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Bears settle score with Ephrata
- 15 October 2005
Elizabethtown was due — way overdue. For the last three
seasons, Ephrata has beaten up pretty badly (a combined 110-53) on the
Bears.That all changed Friday night when Elizabethtown got some revenge by taking out three years of frustration on the Mounts.
Cole Barnes rushed for a game-high 152 yards and A.J. Shippling scored four touchdowns to lead the Bears to a convincing 42-7 triumph on Homecoming Night in E-town. Click here for the complete boxscore.
The Bears improved to 4-1 in Section Two, which keeps them tied with Cocalico for second place. Manheim Central, which played a non-league game Friday night, is 4-0 and atop the standings.
The second-place tie will be broken next week when the Bears travel to Denver to take on Cocalico. E-town and Cocalico have each already lost to Central.
"We're all playing together right now," said Shippling, of the Bears. "The chemistry is there."
Shippling, a rock-solid senior fullback, rushed for 92 yards and scored on four of his 15 carries, including three in the second half.
"Everything comes from the line," said Shippling. "They work hard for us. They have been blowing people off the ball. The holes were huge. Anybody could have run through those holes."
The line Shippling spoke of consists of tackles Eric Artley and Chris Marsh, guards Justin Enck and Brett Pickel and center Sean McMullen.
It allowed the Bears' Wing-T ground attack to churn out 294 yards rushing and 426 yards overall.
"The way the blocking has been, all I have to do is hit the holes," said Barnes. "That's how it all happens."
As much as the Bears (4-3 overall) like to run the ball, it was through the air that they jumped on Ephrata early in this one.
On the game's second play, Elizabethtown quarterback Preston Faith (4-for-7 for 132 yards) hooked up with Brooks Grassel for a 68-yard touchdown.
"We knew they were gearing up for the run game, so we wanted to try to throw it in behind them," said Bears coach Jeff Polites. "The kids executed the play perfectly."
On the ensuing drive, Ephrata running back Michael Burkholder broke the first play from scrimmage for a 57-yard pickup to the E-town 16. But the Mounts came up empty when Eric Petters missed a 24-yard field goal.
"Any time when you're in a slump like we are and you don't get points when you need them, the whole complexion of the game changes," said Ephrata coach Ken Grove.
The Mounts are now 1-4 in the section, 1-6 overall and have given up 290 points, which is the most in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
'We're searching for answers and solutions," said Grove. "We just need to keep trying. We have to make plays and we haven't been able to do that."
Shippling and Andrew Weller each added first-half touchdowns to give the Bears a 21-0 halftime lead.
That lead doubled in the second half, thanks to Shippling's touchdown runs of one, two and five yards. The last made it 42-0 with 11:26 to play.
Ephrata broke its seven-quarter scoreless string in the final minute of the game when backup QB Blake Crowther threw a 15-yard touchdown to Petters.
"We wanted to play a complete game," said Polites. "I felt like we haven't done that all year. Tonight we did."
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.