Mounts trim Cedars

LEBANON — It was late in the second quarter of Friday’s Ephrata-Lebanon game and the scoreboard kept insisting it was (insert down here) and 35, from the Lebanon 29-yard line.

An incomplete pass here, a no-gain run there, a couple plays nullified by penalties against both teams and eventually it was fourth-and-35 from the 29. Impossible, and yet, on this night, somehow plausible.

Also in keeping with the tone of this night’s proceedings, the Mounts converted, quarterback Josh McCracken hitting Josh Musser over the middle for an easy, 29-yard score on what was actually fourth and 27.

Ephrata got it done a bit differently on this very different night but rolled past the Cedars 42-20 in a nonleague game at LHS Alumni Stadium.

The Mounts (2-1) normally rely heavily on power running back Andre Weidman, who rumbled for 1,430 yards last year and 287 through this season’s first two weeks. He had 7 yards in 9 carries Friday.

McCracken, however, threw for four touchdowns, each on plays of 29 yards or more, three of them on third- or fourth-and-long. The junior QB finished 19 of 32 passing for 272 yards – that’s 8.5 yards per attempt – those four TDs and one interception.

Weidman’s understudy, Brayden Brown, handled the groundwork in the second half and exploded for 128 yards, including a 78-yard TD, in 12 tries.

After the game, shots were reportedly fired outside the stadium. An email release from Ephrata superintendent Brian Troop said that “as a precautionary measure, stadium officials moved members of the band, football team, and cheerleading squad to a designated area of the school where everyone was accounted for and safe.

“We appreciate the support of the police in ensuring the safety of our students, staff, and attendees. “

Turning point

It probably came early, Lebanon defending the run superbly and the team trading punts.

Ephrata dialed up a play on which the Mounts believably sold a swing pass to one side of the field, and then McCracken turned and dumped a pass the other way to Weidman, who rumbled an easy 38 yards for the game’s first score.

Ephrata executed the same play just as well, to Weidman, for a 32-yard TD in the third quarter.

Star of the game

Ephrata WR/DB Jeremiah Knowles was in the middle of everything on both sides of the ball, with seven offensive touches for 78 yards (plus a 60-yard TD catch called back for a penalty) and a key interception.

Key statistic

For Lebanon (0-3), this game was oddly familiar to its 46-14 loss to Garden Spot in Week Two – the Cedars stopped the run and made some big plays, but made even more big mistakes.

They had eight turnovers against the Spartans, and 9 penalties for 99 yards Friday.

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