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Township blasts Ephrata

30 August 2008
Written by Mike Pollis - Sports Correspondent
Manheim Township made sure its 2008 squad picked up just where last year's 11-2 team left off.

Head coach Mike Melnyk apparently wasn't kidding during the summer when he said his team has the potential to score every time it has the ball. His Blue Streaks nearly did just that Friday night during a dominating first half in a 53-0 season-opening victory over Ephrata.

Township gave the Mounts a rude welcome to Neffsville from the opening kickoff, which was returned 60 yards by Matt Curcio to the Ephrata 16. Curcio opened the scoring three plays later with a 10-yard touchdown run.

Curcio would follow that up with another touchdown the next time he touched the ball, scoring this time from 17 yards out.

Offensively, the Streaks befuddled and confused the Ephrata defense with a variety of formations that included several direct snaps to running back Dan Wertz. The Township offensive line did the rest, clearing the way for 135 rushing yards on 20 carries in the first half.

The Streaks followed up Curcio's touchdowns with an 8-yard touchdown run by Brian Sourber, a 41-yard halfback pass from Wertz to Kyle Karpinski, and a 9-yard scoring run by Wertz.

Township's defense was equally as dominating, limiting Ephrata to one first down in the first half. Defensive back Charles Eberly provided the exclamation point for the Streaks with an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown with six seconds remaining to give his team a 39-0 halftime lead.

At the start of the second half, things went from bad to worse for the Mounts as they fumbled on their first two possessions. Township turned both turnovers into touchdowns, the first a 34-yard run by Wertz and the second a 14-yard pass from Jonathan Yuko to Karpinski.

To its credit, Ephrata never gave up and did manage to move the ball in the second half. But everything that could go wrong did go wrong in head coach Jim Vieland's debut for the Mounts.

Ephrata committed key third-down penalties, snapped a ball over the punter's head, saw its punter slip to the ground inside its own 20-yard line and fumbled on consecutive plays inside Township's 5-yard line.