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Travis Jones knew it back in August, even if his players didn't.

 

There was something special about the hand he'd been dealt.

 

"The guys' (playing) ability and their sense of caring for each other," Lampeter-Strasburg's first-year boys' soccer coach said, explaining his preseason optimism. "They just love being out here together, and I knew that the very first time I saw them."

 

They've played well over the last week and a half, well enough to become part of the Section Two playoff equation.

 

And Monday night Ephrata's playoff plans got a tremendous boost with a 2-0 victory over Manheim Central on Mountaineer Field.

 

Kelly Liebl scored in the sixth minute and Mackenzie Lagaza added insurance in the 58th to lift the Mounts (7-3 L-L, 9-5 overall) into the thick of the section race.

 

One statistic sums up the Ephrata-Lampeter-Strasburg matchup: The Pioneers (3-2) had piled on 27 points before Ephrata (0-5) tallied its initial first down, setting the tone for a 34-0 [box score] victory.

 

L-S dominated both sides of the lines of scrimmage all night. On the offensive side of the ball, the line opened gaping holes for running backs Dan Lind and Ross Souders. Defensively, the Pioneers spent the entire evening in the Ephrata backfield, disrupting one running play after another.