BY JEFF FALK

MYERSTOWN – Focus is important. Almost as important as winning.

When the Elco football team focused on winning, it was not pleased with the results. Now that the Raiders have focused on more important things, it seems that winning has taken care of itself.

On a comfortable Friday night at Elco Stadium, the Raiders registered an emotional 19-14 homecoming triumph over Northern Lebanon, doubling their win total of a year ago, at the halfway point of their season. After living in the shadow of a missed extra point for most of the second half, Elco tallied the decisive touchdown with 2:16 remaining, on Evan Huey’s 62-yard catch-and-run of quarterback Darian Ulrich’s pass.

On a second-down-and-15-yards-to-go snap, Ulrich hit Huey on a quick slant over the middle. And when the Northern Lebanon defender slipped, Huey headed back outside and raced down the right sideline for the winning score.

“Last year, we were focused on distractions,” said Elco head coach Bob Miller. “This year, there has been an incredible focus on the team and teammates. We talk about focusing on the team. That’s really starting to create wins, because they’re (his players) so selfless.

“They’re playing together,” continued Miller. “We’re building a team culture. Who knew Evan would come along with a big play like that?”

“It was an effort,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Roy Wall. “But we didn’t win. That’s all that matters.”

The outcome lifted the surprising Raiders to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in Section Three of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. It was also a rare win over the Vikings for Elco, which went 2-8 in 2017.

Elco got the job done without the services of starting quarterback Braden Bohannon. Bohannon played a handful of snaps on defense and appeared healthy on the Raider sideline.

Northern Lebanon is in an altogether different situation. After capturing three of the last four Section Three crowns, the Vikings are now 0-5 on the fall and 0-4 in the section.

But last night’s performance was NL’s most promising to date.

“He ran a beautiful curl route,” said Miller. “When he turned it inside, there was no one there. Darian threw it to an open area and got a connection.

“Every night’s an important game,” added Miller. “We tried to keep our kids focused on football all week. There’s nothing different. There was nothing extra.”

“We made a number of mistakes on that play,” said Wall of Huey’s game-winner. “They (his players) competed for 45 minutes. They’ve got to compete for 48 minutes.”

After falling into a very early 14-0 hole, Elco got on the board with 59 seconds of the opening quarter remaining on a one-yard Luke Williams plunge. The short run capped a nine-play, 54-yard march and made it a 14-7 game.

Then, 32 seconds before the break, Ulrich found Williams’ brother Erik for the seven-yard scoring strike that pulled the Raiders to within 14-13. That TD came on the end of a 13-play, 74-yard possession, but the extra-point attempt clanged off the left upright.

“The locker room is happy because they stuck together as a team,” said Miller. “They built on that football culture and made tonight one great experience. It’s kind of like what we’ve done all year. Be patient and be disciplined.

“We’re just going to stick with what we’re doing,” Miller added. “It seems to be working, and our players will come out of it as better young men.”

“I thought we played very well defensively,” said Wall. “Coach (Chris) George had a great defensive game plan and I thought the kids executed it. But we’ve got to be able to run the ball.”

Thanks in part to a Raider fumble, Northern Lebanon needed just 2:13 of game clock to score touchdowns 95 seconds apart.

On an old-fashioned flee flicker on their first possession staked the Vikings to a 7-0 lead. After taking a pitch from quarterback Ethan Borcky, Eyan Margut hit a wide-open Ethan Herb for a 63-yard scoring hook-up.

Four snaps after the Elco turnover, Borcky hit Margut in the right corner of the end zone for 24 yards and the second Northern Lebanon touchdown.

“We’ll look at it again on film,” said Miller of his side’s defensive effort. “After we got past the miscommunications, we did a phenomenal job. They played assignment with a team mentality.”

“We played for 45 minutes,” said Wall. “We’ve got to play a full game. We made a number of mistakes that we can’t have. We’ve been shooting ourselves in the foot all year.

“I never do well with losses,” added Wall.

The defensive nature of the contest was reflected in the final stats.

Elco enjoyed a 265-246 edge in total yards. But the Raiders limited Northern Lebanon to 126 yards of offense after the Vikings’ first two possessions.

Luke Williams, a freshman, carried 26 times for 96 yards. Ulrich completed seven of his 12 pass attempts for 124 yards.

“Oh my lord, he made some terrific throws,” said Miller of Ulrich. “Running the option, he made some beautiful reads and pitches. We wanted the ball in his hands. He was really on the money. He’s a tough kid. I’m pleased with Darian.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To  purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2018 Elco Football Schedule

Date	OPPONENTS	RESULTS
8/24 7:00 pm	Susquenita at Elco	0 20
9/01 6:00 pm	Lebanon at Elco	6 7
9/07 7:00 pm	Elco at Lancaster Catholic	0 48
9/14 7:00 pm	Elco at Octorara	21 14
9/21 7:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Elco
9/28 7:00 pm	Elco at Ephrata
10/05 7:00 pm	Donegal at Elco
10/12 7:00 pm	Pequea Valley at Elco
10/19 7:00 pm	Elco at Annville-Cleona
10/26 7:00 pm	Elco at Columbia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2018 Northern Lebanon Football Schedule

Date	OPPONENTS	RESULTS
8/24 7:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Pine Grove	14 50
9/01 12:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Ephrata	14 61
9/07 7:00 pm	Octorara at Northern Lebanon	27 7
9/14 7:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Annville-Cleona	13 62
9/21 7:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Elco
9/28 7:00 pm	Pequea Valley at Northern Lebanon
10/05 7:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Lebanon
10/12 7:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Lancaster Catholic
10/19 7:00 pm	Columbia at Northern Lebanon
10/26 7:00 pm	Donegal at Northern Lebanon