Cocalico Edges Mounts at Finish

"I got this play from L-S when they used it on us," Gingrich said. "We put it in this week for the first time and ran it four times in practice before we got it right. Ephrata thought we were going to run, and it comes down to execution. The kids executed at the right time."

The play worked perfectly, as quarterback Matthew Carty rolled right on a play-action pass and found Fisher wide open in the end zone.

Ephrata regained possession with 1:39 to go, but quarterback Blake Crowther was unable to add one more piece of magic to his monstrous day.

Crowther ran for 238 yards, passed for 151 and scored four touchdowns in the loss. The last drive, though, ended when his fourth-down pass was caught short of the first-down marker.

"They made plays when they had to, and we didn't. We had the chance to put the game away and we didn't," Ephrata head coach Ken Grove said.

"Crowther almost single-handedly beat us with his arm and legs. A good team should be able to beat a good individual and luckily for us, it worked tonight," Gingrich said.

The first quarter featured quick strikes from both offenses, with Cocalico's first two first downs coming via touchdowns.

Crowther scored on a 70-yard run three plays into the game for the early lead. The Mounts regained possession after a punt, and looked ready to take a two-touchdown lead when Crowther found Joel Yoder behind the defense on a pass. But Guye Weber chased him down and knocked the ball away at the 3. The Eagles recovered in the end zone for the touchback.

Three plays later, Fisher took a pitch from Carty and ran 78 yards for the touchdown.

Yoder returned the ensuing kickoff 61 yards to the Eagle 28. Three plays later, Crowther scored his second touchdown on a run around the right end. Cocalico scored again before the quarter ended when Carty completed his first of two touchdown throws to Weber, this one for 75 yards.

Ephrata's offense took a big hit early in the third quarter, following a 57-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown for Weber. Woody Miller, who starts at fullback and linebacker for the Mounts, was called for a personal foul on the play and ejected.

"Any time you lose your fullback in what we run offensively is a big piece, but I thought the kids performed the best they could with what we had there," Grove said.

Cocalico was trailing by seven with 4:30 left in the game and fourth down on the Ephrata 44 when Gingrich decided to punt and let his defense shut down the Mounts. Punter Josh Powell had his kick downed on the 1. Ephrata stalled and had to punt the ball back to the Eagles. Fisher returned the punt to the 18, and four plays later, the Eagles scored and hit the game-winning conversion.

Cocalico's offense was led by Fisher (7-136 rushing) and Weber (2-132 receiving).