BY JEFF FALK

 FREDERICKSBURG – At its most basic level, there are two tactical explanations for keeping the football on the ground – by design and situationally. Of course if you take care of one, the other one will take care of itself.

  And it certainly doesn’t hurt when you have an athlete like Braden Bohannon calling signals and making decisions.

 On a crystal clear Friday night at Fred Gahres Stadium, Elco unleashed an unreletning rushing attack and rolled over Northern Lebanon 37-7, in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three clash between a couple of county rivals. Thanks in part to a covered punt and resulting safety, the Raiders tallied nine points in a span of 1:04 in the second quarter, on their way to a 37-0 lead.

 Elco made its living on the ground all evening, throwing just three passes and gaining 360 yards rushing on 42 attempts. Bohannon, the Raiders’ junior quarterback, led the charge with 181 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.

 The triumph was one of Elco’s most impressive to date and lifted it to 2-3 overall and 2-2 in Section Three. The result made Northern Lebanon 0-5 overall and 0-4 in the section.

 After winning three Section Three championships in four seasons, the Vikings have dropped 14 of their last 15 outings over the past two seasons.

 “It’s a matter of taking what the opponent gives us,” said Elco head coach Bob Miller. “Our quarterbacks (Bohannon and Cole Thomas) do a really good job of reading the defense. We’ve made some big strides in that area.

 “We asked them (his players) to come out, have a focused week of practice and get better. And they did,” continued Miller. “I thought our kids played well. They played physical. They played with a lot of heart and emotion.”

  “I thought we played much better defensively than we have been,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Roy Wall. “Obviously, the Bohannon kid was the difference. He’s a tremendous athlete. We didn’t have anyone who matched up with him. The Bohannon kid is the real deal. You could see that two years ago when he was a freshman. He made plays.

 “We’re improving,” Wall continued, “just not by leaps and bounds. It’s by baby steps. But the kids didn’t quit. I thought we cut out some of our mental mistakes.”

 Elco got off on the right foot, marching its initial possession 69 yards in five plays to get the 21-yard touchdown jaunt from Bohannon that made it 7-0. But the play that might have jump started the Raiders’ momentum was the safety their defense generated 3:04 into the second stanza.

 After its special teams had downed a punt at the Northern Lebanon one-yard line, Viking runner Chase Bressler was swarmed under by the Elco defense for a two-pointer. On the ensuing possession, Raider Jordan Fernandez ripped off a 33-yard touchdown run, and Elco had itself a 16-0 advantage.

 “I felt the way we started was awesome,” said Miller. “We scored on our opening drive. But I thought the punt played a huge role. That’s when it started.

 “I thought this was a much cleaner game, in terms of penalties,” added Miller. “I thought we limited our turnovers. All year long our kids have played with unbelievable effort.”

 “It was a huge momentum thing,” said Wall of the safety. “They (the Raiders) did a nice job on the punt. We’re more of a spread offense and there’s not a lot of good plays to call from your own end zone. We ran something and it didn’t work out.

 “They’re (the Raiders) a good solid football team,” Wall added. “They executed their offense. They had a good game plan. They took away what we do best.”

 It was 16-0, but Bohannon was just getting started. 

 His seven-yard scoring burst was the shortest of the evening, but it came at the end of Elco’s ten-play, 58-yard drive, with 47 seconds left in the second quarter. The Raiders enjoyed a 23-0 cushion in the locker room.

 Bohannon scored on a 52-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, and on a 49-yard sprint down the right sideline in the middle of the final period.

 “The way we played tonight, we improved our fundamentals,” said Miller. “Just not taking dumb penalties and holding on to the ball. I thought our players really progressed.

 “Week to week, we’re having fun everyday,” Miller continued. “We still have a chance to meet things like postseason goals. Even when we’re down, this group is very tight. They’re really doing a great job.”

  “Obviously we’re struggling,” said Wall. “But you can only beat somebody down so much. Eventually we’re going to get back to the level we were. We have a lot of young kids. We’re top-heavy with seniors at the skill positions, but we’re starting sophomores in the trenches.”

 The Vkings averted the shutout with 1:41 to play. Quarterback Ethan Borcky found a wide-open Alex Folmer over the middle for a 30-yard scoring strike.

 “Their kids didn’t give up,” said Miller of the Vikings. “They’re still fighting.”

  “We couldn’t get anything going against Elco,” said Wall. “They were taking away the pass. But we didn’t get the job done up front. Elco beat us at the point of attack.

 “We’ve got to win a game,” continued Wall. “It’s always hard to get the first score of that first win. Right now, everyone’s pressing, which magnifies the mistakes.”

 The Raiders out gained the Vikings 386 total yards to 189. In addition to Bohannon’s output, Elco also got eight carries and 80 yards out of senior Erik Williams.

 Borcky completed 12 of 19 pass attempts for 144 yards.

 “We’re up over 30,” said Wall of his numbers. “But those kids came out late. We’re playing catch up, and the kids who came out were younger. It takes a while. That’s why you have training camp.”

 Do the right thing.

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

2019 Elco Football Schedule

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2019 Northern Lebanon Football Schedule

 

Date	Opponents	Outcomes
8/23 7:00 pm	Pine Grove at Northern Lebanon	50 8
8/30 7:00 pm	Ephrata at Northern Lebanon	57 18
9/06 7:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Octorara	0 35
9/13 7:00 pm	Annville-Cleona at Northern Lebanon	49 20
9/20 7:00 pm	Elco at Northern Lebanon
9/27 7:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Pequea Valley
10/04 7:00 pm	Lebanon at Northern Lebanon
10/11 7:00 pm	Lancaster Catholic at Northern Lebanon
10/18 7:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Columbia
10/25 7:00 pm	Northern Lebanon at Donegal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Lancaster-Lebanon League