Township rolls past Ephrata
- 25 September 2010
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.
"I think we're starting to find our identity a little bit," Melnyk said afterward. "I think before, the kids didn't know if we were a running team or a passing team.
"We have a lot of different kids who can touch the ball and make big plays, and we're going to try and keep (opposing defenses) off balance."
While that was on display Friday, the Blue Streaks (1-0 Section One, 2-2 overall) success during a hard-fought, back-and-forth slugfest might ultimately have been overshadowed by what took place on the game's last play from scrimmage.
In possession of the ball and a 41-32 lead in the final minute, Township tried to evaporate the clock by running the ball between the tackles, only to have Ephrata (0-1, 2-2) extend the contest by burning all three of its timeouts.
So, facing fourth-and-3 at the Mountaineers 30-yard line with approximately 10 seconds left, the plan, Melnyk said, was to put some air under the ball and extinguish the rest of the clock.
That's all.
But much to the chagrin of Ephrata's bench and fans on the ensuing play, Scott threw an arcing rainbow down the right sideline that Quint Miller leaped to grab inside the 5, before spinning into the end zone for a 47-32 Township lead with two seconds left on the clock.
"It was fourth down and the clock was going to stop at the end of that play," Melnyk said. "So I just wanted to throw a vertical pass up there to run out the clock.
"I told the kids 'Don't score,'" Melnyk continued. "But (Miller) spun out (of a tackle) and scored. Kids will be kids. I wasn't trying to run up the score. But I guess I'll look like the bad guy."
Not knowing the explanation, Ephrata coach Jim Vieland brushed the play off afterward.
"I don't have a problem with (Melnyk)," Vieland said. "He's a class guy. I don't know why they threw that. But at the end of the day, we still have to defend that (pass)."
Meanwhile, Ephrata's biggest challenge -- despite getting 178 yards and four touchdowns on just 12 carries from junior fullback Alex Pstrak, and 132 yards on 12 takes from junior quarterback Jeremy Franck -- was defending its lead.
After building a 13-12 advantage on Pstrak's 66-yard TD burst up the middle with 5:53 left in the second quarter, Ephrata took a 20-12 lead into the break after Franck scored on a three-yard run with 1:44 remaining in the first half.
But Township, which collected 279 of its 429 total yards of offense after halftime, was about to find its rhythm.
After a 24-yard TD run from Sallade on the first possession of the half was followed by a 73-yard TD burst from Pstrak on the first play of the next drive, the Streaks finally took the lead for good on a 10-yard Kevin Coleman TD run that made it 27-26 with 3:32 left in the third quarter.
But even after Township got a 15-yard interception return for a touchdown from Jake Weber that made it 34-26 with 11:10 left in the fourth quarter, Ephrata responded one series with a three-yard TD run from Pstrak that got the Mounts with 34-32 with 8:27 left to play.
"They kept their composure," Vieland said of his players. "And that's important for us.
But the deciding blow came on Township's next possession, when it strung together a nine-play, 70-yard drive that was eventually capped by Scott's 28-yard strike to Chase Miller in the right corner of the end zone, putting the Streaks in front 41-32 with 3:26 left.
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