Blazers run past Mounts

AJ Hoffer is a beast. The senior running back ran 204 yards on 25 carries for Daniel Boone. He and fellow senior Thatcher Hogan formed a thunder and lightning combination that ran all over Ephrata in a 33-14 nonleague victory Friday night at War Memorial Field in Ephrata.

The Blazers (3-2) pounded out 324 yards on the ground. Hogan was responsible for 70 of those yards on 15 carries, scoring three times. Hoffer added another score on the ground.

Daniel Boone was a late replacement for the Mountaineers (3-2), who were supposed to play Columbia. However, the Crimson Tide canceled the game over CO-VID 19 concerns in the district.

The Blazers stepped in and had 394 yards of total offense in the game — 70 in the air. Hoffer had 126 yards at intermission.

The Blazers dominated both lines of scrimmage, holding the Mounts’ powerful running back, Andre Weidman, to only 61 yards on 17 carries.

Boone scored on its opening drive, going 12 plays and 70 yards for a 1-yard touchdown by Hogan. Ephrata countered with a Weidman 5-yard run off left tackle to tie the score at 7-7 with 1:51 remaining in the first quarter. The Mounts held the Blazers to two field goals and only trailed 13-7 at halftime.

Turning point Trailing just 13-7 with 3:44 left in the second quarter, Ephrata lost a fumble on a low snap on its own 42. Prior to this turnover, the Mounts were matching the Blazers in scoring. Ephrata’s defense held, but momentum shifted.

Star of the game

Hoffer locked for contact and was dragging tacklers in many runs right up the middle. He wore the Mounts down and Hogan provided the knock punches with electrifying runs to paydirt.

Key statistic

Daniel Boone had the ball on offense 15:01 in the first half.

Quotable

“The are a very physical team and we didn’t match their physicality,” Mounts coach Kris Miller said of the Blazers. “They came out the first drive and scored right away and I thought we settled in and held them to some field goals. For as much as they dominated the first half, we got to halftime and it was a one-score game and were getting the ball. I thought we had a great opportunity to get a touchdown and score, but unfortunately we couldn’t move the ball and they (Boone) kinda gained momentum.”