Cedars blank error-prone Mounts
- 26 September 2009
Ephrata coach Jim Vieland needed only a single word Friday night to sum up his team's L-L League-opening loss to Lebanon."Mistakes," Vieland said as he walked off War Memorial Field after a 16-0 [boxscore] defeat.
Vieland wasn't mistaken with his assessment.
The Mountaineers (0-1 L-L, 0-4 overall) turned the ball over four times, had two punts blocked and shot themselves in the foot with ten penalties.
Lebanon, also winless entering Friday's matchup, didn't exactly operate as a well-tuned machine. The Cedars suffered a pair of turnovers of their own and 93 yards in penalties. However, they turned Ephrata's blunders into points -- specifically the special-teams mishaps.
The Cedars (1-0 L-L, 1-3) blocked one punt in the end zone for a safety, and snuffed another that set them up 13 yards from paydirt. Two plays later, Randy Quinones took a swing pass from Alex Trautman 17 yards for a 14-0 lead 26 seconds into the second quarter.
Lebanon boss Gerry Yonchiuk said pressure was on both squads to leave the field Friday with a win.
"I know it was on our minds," Yonchiuk said of getting a first win. "And I think it was on theirs, too. But the two blocked punts really kicked the wind out of their sails."
Quinones had a monster game, catching 7 balls for 111 yards. He also returned a fourth-quarter interception 50 yards to thwart Ephrata's comeback bid.
Vieland said his team needs improvement everywhere, but pinpointed special teams and an inept offense that had only one more completion than it had interceptions Friday night.
Aside from halfback George Murray's effort -- 22 carries for 139 yards -- the Mounts had only 30 more yards as a team.
"Until we eliminate the mistakes and get better offensively, we're not going to beat anybody," Vieland said. "There's a lot of pressure on (us). We have to take a look at everybody -- coaches, too."
Ephrata will hope that improvement comes sooner rather than later, with Section Two's finest on the horizon. Cocalico and Manheim Central are the Mounts' next opponents. Central beat Cocalico Friday night in a thriller, on a last-second field goal.
"It's a backyard rivalry, and we need to go in there and fight," Vieland said of next week's Cocalico game. "It's the only thing we can do."
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.