Friday, March 29, 2024
Text Size

Murray, Mounts knock off Bucks


Getting a second victory in the final game of the regular season may not seem like much, but for the Ephrata High School football team, the win means plenty.

No, the Mounts won't be playing in the district playoffs next week. But next season, who knows?

Ephrata's players and coaches walked off Conestoga Valley's football field Friday night with a feeling that will last the seniors a lifetime and will carry the underclassmen to next season with a shot of confidence.

The Mounts got four touchdowns and 185 yards on 34 carries from George Murray en route to a 34-24 [boxscore] win over the Buckskins, who despite the loss are headed to the District Three Class AAA playoffs for the first time since 2006, when they played in Class AAAA.

Friday's loss may have cost the Bucks a home game, so they will likely go on the road for a first-round game Friday.

Back to Friday, where the Mounts (2-5 Section Two, 2-8 overall) survived what could have been a disastrous start to the fourth quarter, giving up a pair of TDs in a span of 1:38 that narrowed Ephrata's lead to 27-24.

But the Mounts, who may have succumbed to such a situation in the past, chewed up 8:22 of the fourth quarter and finished the time-consuming drive with Murray's fourth TD of the night to secure the win.

"(After the fumble), I came over the to the coaches and they were telling me to just let it go,'' Murray said. "They told me I'd be the workhorse (on the next drive).''

He was. Murray carried the ball on 13 of the drive's 16 plays, going over from the 4 to give the Mounts the 10-point cushion with 49 seconds remaining in regulation.

"We wanted to get George 1,000 yards and I think he'll be a little short,'' said Ephrata coach Jim Vieland. Murray finished with 966 yards for the season, officially. "But he did a great job.''

Conestoga Valley running back Kevin Kelley eyed a 2,000-yard season, needing 202 to get there. Kelley finished with 108 yards on 29 carries. He gave CV a 7-0 lead and Murray answered to make it 7-7 after one quarter.

The Bucks (4-3, 6-4) came back with a 20-yard field goal from Robbie Cardina. Ephrata countered with Murray's 48-yard, tackle-breaking TD run to give the Mounts a 14-10 lead. Ephrata then turned a fumble recovery into a 21-10 halftime lead on Jeremy Franck's quarterback sneak.

For the second time in the game, Ephrata stopped CV on downs and this time, turned it into points. Franck's 29-yard hookup with Andrew Donnelly was the key play that led to Murray's 2-yard plunge and a 27-10 lead. Franck, a sophomore, was 14-of-19 for 201 yards.

But the Bucks came back with Alex Dienner's 4-yard TD toss to Joel Leicy and three plays later, stripped Murray. Alex Brown scooped up the ball and galloped 37 yards for the TD, drawing CV to within three at 27-24 with nine minutes to play.

That was a close as the Bucks could get as the Mounts played keep-away and scored to boot.

"There was no need to panic,'' Vieland said. "We just needed to move the chains. We kept our composure.''