Lebanon Sports Buzz
Breaking News

BY JEFF FALK

MYERSTOWN – The best thing about staying the course is that no turn-arounds are necessary. The next best thing about it is that there’s a certain level of natural improvement associated with it.

On a fall-like Friday night at Elco Stadium, the roll that the Raider football team has been on lately picked up momentum, during a 35-17 victory over rival Annville-Cleona. Elco tallied touchdowns on five straight possessions in the middle of the contest, after the Little Dutchmen had taken an early 3-0 lead.

Behind a physical offensive line and two long touchdown runs by junior quarterback Braden Bohannon, the Raiders piled 300 rushing yards in the second half, on their way to out gaining Annville-Cleona 473 total yards to 276. Bohannon finished the contest with 229 rushing yards on 17 keepers.

After starting the season with three straight tough losses, Elco has now rattled off six wins in-a-row. The Raiders, who are 6-3 overall and 6-2 in Section Three of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, were positioned tenth in the power rankings for a District Three AAAA classification that takes ten for its postseason.

On the other side, Annville-Cleona’s emotional, up-and-down season now stands at 5-4 overall and 5-3 in Section Three. The Little Dutchmen were situated fourth in the latest AAA power rankings, a classification that takes six for its tournament.

“We haven’t changed a single thing,” said Elco head coach Bob Miller of the Raiders’ current hot streak. “This team never blinked. They stayed the course. People say it’s been a turnaround. It’s been staying together.

“We’re a long way from 0-3,” continued Miller. “It comes down to having faith. We reference faith in each other. There was no doubt. There was faith. That’s the word that defines us.”

“This season has been the most difficult of my career,” said Annville-Cleona head coach Matt Gingrich. “Just from expectations to reality, to a car accident to injuries. For us to be successful, we need to play hard on Friday night. I’d love to get to the playoffs. I’d love to get a playoff win.”

It took some time for the Raiders to get their motor revving. But once they did, it was all systems ‘go’.

Down 3-0 with halftime approaching, senior Erik Williams ripped off a 35-yard touchdown jaunt that gave the Raiders the lead for good, at 7-3. Then 28 seconds before the break, Bohannon hit a wide-open Jordan Fernandez with a 26-yard scoring strike.

“Our guys came out and executed, and it showed,” said Miller. “That kind of set the tone for the kids. Yes, it was one of our best games, because of the competition. They’re (the Little Dutchmen) so well-coached. They shut us down the last two years.

“We had an indoor practice on Wednesday because it was pouring outside,” added Miller. “The players were so focused. They never took their eyes off the most important thing – the man next to them, the team.”

“We were not the most physical team,” said Gingrich. “It was obvious that what they did in the off-season was more than what we did in the off-season. They (the Raiders) were clearly the better team. They were the team I was expecting.”

The Elco ground game took control of the outcome in the third quarter. Elco notched three touchdowns in a seven-minute stretch to open a 35-3 bulge.

Luke Williams touched it off with a ten-yard scoring scamper that capped a five-play, 80-yard march, 1:34 into the second half. Bohannon kept it going with an 80-yard dash to paydirt, then he finished Annville-Cleona off with a similar 69-yard burst to the promised land.

“We definitely have a physical group up front,” said Miller. “They’re really coming off the ball and moving their feet.

“They (Bohannon, E. Williams and L. Williams) are the beneficiaries of it,” Miller added. “They’re great players in their own right. But they’re not doing it themselves.”

“The message at halftime was, ‘We’re down by 11. It’s a two-score ball game. We’ve just got to play,'” said Gingrich. “We were glossed over before the game. I could see it in their (his players’) eyes, and it came true.”

Thanks in part to a Raider fumble, Annville-Cleona enjoyed the better of the play early on.

Annville-Cleona took a 3-0 lead 3:44 into the second stanza on kicker Mac Plummer’s 33-yard field goal. It came on the heels of a 12-play, 48-yard Little Dutchmen possession.

The Little Dutchmen also notched the final two scores of the game. Trevor Porche ran one in from 24 yards away with 1:34 left in the third quarter, and Quamir Parker hauled in a 17-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Jeremy Bours late in the final quarter.

“They’re a heck of a well-coached program,” said Miller of the Little Dutchmen. “They have tough kids. They have strong kids. I don’t know if we saw their best tonight.”

“We did our best,” said Gingrich. “The kids didn’t quit.

“We played OK defensively,” continued Gingrich. “We had a good game plan. But we didn’t get beat by the game plan. We got beat by physicality. I knew we were going to struggle up front. We were having our linemen watch their linemen, because that’s how you block.”

In addition to Bohannon’s big game, E. Williams carried nine times for 113 yards and L. Williams rushed 13 times for 82 yards. For the Little Dutchmen, Porche posted 104 rushing yards on 19 attempts.

“We’ve got to win next week to have a chance (at a district berth),” said Miller of the regular-season finale at home against Columbia. “Starting 0-3 makes every week a playoff game. I’m just incredibly proud of these guys, for staying together and staying focused, week in and week out.”

To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com.

2019 Annville-Cleona Football Results

DateOpponentsOutcomes
8/23
7:00 pm
Annville-Cleona
at Milton Hershey
16
48
8/29
7:00 pm
Octorara
at Annville-Cleona
7
34
9/06
7:00 pm
Annville-Cleona
at Ephrata
26
58
9/13
7:00 pm
Annville-Cleona
at Northern Lebanon
49
20
9/20
7:00 pm
Columbia
at Annville-Cleona
43
70
9/27
7:00 pm
Annville-Cleona
at Lancaster Catholic
24
31
10/07
5:00 pm
Pequea Valley
at Annville-Cleona
0
45
10/11
7:00 pm
Donegal
at Annville-Cleona
35
45
10/18
7:00 pm
Annville-Cleona
at Elco
10/25
7:00 pm
Lebanon
at Annville-Cleona

2019 Elco Football Results

DateOpponentsOutcomes
8/23
7:00 pm
Elco
at Susquenita
19
21
8/30
7:00 pm
Elco
at Lebanon
9
14
9/06
7:00 pm
Lancaster Catholic
at Elco
28
7
9/13
7:00 pm
Octorara
at Elco
6
14
9/20
7:00 pm
Elco
at Northern Lebanon
37
7
9/27
7:00 pm
Ephrata
at Elco
20
28
10/04
7:00 pm
Elco
at Donegal
31
20
10/11
7:00 pm
Elco
at Pequea Valley
48
0
10/18
7:00 pm
Annville-Cleona
at Elco
10/25
7:00 pm
Columbia
at Elco

PIAA District Three

Class AAA Power Rankings

AAASchool W L T Rating TWP OWP TWPW OWPW TWPL OWPL
1Wyomissing8-0-0 0.781073 1.000000 0.513496 8.3 40.0 0.0 37.9
2Middletown Area7-1-0 0.691772 0.879747 0.462025 7.0 36.5 1.0 42.5
3Lancaster Catholic7-1-0 0.677700 0.901316 0.404393 6.9 31.3 0.8 46.1
4Annville Cleona5-3-0 0.567297 0.625000 0.496770 4.8 38.5 2.9 39.0
5Bermudian Springs5-3-0 0.520979 0.629870 0.387890 4.9 32.4 2.9 51.1
6Littlestown5-3-0 0.478506 0.623457 0.301345 5.1 24.7 3.1 57.2
7Schuylkill Valley3-5-0 0.456283 0.381250 0.547990 3.1 42.3 5.0 34.9
8Susquenita4-4-0 0.449111 0.439024 0.461440 3.6 35.9 4.6 41.9
9James Buchanan2-3-0 0.448466 0.421053 0.481971 2.0 20.1 2.8 21.6
10Biglerville2-6-0 0.328143 0.238095 0.438202 2.0 35.1 6.4 45.0
11Northern Lebanon1-7-0 0.304664 0.113333 0.538512 0.9 41.3 6.7 35.4
12Kutztown Area0-8-0 0.276390 0.000000 0.614200 0.0 45.9 7.9 28.8
13Hanover1-7-0 0.244494 0.145349 0.365672 1.3 29.4 7.4 51.0

PIAA District Three

Class AAAA Power Rankings

AAAASchool W L T Rating TWP OWP TWPW OWPW TWPL OWPL
1Berks Catholic School6-1-0 0.744294 0.895105 0.559971 6.4 38.1 0.8 29.9
2York Suburban9-0-0 0.728993 1.000000 0.397763 9.3 32.0 0.0 48.5
3Milton Hershey8-1-0 0.711780 0.893855 0.489244 8.0 39.8 1.0 41.6
4Susquehanna Township7-2-0 0.708003 0.818182 0.573341 7.7 49.3 1.7 36.7
5Bishop McDevitt6-3-0 0.665820 0.719577 0.600118 6.8 50.8 2.7 33.9
6Lampeter Strasburg6-2-0 0.646836 0.811765 0.445255 6.9 36.6 1.6 45.6
7Gettysburg Area6-2-0 0.640102 0.773810 0.476681 6.5 39.4 1.9 43.2
8Fleetwood7-2-0 0.629381 0.790576 0.432366 7.6 35.0 2.0 46.0
9Conrad Weiser5-4-0 0.598664 0.619048 0.573751 5.9 49.4 3.6 36.7
10Eastern Lebanon County5-3-0 0.560066 0.639241 0.463297 5.1 38.5 2.9 44.6
11Donegal5-3-0 0.560031 0.643750 0.457708 5.2 38.2 2.9 45.2
12West Perry5-4-0 0.533322 0.606936 0.443350 5.3 36.0 3.4 45.2
13Big Spring4-4-0 0.496195 0.533333 0.450804 4.0 35.1 3.5 42.7
14Susquehannock4-5-0 0.481447 0.458101 0.509982 4.1 42.2 4.9 40.5
15Kennard Dale4-4-0 0.471613 0.520000 0.412473 3.9 37.7 3.6 53.7
16Eastern York3-5-0 0.422897 0.378205 0.477521 3.0 39.3 4.9 43.0
17East Pennsboro Area2-6-0 0.413073 0.253165 0.608516 2.0 51.5 5.9 33.1
18West York Area1-7-0 0.406488 0.140000 0.732195 1.1 62.2 6.5 22.8
19Hamburg Area3-5-0 0.386509 0.326667 0.459649 2.5 39.3 5.1 46.2
20Octorara Area2-6-0 0.355732 0.227848 0.512034 1.8 42.6 6.1 40.6
21Greencastle Antrim1-8-0 0.316120 0.118012 0.558252 1.0 46.0 7.1 36.4
22Boiling Springs0-8-0 0.269123 0.000000 0.598051 0.0 49.1 8.2 33.0

Lancaster-Lebanon League

Section Three Standings

LeagueOverall
WLPCTWLPCTPSPA
Lancaster Catholic7187.508188.89326132
Lebanon6275.006366.67264186
Elco6275.006366.67228133
Ephrata5362.505455.56312251
Donegal5362.505455.56240203
Annville-Cleona5362.505455.56326277
Columbia3537.504544.44333342
Octorara2625.002722.22200222
Northern Lebanon1712.501811.11115408
Pequea Valley080.00090.0040428

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


two × 7 =