.

Fans in attendance were treated to an early classic on the Ephrata War Memorial Field pitch Tuesday as CV and Ephrata were in mid-season form as both opened the regular and Section Two seasons.


The Ephrata girls cross country team kicked off the season in a successful way Tuesday afternoon, running to four wins in a five-team meet held at Brubaker Park in New Holland.

Ephrata defeated Annville-Cleona (16-42), Elco (25-30), Northern Lebanon (15-47) and the host Spartans (21-36) to remain perfect after one day of competition.

Individually, Dana Haas led the way for the Lady Mounts, finishing in a time of 22:28 to place third overall. Caitlin Davies (23:11) was next in fifth place for Ephrata, while the rest of the top five included: Ashley Smith (6th, 23:14); Steph Lyons (7th, 23:16); and Kate Anderson (12th, 24:10).

On the boys' side, Ephrata also was successful, going 3-1 on the opening day. Ephrata claimed victories over Northern Lebanon (26-29), Elco (23-33) and Annville-Cleona (24-33) while losing only to Garden Spot (24-37).

Individually, Tyler Sensenig took top honors for the Mounts, finishing third overall in a time of 19:13. Brandon McNeil (19:25) was fifth while Mickey Molchany (14th, 20:21), Austin Wealand (21st, 20:53) and Brandon Reading (23rd, 21:07) rounded out the top five for Ephrata.


The Ephrata girls volleyball team earned a three-game sweep of host Solanco Tuesday on the opening night of L-L League play.

The Lady Mounts scored wins of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-18 to capture their first win of the season and first section victory.

Leading the way for Ephrata was Brittany Nice, who collected 11 kills. Stephanie Goshert chipped in with five blocks while Linda Wilson added a pair of aces in the win.

ImageA gutsy play call by Cocalico head coach Dave Gingrich in the waning minutes of the game proved to be the difference in Friday night's 29-28 win over rival Ephrata.

The Eagles (1-1, 3-2) trailed 28-21 with less than two minutes to go when Kyle Fisher scored from five yards out to pull them within one, 28-27. Gingrich decided to go for two points and the win, but planned on a run until the Mounts (1-1, 1-4) called a timeout before the play.

ImageThe Mounts were on the road to open the 2007 season's section play as they travelled to Conestoga Valley to face the defending Section Two Champions.

ImageThe Ephrata Mounts boys soccer team travelled to Lititz yesterday to take on the Warwick Warriors. Warwick and Ephrata both came into the game in first place in Section One and Two respectively, and both knew that a loss would most likely knock either team out of first place. The Mounts goalie Josh Peifer had only allowed three goals all season, and the Mounts would need another solid effort to turn back Warwick.

ImageThe Ephrata Mounts field hockey team was on the road yesterday in a battle of un-beaten Section Two teams. The Mounts faced the Pioneers of Lampeter-Strasburg with first place on the line. Overall the Mounts came in with a 8-1 record having scored 23 goals while allowing only 8. The Pioneers came in with a 7-1 overall record scoring 15 goals while allowing only 6. Click "Read More" for the rest of the story.

ImageThe Mounts travelled into Warwick Friday night in hopes of snapping a two game losing streak. But the host Warriors, led by Jon Resch, were not as accommodating as the Mounts would have liked.

ImageThe boys soccer team hosted the first place Buckskins of Conestoga Valley Wednesday night. A victory would push the Mounts into sole possession of first place in Section Two.

ImageThe posters should soon be on the walls! It's the Fourth Annual Ephrata Dodgeball Tournament benefitting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Sixteen of your classmates are affected by Type 1 Diabetes, and now is your chance to help them out. For more information check out the blog at www.dodgeballfordiabetes.com, you'll find everything you need there!

ImageThe Mounts soccer, field hockey and cross country teams were in action this weekend. The soccer team hosted Spring Grove, while the field hockey team travelled to the Susquehanna Township Tournament, and the cross country team competed in the Gettysburg Cross Country Invitational. Click "Read More" for details on these events.

ImageThe Ephrata Boys Soccer Team was back in action Thursday night, as they hosted the Golden Mules of Solanco. The Mules came into the game reeling from a 0-4 loss on their opening night, while the Mounts were trying to forget the frustration of walking away with an opening night tie with Elizabethtown. Unfortunately the Mounts turned their frustrations towards the Mules.


ImageThe Mounts finished Tuesday with an impressive 14-1-1 overall record, highlighted by the first girl's volleyball league win in two years. The Lady Mounts turned back Elizabethtown 3-2 led by Brittney Brock's 9 kills and 5 aces.

The girls' field hockey team opened their season with a win as Kilee Rosenberry found the back of the cage late in the 2nd half to lift the Mounts to a 1-0 victory over Donegal. The JV Mounts came away victorious as well winning 4-2.

The girls' tennis team rebounded from back-to-back losses with a 5-2 victory over McCaskey, Kat Strohm, Lia Denlinger, Greta Stemplinger and Tiffany Shelly all won singles matches to secure the win. Denlinger and Shelly then joined forces for a doubles victory as well.

The girls' cross country team opened up with 3 wins over Lampeter-Strasburg (27 to 30), Lancaster Catholic (15 to 46) and Columbia (15 to 55). Dana Haas led the way for the Mounts finishing in 22:07.

The boys' cross country team were equally impressive sweeping their match as well over Lampeter-Strasburg (23 to 34), Lancaster Catholic (16 to 51), and Columbia (15 to 55). J. Kline finished first overall in the meet with a time of 18:11.

The boys' soccer team drew to a 1-1 tie with Elizabethtown. Scoring for Ephrata was Tyler Phillips. Senior keeper Josh Peifer recorded 22 saves in the contest. The JV team also came away with a tie, their score was 2-2.

The golf team went 5-1 with a team net 418 strokes, that total was good enough to beat Cocalico (448), Manheim Central (449), Lebanon (459), Elizabethtown (466), and Garden Spot (474). Lampeter-Strasburg (413) edged the Mounts by five strokes. Eric Beamesderfer led the way for the Mounts with a 79, while Ryan Contres, Dan Slotcavage, and Willie Helender all shot an 83. Matt Woolley also figured in the scoring with a 90. 


ImageThe Ephrata Mounts Football team opened up the 2007 season hosting the Blue Streaks from Manheim Township. The Mounts, led by senior Blake Crowther were hoping to improve on last season's near miss 10-13 loss to the Streaks.


ImageConestoga Valley ventured into uncharted territory Friday night in Ephrata, as the Buckskins used a balance attack on offense, defense and special teams to shut out the Mountaineers, 35-0 (boxscore ).

"You have to realize these seniors have only won three games in their high school career and this is the first time they have won two in a row," said Buckskin coach Gerad Novak after the Section Two opener for both teams.

Special teams got CV (2-2 overall) going and defense kept them there.

Ephrata (0-4) received the opening kickoff, but after only three plays, the Mounts were forced to punt from their 31.

CV's Ty Bynum took the kick at his 37 and started up the middle, but cut to the outside, broke free and raced for a 63-yard score only two minutes into the game.

The Mounts' next drive stalled when they attempted to pick up the final two yards at their 25 and were stopped by the stingy Buckskin defense.

ImageThe Ephrata girls Volleyball team suffered a pair of 3-0 losses this past week, including Tuesday night (9/19) when the Lady Mounts dropped three-straight games to visiting Solanco (1-4 overall, 1-3 section).

The Mares made quick work in this one, winning by scores of 25-17, 25-12, and 25-11.

Ephrata did fare better last Thursday when they battled Manheim Township in three tough games despite coming away with a loss.
 

Image

Senior Christine Weaver prepares to serve in a recent match.
Photo courtesy of Andy Babin

 

Township took Game One by a 25-18 score before the Lady Mounts kept things tighter losing both of the next two games 25-23, 25-23.

Individually, Christine Weaver led the way for Ephrata with nine kills, three aces and a pair of blocks in the loss.

The Lady Mounts (0-5, 0-4) see action again on Thursday (9/21) when they travel to Garden Spot (6-2, 3-1). JV is scheduled to start at 6:00 with Varsity commencing at 7:00.


ImageEphrataMounts.com has teamed up with the Ephrata Basketball Booster Club in a fund raiser designed to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

We are proudly presenting the third annual Dodgeball Tournament. Remember you can always click on the "Dodgeball" link on the left for all the latest news. The tournament will be held November 10th through the 12th at the Ephrata Senior High School. Team schedules will be announced here no later then Wednesday November 8th. Deadline for registrants is October 25th. If you are in any of the "scholastic" leagues, you can count on playing Friday night, and finishing on Saturday. Sunday November 12th is reserved for the Adult bracket.

Just like last year, fun and exciting team costumes are more than welcome.

You will have to turn in a parent signed waiver form if you are under the age of 18. These waiver forms can be picked up from Mr. Geyer (Ephrata High School), Mr. Sweigart (Ephrata Middle School). They are also available on this website (see below). If you are in the Elementary bracket, or Adult bracket, information about where to return your registration is included with the registration form. Adult participants must be over 16, and require a guardian signature if under 18.

If you would like to donate to the fund, but don't care about the tournament please consider the JDRF link on the left. The link will take you directly to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, from there you can follow the links to their page for donations.

All forms below are in PDF format, and require Adobe Acrobat Reader:

Download the PDF flyer

Download the Registration/Waiver form

Download the Rules

We will make a difference!

ImageEntering Friday's game with Ephrata, Warwick head coach Bob Locker and his staff tried to explain the meaning of the George Male Trophy to his players.

Having lost the last three games against Ephrata, no one on his team had experienced a victory against the Mounts.

"We told the seniors that they might not know it now, but you don't want to graduate without winning the Male Trophy," Locker said.

It came as no surprise then, that four seniors helped lead the Warriors to a 39-18 (boxscore ) win at War Memorial Field.

The Warriors quickly marched 88-yards down field in seven-plays on their first possession to go up 7-0 on an six-yard run by senior fullback Teal Stutzman.

Just 50 seconds into the second quarter, Warwick junior quarterback Jon Resch doubled the lead, capping a 64-yard drive with a 11-yard pass to senior tight Ed Tobin. Tobin had four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown in the game.

Resch dumped a short pass off to Stutzman late in the second and with some help from a couple of blockers, Stutzman took it 24 yards to give Warwick a 21-0 lead at half-time.

To start the second half, Resch connected with junior wide receiver Matt Fitzpatrick in the back of the end zone for another touchdown and a 27-0 lead.

Ephrata's offense found pay dirt about midway through the third quarter when senior Sam Wiest bowled through the Warwick defensive line on a four-yard touchdown run. The Mounts looked to make a game of it when they recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. The kick was dropped by sophomore Randy Yost at the Warwick 17 and Ephrata recovered at the 11-yard line.

Ephrata junior quarterback Blake Crowther ran the ball twice from there, including a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 27-12. Crowther was 11-for-20 for 125 yards in the air and rushed for a pair of touchdowns.

Outside of the great play by the Warwick seniors, the story was Resch. For the game, Resch was 9-for-10 for 132 yards and three touchdowns.

"Before he tried to make things happen," Locker said about Resch after the game, "Now he manages the game. He hasn't thrown any interceptions this year; that's huge."

Resch will lead the Warriors into Section One play next week, and if they can duplicate the offensive performances of the last two weeks, their opponents might be in for a surprise.

ImageThe Thursday night crowd at Elden Rettew Field had something to cheer about, and it wasn't their beloved Barons football squad.

Instead, the Manheim Central field hockey team gave the hometown fans some excitement with a hard-fought 2-1 triumph over Ephrata in an early L-L League Section Two showdown.

Chelsea Lefever and Kendra Longenecker scored first-half goals for the Barons (2-0-0 L-L, 3-1-1 overall), who handed the Mountaineers (2-1-0, 3-3-0) their first league loss of the season.

While it's still early, the victory put the Barons in an unusual place in volatile Section Two: Alone in first place.

Image
Manheim Central's Kendra Longenecker, left, who had a goal and an assist for the Barons,
gets ready to cross the ball as Ephrata's Kelly Martin defends.
© Deb Grove — Intelligencer Journal
 

"To have a 2-0 start is huge for Manheim,'' said second-year head coach Michelle Haydt, who admitted she really didn't like doing the talking about her team.

That's OK, because the 2006 Barons know how to communicate among themselves and they let their actions speak volumes.

"We've grown together as a team,'' said Lefever, a senior forward who took a feed from Longenecker and lifted the ball over fallen Ephrata keeper Katie Jo Rice 18:44 into the contest.

"A lot of us have played together since at least ninth grade. We knew that this was definitely the year that should be our year.''

With 11 seniors on the roster, Lefever and her classmates have this one last shot at making something special happen. They weren't about to blemish their perfect league record on their new A-Turf artificial surface.

"We were expecting a tough game, and it was,'' said Lefever.

"I think we gave them a run for their money,'' said Ephrata rookie head coach Candy Rosenberry. "We knew we were going to have our hands full with Manheim.''


It was definitely a tale of two halves, with Central blasting seven shots on Rice in the opening 30 minutes, and getting two past the Mounts' keeper.

"I was on the pads and just lifted (the ball) up,'' Lefever said of her goal. "I knew if I tried to jam it in, it wouldn't go.''


ImageOn Monday night (9/11) the Mounts played host to the Garden Spot Spartans. The Mounts were more then kind to the Spartans in the first half allowing them to take a 1-0 lead off of a corner kick only 3 minutes into the game. The score remained 1-0 until the 48 minute mark when Jeremy Yoder scored his second goal of the season pushing one just inside the right post, off of a pass from Tyler Phillips. Less then a minute later Phillips fed Dan Hagey for his 10th goal of the young season and the Mounts took the lead for good.

Eli Saenz scored his first goal of the season at the 60 minute mark, with assists going to Hagey and Tom Renko. Hagey added another score off of a free kick to round out the Mounts scoring. With the 4-1 victory, the Mounts improved to 5-0 overall, 3-0 in section play. The loss dropped the Spartans to 0-4, 0-3.

The Mounts will be in action again Wednesday (9/13) when they travel to Conestoga Valley for an early Section II showdown. The game is scheduled to start at 4:00. 


ImageThe Ephrata Mounts Field Hockey team travelled on Saturday for a tournament in Susquehanna Township. In the first game the Lady Mounts drew Central Dauphin and despite outshooting the opposition 13-4, the Mounts could not find wood and lost a tough game 1-0.

 In the second game against Susquehanna Township the Mounts continued with relentless pressure, this time with a 14-2 shot advantage. Kelly Martin scored her first goal on the season off of a pass from Ely Rosati. Later Rosati added a score of her own on a pass from Hannah Hess which proved to be the goal winner as the Mounts prevailed 2-1. With the win the Mounts evened their season record at 2-2.

The Lady Mounts play again on Tuesday (9/12) when the travel to Lebanon. The game time is scheduled for 4:15. 


ImageEntering Friday night's non-league football tilt with visiting Susquehanna Township, Ephrata knew that trying to keep pace with the Indians' high-octane offense would be a tall order.

Therefore, the Mountaineers' plan of attack was to shorten the game by being methodical and efficient on the offensive side of the ball, and avoid turnovers.

Unfortunately that blueprint for success went out the window as Susquehanna Township ran past Ephrata, 47-28 (boxscore ), at War Memorial Field as the teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense.

The Indians' speed at the skill positions was overwhelming, with five of their seven touchdowns coming on plays of 54 yards and longer.

"They looked good on offense and they have some wheels, don't they?" remarked Ephrata's veteran head coach Ken Grove after the game, referencing the speed demons which Susquehanna Township spread all over the field.

The Indians (2-0) of the Mid-Penn Conference were led by senior quarterback R. Anthony Wagner, who threw for two scores on 4-for-10 passing for 185 yards and also rushed six times for 87 yards and two more scores.

Senior running back Obi Rajis ran for a 73-yard touchdown in the middle of the opening period and added sprints of 53 and four yards late in the third quarter to put the game out of reach on his way to a total of 140 on the ground.

Junior backfield mate Gabe Oliver provided some more firepower with a 61-yard touchdown reception on the third play of the second half, which propelled Township to a 34-7 lead, along with 105 yards on 12 carries.

"We did not adjust to their team speed,'' Grove said. "On defense we have to be able to group together and play tough man-on-man. On defense we have to improve overall. We have to tackle better and pursue better."

Junior quarterback Blake Crowther was the star of the night for Ephrata (0-2), going 14-for-16 through the air for 164 yards and two scores, and pounding out 56 tough yards and another score on 23 carries.

Grove assessed his gritty quarterback "as a game player. He always steps up to the plate and he's just a tough competitor. The biggest thing with him is that we can't ask him to do everything. At times I think he puts it all on himself because he thinks he has to."

Some of the load was taken off of Crowther's shoulders as junior running backs Woody Miller (14 rushes, 85 yards) and Joel Yoder (seven rushes, 50 yards, one touchdown; two receptions, 25 yards) and senior Sam Wiest (five rushes, 80 yards) tried to counter the explosiveness of Susquehanna Township.

"For us, as you can see, we are pretty methodical (on offense). We have to do things and execute correctly,'' Grove said. "Having two five-yard penalties on a drive will kill us. We have to execute efficiently on offense and I think we moved the ball well at times but have to eliminate the mistakes."

The Mounts racked up ten penalties for 55 yards and fumbled five times, losing two of them.

ImageIt took all of five minutes for Ephrata to dramatically introduce the wealth of speed it possesses.

And it took 9:42 for Elizabethtown to realize just how dangerous that speed can be.

Locked in a 1-1 tie in its Section Two opener with E-town Tuesday night, Ephrata exploded for three goals in the final 9:46 of the first half, before rolling to a 7-3 drubbing of the Bears at Ephrata's War Memorial Field.

The catalyst of the Mountaineers' offensive onslaught was senior striker Dan Hagey, who scored two goals and assisted on three others, as two-time defending Section Two champ Ephrata (2-0 overall) kept its section unbeaten streak going into a third season.

"We ran up against one of the league's quality teams," shrugged E-town coach James Sostack, whose team was playing its first game of the season after dropping down from Section One last year. "(Ephrata's) speed is unmatched. I haven't seen anybody that quick."

Apparently, neither had E-town's clan of young defenders, who had trouble keeping up with an Ephrata offense that held a 22-7 advantage in shots, an 8-4 edge in corners and created 18 quality scoring chances to the Bears' five by game's end.

In fact, had it not been for last-second clears off the goal line by E-town senior defender Patrick Klinger in the first half and freshman midfielder Jason Good in the second, it actually could have been worse.

"We were pumped," said Hagey, who now has five goals and three assists in Ephrata's first two games. "(E-town) came down from Section One and they might have thought Section Two was going to be a cakewalk.

"We wanted to show them that it's our section to lose."

Message delivered.

Despite answering a game-opening goal from Ephrata's Tom Renko 17:19 into the match with a blast from junior midfielder Tyler Aldinger 1:02 later, E-town finally began to succumb to Ephrata's barrage of pressure in the final 10:00 of the first half.

First to strike for the Mounts was sophomore forward Tyler Phillips, who squirted a centering pass from Matt Hubbard past diving E-town goalie Keith Frey to give Ephrata a 2-1 lead 9:46 before the break.

"I think we just had so much pressure on them that eventually (E-town) was going to have a mental lapse," Ephrata coach Rob Deininger said. "And it finally happened."

Again and again, it seemed.

In fact, after Hagey dribbled through two defenders down the left side and beat Frey to make it 3-1 with 2:16 left in the half, Ephrata notched what turned out to be the game-winner a mere 1:32 later -- this one compliments of Devon Goodman, who took a pass from Hagey and smoothly pushed the ball past the diving Frey's hands that made it 4-1.

And when Hagey used another burst of speed to get behind the defense and send a perfectly-placed rocket into the top right corner 1:02 into the second half, the Mounts' message had officially been delivered.

"It was just one of those games," Deininger said with a smile.

With speed like Ephrata's, there could be a lot more.

ImageAs he stood under the home-stand bleachers to avoid the lingering remnants of Tropical Storm Ernesto that circled overhead, two letters stood out to Manheim Township football coach Mike Melnyk Friday night.

First, there was the C -- more accurately, the C-minus -- which he used to grade his team's opening-night performance.

Second, and way more important though, was the "W." The one that gets registered in the standings.

Despite rainy conditions that hindered senior quarterback Pat Bostick and the Blue Streaks' air attack, not to mention a gritty all-around performance from Ephrata, Township held on to secure a 13-10 (boxscore ) non-league victory over the Mountaineers in Neffsville.

Despite earning a first down at the Township 7-yard line with 57 seconds left in the game, Ephrata's chances officially unraveled two plays later when junior quarterback Blake Crowther had a short pass toward the right sideline picked off by Township senior linebacker Matt McDonald with 25 seconds left.

McDonald returned the interception 88 yards down the sideline for what appeared to be a touchdown, before an illegal block call negated the score and gave Township the ball at its own 15.

Regardless, 14.2 seconds and a knee by Bostick later, Township still had something to celebrate.

"We're not going to apologize to anyone for beating them by three," Melnyk said afterward. "I told my kids, 'I've been on the other side (in close games) with the "L" next to me a couple of times in the past, and I'd much rather be on this side.'
ImageBruce Crabb a 5-11, 195 pound senior scatback, rushed for 197 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns to carry the host Spartans football team (2-1 Section Two, 2-3 overall) over the Mounts (1-2, 1-4).

Click here for the complete boxscore.

It was Crabb's three-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds remaining that finally put the game out of reach, spoiling a late comeback effort from Ephrata, which trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half before closing the gap to seven in the fourth quarter.

The Spartans (310 yards rushing) led 21-7 at the half on the strength of Eric Wisler's 87-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff as well as second quarter TD runs of 15 and 7 by Crabb and Brian Abreu (15-88 rushing) respectively. They added to that cushion when sophomore QB Tyler Horst (7-14-1 passing for 161 yards, 2 TDs) hit wideout Josh Fisher on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 5:10 remaining in the third.

Ephrata closed the gap to 28-21 with 1:47 to go in the quarter after a 29-yard fumble return by Mike Burkholder and a 70-yard bomb from QB Seth Zimmerman (14-37-2 passing for 254 yards, 2 TDs) to wideout Kyle Sensenig (6-110-2 receiving).

With the Mounts seemingly taking over, the Spartans recovered an onside kick attempt and regained control, marching 62 yards on 12 plays on a drive culminating in Crabb's 12-yard TD catch.

Then after Zimmerman and Sensenig hooked up for their second score of the night, a six-yard pass with three minutes to go to make it 35-28, the Spartans recovered another onside kick and capped off the drive with Crabb's clinching touchdown.
ImageThe Ephrata Mounts Girls Field Hockey team, came back from a tough loss to CV by beating Lebanon 3-1. The Cedars (0-6) played aggressively outshooting the Lady Mounts 11-9. But Ephrata's Katie Rice turned back 10 shots to keep the score tight.

With the Mounts locked up at half time 1-1, Jenna Garber scored her second goal of the game, and Eli Rosati added another to finish out the scoring for the Mounts. Katelyn Shelley, who leads the team in assists added another yesterday, as did Kilee Rosenberry and Rosati.

L-S (2-2-1) beat the current Section 2 leader Cocalico (5-1-0), which makes the top of the standings even more crowded.
Athletes of the WeekDan Hagey: Friday, in a soccer match against Manheim Central, Dan scored 3 goals in a 4-0 win. Including 1 goal only 11 seconds into the match. Tuesday against L-S, he scored 1 goal, and Thursday against Cocalico, he scored 2 more goals. He is now the leading scorer on the team with 9 goals and 3 assists.

Kilee Rosenberry:
In the game against LS this week, the field hockey team was losing 4-1.  Kilee was a contributor of one of the three goals to bring them to a tie at 4-4.  In overtime, she was part of an offensive break away and had a fantastic lofted shot to win the game, 5-4.  Also, against Daniel Boone on Tuesday, she assisted the game-winning goal.  Finally, against Garden Spot on Wednesday, Kilee scored the final goal in a 3-0 win.  For the season, Kilee is leading the team offensively with 8 goals and 1 assist.

For their efforts, Dan and Kilee have been named Athletes of the Week for the week of 9/15/05 through 9/22/05.
ImageThe Ephrata Mounts girls cross country team has 9 girls that can consistently run under 23 minutes, while this is a good thing for league meets, it's going to leave to Mounts on the outside looking in when Districts arrive.

Until then however, the Mounts will benefit from their deep depth. Tuesday afternoon was no different as the Mounts easily defeated Cedar Crest (18-43), Lampeter-Strasburg (20-43), Columbia (20-43) and Conestoga Valley (19-41).

Five Lady Mounts cracked the top 5, while 4 finished inside the top 25. Leading the way for the Mounts was Alicia Harbold who finished third with a time of 20:49. Brynn Lyons (5th; 21:31), Samantha Fink (7th; 21:34), Kelly Holst (8th; 21:35) and Jaime Singer (9th; 21:36) rounded out the top 10 scoring.

Also running well were Amber Davies (11th; 21:39), Dana Haas (14th; 21:47), Leah Sipe (17th; 22:11) and Kate Anderson (22nd; 22:40).

The Boy didn't fair as well, but they did avoid the sweep by defeating Columbia 20-36. The Mounts fell to CV 44-15, Cedar Crest 35-24, and narrowly lost to Lampeter-Strasburg 31-26.

Givi Pavagashvili led the Mounts with a 9th place finish with a time of 18:02. Brad Sweigart (10th; 18:10) and Niraj Amin (12th; 18:16) also placed for the Mounts.
ImageIn the most recent Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association poll, the Mounts (8-0-1) are ranked 2nd in the state in Class AAA (Large School), trailing only Germantown Academy. Warwick and Manheim Township are outside the top ten, listed as honorable mentions. District 3 Gettysburg comes in at #9.

On a soggy Monday afternoon at Solanco, the Mounts erupted for 7 goals as they easily handled the Mules 7-1. Tom Renko and Dan Hagey each had 2 goals, while Derek Sipe, CJ Wilson and Elis Saenz also found the back of the net.

Solanco's lone goal came off of the foot of Kyle Bean in the first half, which gave Solanco a brief tie at 1-1. But CJ Wilson answered less then 3 minutes later, and the Mounts would never look back.

Dan Hagey, Tom Renko, and Dan Szabo all had assists for the Mounts.
ImageJunior running back Roshaan McCain scored three touchdowns on run of 10, 2 and 37 yards to help the Whippets defeat visiting Ephrata in non-league play. McCain carried 18 times for 183 yards as Downingtown West (2-2) rused for a total of 311 yards.

Ephrata senior running back Ryan Crowther had two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving), 10 carries for 29 yards and three receptions for 29 yards to lead the Mounts (1-3).

Click here for complete boxscore.

The Mounts offense showed complete control at times maintaining two long drives, each lasting over 7 minutes. But the defense could not seem to corrall the Whippet's speedy backs.

Fast Fun Fact: Mr. Fred Geyer is a Downingtown West Whippet alumni!

Correction: Mr. Fred Geyer, much older than expected, went to school back when Downingtown was only one school, not two. He was actually an Abington Galloping Ghost. Our deepest apologies to Mr. Geyer.
ImageThe Ephrata boys soccer program has been a model of consistency over the years in becoming one of the top programs in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

Now because of their outstanding play, they are beginning to receive recognition statewide.

In the most recent Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association poll, the Mounts (6-0-1) are ranked 4th in the state in Class AAA (Large School).

The Mounts trailed Germantown Academy (Private), West Chester Henderson and Strath Haven. Warwick (10th) was also ranked. Ephrata beat Warwick earlier in the season 2-0.
ImageMarcy Dull is on a roll. Coming into Tuesday's game versus Daniel Boone, Dull had 3 assists on the year, but no goals. In two games Dull scored 4 goals and has lifted the Mounts (5-1-1) past Daniel Boone, and helped separate them from Garden Spot in the standings.

Ephrata dominated Daniel Boone Tuesday. The Mounts outshot D.B. 18-7. Dull started the scoring for the Mounts in the first half, leading the Mounts to a 1-1 score at the break. But the Mounts constant shooting was too much for Wunderlich who made an impressive 15 saves. Callie Sweigart made it 2-1 and Dull iced the game with her second goal. Jenna Garber (2) and Katelyn Shelley had assists for the Mounts.

Last night Shelley scored her second goal of the season sliding one past the Spartans Beth Sitar (11 saves) in the first half. Dull then added two goals in the second half as the Mounts blanked the Spartans 3-0. Kira Shelley made 9 saves in goal earning her second shutout of the season.

The Lady Mounts next host a high powered Pioneer offense when Lampeter-Strasburg visits Ephrata this afternoon (9/22/05).
ImageA pattern has developed over the past three matches. The Lady Mounts take three out of five singles matches, then win a doubles match to finish things off.

Tuesday and Wednesday were no different this week. On Tuesday the Mounts defeated Conestoga Valley 4-3, then followed that last night by turning back Elizabethtown 4-3.

Lily Sears and Megan Royer improved their doubles record to 9-1, as they won both matches in straight sets.

Sears only lost 3 games in singles play over the last two matches, as she moved to 9-1 on the season individually as well. Sears dropped Liz Beck (CV; 6-1, 6-1) and Justine Garber (E-town; 6-0, 6-1). Megan Royer improved to 8-2 on the season winning both of her matches in straight sets.

Amy Sherman (7-3) also scored singles victories on both nights.

The Mounts next host Penn Manor Friday afternoon.
ImageThe Ephrata cross country team enjoyed an excellent day Tuesday in a four-team meet held at Northern Lebanon.

In girls action, the Lady Mounts earned a clean sweep over the competition, defeating Hempfield (23-35), Lancaster Catholic (15-55) and the host Vikings (15-55) to improve to 10-1 on the season.

As for the Ephrata boys, the Mount defeated both Lancaster Catholic (25-30) and Northern Lebanon (19-37) while losing only to Hempfield (20-41).

Individually, Alicia Harbold captured firt place in the girl's race with a time of 20:15 and was one of five EHS runners to finish in the top 10. The others included: Byrnn Lyons (4th, 21:14); Amber Davies (5th, 21:15); Kelly Holst (6th, 21:23); Jaime Singer (7th, 21:28); and Sam Fink (9th, 21:50). Dana Haas (22:00) and Leah Sipe (22:38) finished 11th and 13th respectively.

On the boys' side, Givi Palagashvili was the top runner among the locals, placing third in the race with a time of 14:47. Brad Sweigart (6th, 18:03) was next for the Mounts, followed by Niraj Amin, who also cracked the top 10 with a time of 18:43. Jim Reddig placed 18th for the Mounts.
ImageThe Ephrata Mounts soccer team blasted the Manheim Central Barons 4-0 to take sole possession of first place in Section 2. Dan Hagey may have set a new Mountaineer record by scoring a goal 11 seconds into a match. Making the goal even more impressive was the fact that the Barons started the game with possession of the ball. Hagey added another score at 18:05, and less than a minute later Paul McHenry found the back of the net to put the Mounts up 3-0 before the break.

Dan Hagey made it a hat trick with his third goal 75 minutes into the contest to end the scoring.

Josh Peifer pitched another shutout for the Mounts, recording 3 saves off of six shots, and added an assist for good measure. Paul McHenry (2) and Tom Renko (1) also had assists for the Mounts.

The Barons fall to 3-1-0 in section play, while the Mounts moved to 3-0-1.
ImageThe Ephrata Mounts Girls Tennis team swept the McCaskey Red Tornado Friday afternoon 7-0. Lauren Donmoyer, Lily Sears, Megan Royer and Amy Sherman all won their singles matches in straight sets. Lindsay Miller dropped the first set, but rebounded to take the next two. From there the Mounts swept the doubles to complete the sweep.
ImageIt's just the nature of the rivalry.

It's just the nature of the Backyard Brawl.

When Cocalico and Ephrata meet the game is always close. Even when the Eagles rush for a school-record 434 yards, which is exactly what they did Friday night.

Cocalico got the game-winning touchdown with 1:58 to play from fullback Devin Orme, and Cocalico beat Ephrata 34-31 in Section Two play.

"I was very excited with the effort that the (offensive) line gave," said Cocalico coach Dave Gingrich. "They made some great holes and the backs ran extremely hard and we did a good job executing the offense."


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ImageThe Ephrata Mounts Field Hockey Team dominated the competition this past weekend at the Susquehanna TWP tournament. Both the JV and Varsity teams brought home the tournament trophies.

The Varsity Mounts opened up against host Susquehanna TWP and made quick work of them, scoring 4 unassisted goals. Kilee Rosenberry continued her scoring streak as she found the cage two times leading the Mounts to a 4-0 win. Callie Sweigart and Jenna Garber also scored for the Mounts.

In the second game the Mounts delivered another shutout this time 2-0 over Daniel Boone. Sweigart and Rosenberry scored again for the Mounts, while Marcy Dull added an assist.

The Mounts JV squad wasn't quite as dominate, but still managed two wins. They defeated Susquehanna TWP 6-2, and defeated Daniel Boone in OT 3-2. Tori Pagano (3 goals on the day) scored the game winning goal on a nice feed by Caitlin Strausser (1G, 2A). Emily Beamesderfer also had 2 goals and 1 assist on the day for the Lady Mounts.

ImageThe Ephrata Mounts Soccer Team, despite out-shooting the Spartans from Garden Spot 28-6, ended up in 1-1 tie Tuesday night. Gardenspot's D. Reynolds scored a goal late (79:36) in the second half to tie the game, and after two overtime periods the score remained.

Ephrata scored their lone goal as CJ Wilson fed Paul McHenry. The goal was McHenry's fifth on the season which currently leads the Mounts.

ImageThe Ephrata Mounts Tennis Team saw their four match winning streak come to an end as they travelled into Neffsville to face the Manheim Township Blue Streaks.

The Blue Streaks, a perennial tennis powerhouse, proved too much for the Mounts once again, as they defeated Ephrata 5-2. The current Ephrata Mounts Athletes of the week however, were not to be denied on this night as Lily Sears and Megan Royer defeated Brittany Whiteside and Serena Wang 8-6 to improve their doubles record to 6-0.

Sears was also the lone winner in singles, dropping Lauren Burkowitz 6-2, 6-4. All other Mounts lost in straight sets.
ImageSenior running back Ryan Crowther (17 carries for 55 yards) had a pair of short touchdown runs, and senior Eric Petters drilled the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter Friday night as Ephrata edged host Lebanon 15-13 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 openers for both teams.

Ephrata improved to 1-0 in the section and 1-1 overall. Lebanon, which knocked off cross-town rival Cedar Crest in its opener, slipped to 0-1 in the section and 1-1 overall.

Crowther's 1-yard TD dive sliced Lebanon's lead to 7-6 at the break. And his 3-yard TD run gave Ephrata a 12-7 lead with 3:46 left in the third quarter. Ephrata's lead wouldn't last long as a big kickoff return found the Cedars deep in Mountaineer territory.

And with 1:53 left in the third, Lebanon pushed ahead to take a 13-12 lead when junior Jared Marderness slammed in from the 2.

But Petters won it for Ephrata with a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. With 2:01 left to play all the Mounts defense had to do was shutdown Lebanon's offense one more time.

The Cedars did however march down the field, getting as close as the Mountaineer 5 yard line, but a holding call on the Cedars elimated the go-ahead touchdown, and their last play resulted in a sack.

Click here for the complete box score.

The Mounts now look to make it two in a row as they host the Cocalico Eagles next week.
ImageThe Ephrata Mounts girls and boys cross country team recently competed in the Gettysburg Invitational. The girls team faired quite well finishing 9th out of 26 teams. The only team in the Lancaster-Lebanon League that faired better were the Blue Streaks of Manheim Township who finished 7th.

Ephrata placed six girls in the top 100, including Alicia Harbold (35th; 20:00.10), Jaime Singer (56th; 20:31.94), Brynn Lyons (59th; 20:35.60), Amber Davies (70th; 20:45.78), Samantha Fink (74th; 21:01.90) and Dana Haas (100th; 21:36.39).

Finishing just outside of the top 100 was Kate Anderson (118th; 21:54.00) and Taylor Fletcher (153rd; 22:34.93)

The Boys also competed, but didn't fair quite as well as the girls. The boys finished in 27th out of 38 teams.

Leading the way for the Mounts was Junior Brad Sweigart (42nd; 17:47.01). Also placing for the Mounts was Niraj Amin (63rd; 18:04.18), Givi Palagashvili (130th; 18:52.66), James Reddig (216th; 19:57.83), Ryan Trella (237th; 20:16.08) and David King (261st; 20:51.28).
Lily and Megan are doubles partners with a 4-0 record thus far this year.  Individually, they play in the #2 and #3 spots respectively and each has a 3-1 record so far.  This week they both won their individual matches against Warwick and both recorded shutouts in their matches against L-S.  Both are seniors on the team and have returned to the same positions in which they played last year. For their efforts they have been named co-Athlete of the Week for the week of 9/1/05 through 9/7/05.

ImageThe Ephrata Mounts Girls Tennis team made it four straight wins after their opening season loss by defeating Cedar Crest 6-1.

Lauren Donmoyer took three sets to dispose of Macey Keath 3-6, 6-2, 10-3. While Lily Sears (6-4, 6-0), Megan Royer (6-1, 6-2) and Amy Sherman (6-2, 6-3) all won in straight sets as they each improved their individual records to 4-1.

In flight 5, Lindsay Miller (2-3) also won in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.

With the match already won, the Mounts went into the doubles portion of the evening. Ephrata's top doubles team of Donmoyer and Sherman fell for the second time this season in three sets 6-4, 7-6, 7-5. Ephrata's number two team of Sears and Royer however, remained undefeated as they finished Kelly Boyer and Jacy Dyer 6-4, 6-3 to improve to 5-0.

The Tennis Team will be in action again Monday September 12th at Manheim Township, that match is slated to start at 4:00.
ImageThe Ephrata Mounts Girls Cross Country team put on a stunning display Tuesday night as the Mounts placed five runners in the top 10, and seven in the top 20.

Amber Davies led the Mounts with a strong 2nd place finish with a time of 21:26. Ephrata then filled slots 6 through 9 as Jamie Singer (22:15), Alicia Harbold (22:35), Brynn Lyons (22:51) and Samantha Fink (23:05) all ran strong.

Dana Haas (23:46) finished 16th and Kelly Holst (23:53) finished 17th. The girls team easily defeated Solanco and Donegal both by a score of 19-40. And handled Warwick 24-33. The meet the first of the year for the Lady Mounts lifts their record to 3-0.

The boys team didn't fair as well as they defeated Donegal 27-30, but dropped matches to Solanco (45-19) and Donegal (55-15). Givi Palagashvill led the Mounts with a fifth place showing and a time of 18:25, while Brad Sweigart (8th; 18:35) and Niraj Amin (15th; 19:45) also placed for the Mounts.
ImageI'm not sure if it was bad Solanco coaching, or the fact that Ephrata Mounts Soccer Team had a superior team... but I do know one thing and that is that Ephrata blasted Solanco 7-0 on Tuesday night. If you think like I think, you'd know Ephrata had a superior team, and if you were at the game last night you'd be an eye-witness to the fact that Ephrata had the ball in Solanco territory approximately 80% of the time.

Paul McHenry scored 2 goals and assisted on another, but was slightly out-shone by senior Derek Sipe who had 2 goals and 2 assists. Dan Hagey scored a goal and assisted on 2 others, while David Wiegner and Dan Szabo also found the back of the net.

The Mounts had a rather slim 2-0 lead at halftime, but several near-goals. The score could have easily been worse for the Mules than it was. But then the Mounts came out firing in the second half scoring 5 goals including 2 within 20 seconds of each other by Dan Szabo and Derek Sipe.

Fernando Buitrago and Thomas Renko also had assists. Sophomore Josh Peiffer had an untested night in goal recording 1 save on 3 shots as the Mounts kept the ball out of the box for most of the night.
ImageThe Manheim Township Blue Streaks waited nine long months to take the field, and once they did, they did exactly as head coach Michael Melnyk wanted and played "one game at a time" as they blasted Ephrata 56-7 Friday night at Ephrata's War Memorial Stadium.

"We have said all spring long, 'one at a time.' " said Melnyk. "One play, one down, one quarter, one game, and it seems as though they are listening."

ImageThe Ephrata Mounts Girls Tennis team, rebounded from an opening season loss to defeat Lampeter-Strasburg 6-1 on Thursday. The Lady Mounts swept the doubles competition and took four of the five singles matches from the Pioneers. The Lady Mounts went 55-22 in the singles matches. Lily Sears and Megan Royer both won in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. The complete box score follows this story.

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