Indians scorch Ephrata
- 10 September 2006
Entering Friday night's non-league football tilt with visiting Susquehanna Township, Ephrata knew that trying to keep pace with the Indians' high-octane offense would be a tall order.Therefore, the Mountaineers' plan of attack was to shorten the game by being methodical and efficient on the offensive side of the ball, and avoid turnovers.
Unfortunately that blueprint for success went out the window as Susquehanna Township ran past Ephrata, 47-28 (boxscore ), at War Memorial Field as the teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense.
The Indians' speed at the skill positions was overwhelming, with five of their seven touchdowns coming on plays of 54 yards and longer.
"They looked good on offense and they have some wheels, don't they?" remarked Ephrata's veteran head coach Ken Grove after the game, referencing the speed demons which Susquehanna Township spread all over the field.
The Indians (2-0) of the Mid-Penn Conference were led by senior quarterback R. Anthony Wagner, who threw for two scores on 4-for-10 passing for 185 yards and also rushed six times for 87 yards and two more scores.
Senior running back Obi Rajis ran for a 73-yard touchdown in the middle of the opening period and added sprints of 53 and four yards late in the third quarter to put the game out of reach on his way to a total of 140 on the ground.
Junior backfield mate Gabe Oliver provided some more firepower with a 61-yard touchdown reception on the third play of the second half, which propelled Township to a 34-7 lead, along with 105 yards on 12 carries.
"We did not adjust to their team speed,'' Grove said. "On defense we have to be able to group together and play tough man-on-man. On defense we have to improve overall. We have to tackle better and pursue better."
Junior quarterback Blake Crowther was the star of the night for Ephrata (0-2), going 14-for-16 through the air for 164 yards and two scores, and pounding out 56 tough yards and another score on 23 carries.
Grove assessed his gritty quarterback "as a game player. He always steps up to the plate and he's just a tough competitor. The biggest thing with him is that we can't ask him to do everything. At times I think he puts it all on himself because he thinks he has to."
Some of the load was taken off of Crowther's shoulders as junior running backs Woody Miller (14 rushes, 85 yards) and Joel Yoder (seven rushes, 50 yards, one touchdown; two receptions, 25 yards) and senior Sam Wiest (five rushes, 80 yards) tried to counter the explosiveness of Susquehanna Township.
"For us, as you can see, we are pretty methodical (on offense). We have to do things and execute correctly,'' Grove said. "Having two five-yard penalties on a drive will kill us. We have to execute efficiently on offense and I think we moved the ball well at times but have to eliminate the mistakes."
The Mounts racked up ten penalties for 55 yards and fumbled five times, losing two of them.
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