Barons roll past Ephrata
- 10 October 2009
The threat of a major upset Friday night in Manheim lasted all of seven minutes.It took Manheim Central blue-chipper Dakota Royer about six seconds to squash Ephrata's upset bid. That's how quickly the Penn State-bound linebacker gathered a Mountaineer fumble off a teammate's helmet and raced 60 yards to paydirt.
While accounting for only six points, both coaches agreed Royer's play changed the entire flow of the game. The defensive score erased winless Ephrata's 3-0 lead -- and second drive into Central territory -- and provided the momentum with a change of address that never shifted back.
Central (3-0, 6-0) went on to capitalize off five more Ephrata turnovers, while committing three of its own, in what coach Mike Williams called a "sloppy" 64-23 win at Rettew Stadium.
"They probably outworked us on the field," Williams said afterward, "but we just had a few better athletes."
Royer's second touchdown -- a 44-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Justin Gorman -- broke the game open, at 36-10, with 14 ticks left in the second quarter.
That pass was one of two Gorman threw for touchdowns; he also ran for two scores.
Backfield mate Joe Gruber bulldozed for 110 yards on 14 carries, often dragging defenders for tough yards. The overmatched Mounts (0-3, 0-6) were left black and blue after a three-hour game that included several injury timeouts.
That said, Ephrata was within a few yards of taking a two-score lead early in the contest. Central fumbled on its first play from scrimmage, and Ephrata capitalized with Weston Rudisill's 40-yard field goal.
The Mounts then forced a punt and drove inside the Central 35 when disaster struck. George Murray (23-53 rushing) lost the ball and it took a quirky bounce off a Central player, ricocheting backwards into Royer's open arms.
"The ball bounced right off a facemask into his hands, and he just never broke stride" for the touchdown, Ephrata coach Jim Vieland said. "He's a Penn Stater, runs a 4.6, 4.5(-second) 40(-yard dash). You just can't give him that."
The Barons' third offensive drive again ended in a punt, but the line-drive kick bounced off punt returner Zach Sandoe's chest and onto the ground. Central recovered on the Mounts' 12 and punched it in two plays later for a 16-3 lead.
"There were times when we really hung with them for a couple plays, but then we had breakdowns," Vieland said.
From there, Central just wore down Ephrata with a mix of sweeps, draws and counters that left defenders off-balance. The Mercy Rule was applied halfway through the fourth quarter.
Despite the 41-point shellacking, Williams wasn't happy with his team's performance, almost going as far as saying it was a "step back."
"We played flawed and they had their problems, too," he said. "Football's a hard game to be up every week.
"Nobody's perfect tonight."
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