It's still pretty early in the season, but the first District Three and Six football power rankings have been released, so here you go. Remember, E-town is up to Class AAAA this season (they were AAA last year), and are the only Section Two team that is Quad-A.
1. Bishop McDevit – 120 points. 2. Wilson – 114. 3. Muhlenberg – 110. 4. Penn Manor – 108. 5. Dallastown – 104. 6. York – 100. 7. Cumberland Valley – 88. 8. Red Land – 84. t9. Central York – 82. t9. E-town – 82. t9. Hempfield – 82. t12. Central Dauphin – 68. t12. Manheim Township – 68. 14. Cedar Cliff – 66. 15. Governor Mifflin – 64. 16. Warwick – 58.
And just in case you were curious, there are five Section Two teams in the top 16 of Class AAA. Here's how E-town's section rivals sit right now in the power rankings. t4. Garden Spot – 100 t4. Lebanon – 100 t8. Cocalico – 92 12. Manheim Central – 74 t14. Solanco – 44.
Field Hockey (5 games left) Section One Penn Manor: 9-0-0 Warwick: 8-1-0 CV: 5-3-1 Hempfield: 5-3-1 E-town: 3-5-1 Manheim Towship: 3-5-1 McCaskey: 1-8-0 Cedar Crest: 0-9-0
(Conrad Heisey had himself a ballgame on Friday night.)
Welcome everyone to Monday Morning quarterback. I couldn't do this on Saturday because the wife and I went out of town for the night to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. We went to Baltimore and, I've got to say, that the Inner Harbor is one of the most beautiful places to spend an evening. Of course I grew up right outside there, but I still love going there.
And Sunday, well, I spent my day watching this:
Yes, my beloved Redskins stomping the Cowboys. Not bad times. Good time.
OK, without further ado, here is some quick analysis on the Bears dominating 39-13 win over Conestoga Valley Friday night. OFFENSE: E-town got off to a little bit of a slow start offensively. Kyle McNeil did hit Steven Nunez on a 31-yard pitch and catch to start the game for the Bears, but they didn't run all over CV in the first half like I thought they would. That said, they did set the tone for a dominating second half by pounding the run and pounding it often, with a few passes mixed in to keep the defense honest.
Conrad Heisey had a heck of a game and the best individual rushing effort for the Bears this season. After getting only 34 yards in the first half, Heisey erupted for 200 in the second half. He had touchdown runs of 43 and 80 yards in the half. In the second half, Heisey had seven total carries, six of which went for at least 14 yards. Wow. His carries in the second half looked like this: 14 yards, 43 yards (TD), 19 yards, 3 yards, 15 yards, 26 yards, 80 yards (TD). That is some serious production right there. He finished with 234 yards on 13 carries with three touchdowns and an 18 yards per carry average. 18! Wow.
Shane Rosenberry had another good game, running for 75 yards on 12 carries. Rosy is such a tough runner. He was literally carrying CV defenders for 6 or 7 yards every time he touched the ball. He's an extremely physical player and he pounds defenders. That kind of wear and tear can tire out a defense, making it a little easier for backs like Heisey and Mitch Weidman to break away for long runs.
Speaking of Weidman, he had 65 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. He's a change-of-pace back from Heisey and Weidman and will usually get the ball on a jet sweep to try and get to the outside and outrun everyone, where guys like Rosenberry and Heisey will pound the middle. But it works for E-town. All three are great complements to each other.
Want one major reason why E-town is 3-1? Look no further than the play of these three backs. Here's their season stats so far. •Rosenberry, 54 carries, 357 yards, 6.6 yards per carry average, 5 TD. • Heisey, 48 carries, 445 yards, 9.2 yards per carry average, 6 TD. • Weidman, 34 carries, 230 yards, 6.7 yards per carry average, 3 TD. For those scoring at home, that's 1,032 rushing yards, 14 TDs and a 7.5 yards per carry average for those three through four games. Not too shabby.
E-town only threw one pass in the second half and, considering they led 32-0 at one point, that's all they really needed to throw. In the first half, McNeil went 3-7 for 83 yards with a TD and an interception. He forced a few throws into heavy coverage, but did a good job for the most part. He really didn't need to do much with the running game clicking as well as it did. It's been nice to see the emergence of Josh McMasters the past two weeks. He had a good game against Solanco and made a nice grab for a TD Friday night. McNeil placed the ball perfectly over two defenders in the back of the end zone and McMasters did a great job of controlling the ball and keeping his feet in to make the play.
In all, E-town cranked out 505 total yards – 422 rushing and 83 passing.
DEFENSE: CV had an interesting game plan. After throwing the ball a bunch in their previous games, the Buckskins came out and ran it. Nearly every single play. CV did not throw a pass in the first half, which was interesting. They were content to hand it to tailback Kevin Kelley or sneak it with quarterbacks Alex Dienner and Adam Heiselman throughout. And the E-town defense did a good job of keeping them from getting in the end zone. CV did do a good job of moving the chains, but it simply couldn't get any drives extended. They had 96 yards on the first half, all on runs. In the second half, they passed 6 times, completing three for 61 yards. They ran for 104 yards in the second half and finished with 200 total rushing yards. Again, though, that won't get the job done when you are trailing by 31 points.
Shane Rosenberry and Alex Kirchner were everywhere on defense. I had Rosenberry for 14 tackles and a fumble recovery, and Kirchner for 11 tackles and a sack. David Kennedy was also a monster, recording eight tackles. I thought E-town did a good job containing CV's playmakers like Kelley and not giving up any big plays downfield. CV has a reputation for running some gadget plays, but only did that once Friday night, a 36-yard reverse pass from Julian Morales to Stefan Sensenig.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Shane Long showed off his leg strength, kicking touchbacks on his first three kickoffs of the night – an impressive feat.
E-town failed to convert on three PATs. They fumbled the hold on one extra point, missed a two point conversion and had one blocked. It didn't come back to haunt them here, but it could be something they can't afford the next three weeks with Garden Spot, Cocalico and Central on the schedule.
They also allowed a long return on a kickoff to Kelley, something they seem to do once a game so far. Again, it's nothing to be overly concerned about since they have yet to allow a return for a TD, but it's just something to keep an eye on.
OVERALL: All in all, it was a very impressive night for the Bears. It's a luxury to get some of your second string guys in with more than 8 minutes to play, and the Bears were able to do that.
After getting pushed around a little bit last week in Solanco, the offensive line played very, very well. Holes were everywhere for Heisey and company to run through, and McNeil had a nice pocket to throw from. The blocking downfield was also great. On Heisey's 80-yard TD run, it was a footrace between him and Alex Kirchner for the last 40 yards or so. Kirchner is an offensive lineman. For E-town. Heisey did beat him by a yard or 2 though. All kidding aside, it's that kind of downfield blocking that leads to 500 yards of offense and a blowout win.
We'll see what E-town is made of the next three weeks. This three game stretch will essentially make or break the Bears' season. Let's start by showing you the current Section Two standings: E-town: 4-1 overall, 2-0 section Garden Spot: 4-1 overall, 2-0 section. Manheim Centra: 3-2 overall, 2-0 section. Cocalico: 4-1 overall, 1-1 section. Lebanon: 4-1 overall, 1-1 section. Solanco: 2-3 overall, 0-2 section. CV: 0-5 overall, 0-2 section. Ephrata: 0-5 overall, 0-2 section.
And here is E-town's schedule for the next three weeks. Friday, Oct. 3, vs. Garden Spot. Friday, Oct. 10, vs. Cocalico. Friday, Oct. 17, at Manheim Central.
Garden Spot handed previously unbeaten Lebanon a 35-21 loss this week, and Cocalico's only loss in the section was to Central two weeks ago. The Barons beat Solanco on Saturday afternoon.
How good is Section Two? Well, E-town is the only Class AAAA team in the section. Three teams from Section Two are in the top 10 in the District Three Class AAA rankings and Central is in the top 12. Wow. Garden Spot is No. 5, Lebanon No. 6 and Cocalico No. 8. Central is No. 12.
The Bears, meanwhile, are the No. 10 team in the district in Class AAAA, behind 5-0 teams like Bishop McDevitt, Wilson, Muhlenberg, Penn Manor, Dallastown and York William Penn. So yeah, these next three weeks are important.
Later this week, I'll have a full preview of the E-town/Garden Spot showdown and also be sure to check back for Five Downs with Coach Polites for five keys for the Bears this week.
Because I'm feeling jovial today, here is a slideshow of E-town football's season so far. All photos by Chris Bradley and Bill Hunking. A huge thanks to Bill and Chris for all of your help with these. They do this out of the goodness of their hearts and are truly a blessing to my paper and this blog.
The E-town boys soccer team lost to Hempfield at home last night, 2-1. It was the first loss for the Bears in nearly three weeks.
E-town was playing without Kevin Romanauskas and Ryan Sostack, who missed the game with illnesses, and their presence in the midfield was missed. The Black Knights were all over the Bears in the first half, controlling the action for the most part and keeping the Bears from getting anything going offensively – E-town did not record a shot or a corner in the half. Hempfield got an early goal from Ryan Rohrer and scored again 10 minutes later on a goal from Caleb Kendig. Both times, the Hempfield player dribbled around defenders in the box and earned open shots on goal.
But in the second half, E-town picked up the intensity and played much better. They got a goal with three minutes left from defender Shane Long off of a long throw in by Jason Good. Long held the back post very well on the play, and when the ball got through to him, he buried it. At the time of Long's goal, E-town was playing a man down after Mitch Capelli was given a hard red card for tripping. And with 1:23 to play, Brian Savage was also given a red card, putting the Bears at a two-man disadvantage. Capelli and Savage will both now be unable to play in E-town's next game on Monday, when E-town travels to face McCaskey.
The good news for E-town is that the loss did not hurt them in the section standings. Had the Bears beaten Hempfield, they would have taken over first place in the section as Ephrata lost to Manheim Township. But as it stands now, E-town remains in second place, one point behind the Mounts.
Here are the Section Two standings as of today, as well as scores from last night's games. There are only six regular season games left, so it looks like the section race will get very interesting and is a four-team race at this point.
Today is a pretty special day for us here at the Den. Because today, Den Dwellers, the Bears Den is officially one-year old. Our first post was Sept. 25, 2007 (OK, so that was yesterday, but we couldn't do a birthday post because we were too busy opening some sweet gifts). I'm very excited to see how far we've come in a year. Heck, even Bruce Lee is excited about it: Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the blog. We are closing in on 8,000 hits, which I think is pretty cool for a little old E-town blog. Plus, I didn't put that hit counter on there until the blog was like 4 or 5 months old, so that's promising. Remember, if there is every anything you'd like to see on the blog that I don't do, don't hesitate to post a comment, or drop me a line at sports.etown@gmail.com or at etownchronicle@embarqmail.com. Feedback is always appreciated, even if it's to tell me how much of a moron I am or that the Redskins suck.
I also want to thank you. Thanks for clicking onto this little blog whenever you do, and reading my drivel. Writing this blog is one of my very favorite things about my job. And thanks to you all for playing along.
I may check in later today with a post or so, but I have to go to PennDOT to get my license renewed, so I may or may not ever return from that black hole. That said, if the weather today forces any postponements or cancellations, I'll be sure to post that.
As always, you stay classy Elizabethtown. And thanks for stopping by.
The EAHS girls tennis team went out with a bang in the regular season yesterday, beating McCaskey 5-2 in their final regular season match. E-town got singles wins from Tricia Stone, Kirsten Thompson, Meghan Rice and Katie Farmer. Also, the Lady Bears got a doubles win from Courtney Peffley and Tristen Gutshall. Congrats to E-town, plenty more on this match in this week's print edition.
Here is the latest installment of Five Downs with Coach Polites.
This week, the Bears (3-1 overall, 1-0 section) travel to take on Conestoga Valley (0-4, 0-1) on Friday night at 7 p.m.
First Down: How have the players responded with a short week of practice? Do you think it will hurt them tomorrow night?
Coach: We had a great week of practice. The short week should not effect our play.
Second Down: How do you keep the team from not looking past CV? Coach: It is our job to get our kids to play to potential. We have not done that this year, so our goal is to play four solid quarters. We focused more on our improvement than on the record of our opponent.
Third Down: Is this an important game to get the offense's confidence back after facing that tough Solanco D last week?
Coach: Yes, that is our main goal this week. We have to get our offense comfortable again and scoring TDs when we cross the 50 yard line. Fourth Down: Has the offensive line come together a little more this week? Coach: I have seen the most improvement in that group this week. They are a proud group and I can't wait to see their performance.
Fifth Down: What are CV's biggest strengths and how do you plan to counter that?
Coach: They get the ball to their athletes on the open field and beat you one on one. We have to limit the number of times they put us in a bad matchup.
OK gang, we're finally back on track here at the Den. Since we haven't been around the wide world of E-town sports in a while, let's go around and do some updates.
We'll kick things off today with the E-town boys soccer team, which is in the process of another outstanding season.
The Bears are 6-1-2 overall and have the fewest losses in Section Two. In fact, here are the latest Section Two Standings. E-town – 6-1-2 Ephrata – 7-2 Conestoga Valley – 6-2-2 Garden Spot – 5-4-1 Solanco – 2-8 Lebanon – 1-9
Ephrata has more points (21) than E-town (20) and CV (20), but the Bears have a better winning percentage than both. E-town lost to Ephrata 1-0 back on Sept. 5 and tied CV 2-2 on Saturday, Sept. 20. It's definitely a great battle in Section Two that should go down to the wire. And Garden Spot could certainly put itself up in the mix before it's all said and done.
The Bears got off to a bit of a slow start, tying Garden Spot in their opener and then falling to Ephrata in their second game. But after that, goodness. E-town went out and beat Warwick in overtime and then reeled off four more wins in a row, including a win over Manheim Township. Township and Warwick both have only one loss in league play so far this year – and the Bears are responsible for them.
After the tie with CV last Saturday, they rebounded to beat Penn Manor 1-0 in double OT.
The offense has been solid, scoring 23 goals in nine games so far, for an average of 2.5 per game. Here are the offensive stats for the Bears: • Brian Savage, five goals, one assist. • Sean Strangeway, four goals, one assist. • Joey Funck, four goals, one assist. • Kevin Romanauskas, three goals. • Austin Florey, two goals, one assist. • Ryan Sostack, two goals, two assists. • Drew Reinhold, two goals. • Josh Reem, one goal, two assists. • Jason Good, one assist. • Shane Long, one assist.
But the defense has been simply outstanding. E-town has allowed only seven goals so far in nine games, and has not allowed more than two in a game yet. The Bears have four shutout wins, including three in their last four games. The defense is led by Jason Good, Shane Long, Mitch Capelli and goalie Quinn Cozzens, who is one of the very best keepers in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
E-town will host Hempfield tonight at 7 p.m., the third place team in Section One. They are calling for rain tonight, so there is a possibility of the game getting pushed back. If that happens, I'll post here as soon as I know.
But keep your calendar circled for Oct. 4 at Ephrata and Oct. 11 vs. CV at E-town College, because those will be two huge games.
Sorry for the lack of posts since Thursday, gang, we've been dealing with some glitches with publishing posts. But the server appears to be back up and running, so we'll be get on track tomorrow, once I put this week's print edition to bed...
Hungry for some states? I thought you might be. I just went through my stat sheets and added up some numbers through the first three weeks. So here are some E-town individual stats and where they rank among the league leaders:
Passing: Kyle McNeil, 17-27, 364 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT, third-ranked passer in the L-L League. (Top ranked passer, Penn Manor's P.J. Rhem)
Receiving (leader is Tyler Purvis, of Lancaster Catholic, with 15 catches for 304 yards and 3 TDs). Jeremi Jones, 5 catches, 133 yards, 4 TD, 26.6 average. From what I can tell, Jones leads the L-L League in touchdown receptions. Only one of his catches was not a TD, a three-yard completion against Muhlenberg. Steven Nunez, 3 catches, 98 yards, 1 TD, 32.6 average. Mitch Weidman, 5 catches, 88 yards, 17.6 average.
Team Offensive numbers: E-town is averaging 362 yards per game, fourth best in the league. Two of the top three are Section Two teams: 1. Cocalico, 463; 2. Lebanon, 461.7; 3. Hempfield 366.3.
DEFENSE: Top seven tacklers: Shane Rosenberry, 26 Shaun Buller, 18 David Kennedy, 17 Alex Kirchner, 15 Jared Danneker, 13 Brendan Kain, 11
Team Defense: The Bears are giving up an average of 273 yards per game, which puts them at 12th in the L-L League, right around the middle of the pack. They are allowing an average of 19 points per game. Here are the top 5 defenses in the league, in terms of yards allowed per game: 1. Penn Manor, 145.3; 2. Catholic, 155.3; 3. Solanco, 162.3; 4. Wilson, 186; 5. Northern Lebanon, 191.
The Bears roll into Solanco Saturday night for both teams' Section Two opener. Both teams are 2-1 and coming off of wins last week. This is also a matchup of last year's Section Two co-champions. Should be a good one. Here's the latest installment of Five Downs with Coach Polites, for your enjoyment.
First Down: Solanco is playing its first home game of the year in it's newly refurbished stadium. How do you expect to counter their adrenaline of playing at home for the first time?
Coach: We need to score early and control the ball. If we can get to the point where we are playing consistent E-town football, the external items will not matter much.
Second Down: How big of a lift was last week's win heading into section play?
Coach:It was a great lift for us. We had a lot of things to work on from the film and the kids came out with a good purpose this week.
Third Down: What are the pros and cons of playing a Saturday game?
Coach: The good thing is that we get an extra day to prepare for our opponent. The bad thing is that next week is a shortened preparation period for the coaches.
Fourth Down: How do you think your nonleague schedule helped you prepare for battle in Section 2?
Coach: Our non-league schedule was probably one of the toughest in the section. It will pay great dividends for us when we play our league opponents especially in tight games.
Fifth Down: What does the offense need to do to put some points on the board against Solanco's stout defense?
Coach: Play assignment football in reference to our blocking assignments. We must continue to gain positive yards on first down and move the chains with solid offensive line play.
I wanted to start this entry off with a correction. In this week's print edition of the Chronicle, I wrote that E-town's Dustin Horning was one of two undefeated runners in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Well, I was wrong. Horning is the ONLY unbeaten runner in the league so far this year (on the boys side, anyway). I'll print a correction in next week's issue, but wanted to go on record here with the error first. My apologies. The lesson, as always, I'm an idiot.
Here are the cross country leaderboards as of today for the boys and girls:
BOYS Horning, E-town – 10 meets, 10 points, 1.00 average Balmer, Cedar Crest – 12 meets, 13 points, 1.08 average Galli, Cedar Crest – 12 meets, 14 points, 1.17 average Mancuso, Garden Spot – 11 meets, 13 points, 1.18 average Hull, Hempfield – 11 meets, 13 points, 1.18 average Groff, Hempfield 11 meets, 14 points, 1.27 average Wallace, Cocalico – 10 meets, 13 points, 1.30 average Branson, Lampeter-Strasburg – 10 meets, 15 points, 1.50 average Arse, McCaskey – 11 meets, 18 points, 1.64 average Schloneger, Lancaster Mennonite – 10 meets, 17 points, 1.70 average Sharkey, Manheim Township – 9 meets, 16 points, 1.78 average Barninger, E-town – 10 meets, 18 points, 1.80 average Duke, Solanco – 11 meets, 20 points, 1.82 average Whiteman, Warwick – 11 meets, 20 points, 1.82 average Mast, Lancaster Mennonite – 10 meets, 19 points, 1.90 average Loose, Warwick – 11 meets, 21 points, 1.91 average Landis, E-town – 10 meets, 20 points, 2.00 average Wisniewski, Warwick – 11 meets, 23 points, 2.09 average Haldeman, Lampeter-Strasburg – 10 meets, 21 points, 2.10 average Risser, Manheim Township – 9 meets, 19 points, 2.11 average Hinnenkamp, Manheim Township – 7 meets, 15 points, 2.14 average Jackson, Cedar Crest – 12 meets, 26 points, 2.17 average Lee, Hempfield – 11 meets, 24 points, 2.18 average Smith, Hempfield – 11 meets, 24 points, 2.18 average
GIRLS Loffton, Lancaster Mennonite – 10 meets, 10 points, 1.00 average Mannon, Warwick – 11 meets, 11 points, 1.00 average Brandt, Cedar Crest – 12 meets, 13 points, 1.08 average Perry, Elco – 10 meets, 11 points, 1.10 average Jones, Garden Spot – 11 meets, 14 points, 1.27 average Garvey, McCaskey – 11 meets, 14 points, 1.27 average Ludman, Solanco – 11 meets, 14 points, 1.27 average Oliver, Warwick – 11 meets, 15 points, 1.36 average J. Barr, Lampeter-Strasburg – 10 meets, 15 points, 1.50 average M. Barr, Lampeter-Strasburg – 10 meets, 15 points, 1.50 average Auster-Gussman, McCaskey – 11 meets, 17 points, 1.55 average Reynolds, Manheim Township – 9 meets, 14 points, 1.56 average Roeder, E-town – 10 meets, 16 points, 1.60 average Henny, Manheim Township – 9 meets, 15 points, 1.67 average McDonald, Donegal – 10 meets, 17 points, 1.70 average Haas, Ephrata – 8 meets, 14 points, 1.75 average Scheetz, Manheim Township – 9 meets, 16 points, 1.78 average Mascia, E-town – 10 meets, 19 points, 1.90 average Davis, Lancaster Catholic – 10 meets, 19 points, 1.90 average Graziano, Manheim Township – 9 meets, 18 points, 2.00 average Kauffman, E-town – 10 meets, 20 points, 2.00 average Arndt, Lampeter-Strasburg – 10 meets, 20 points, 2.00 average Ruhl, Garden Spot – 11 meets, 22 points, 2.00 average Grube, Warwick – 11 meets, 22 points, 2.00 average
OK, I didn't have room in this week's print edition for my weekly football game preview, so I decided to put it up here. If this is your first time in The Bears Den, I hope you found us OK. Welcome, and take your time to explore. Here's a glimpse at Saturday night's game between E-town and Solanco. Wondering why it's Saturday night? Because this is the week of the Solanco Fair, and the fair ends on Friday night. So rather than have conflicting events (and a ton of traffic), it was scheduled as a Saturday game. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle. GAME DETAILS: Elizabethtown Bears (2-1 overall) at Solanco Golden Mules (2-1 overall), 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 20.
WEATHER FORECAST: Clear, low of 51. Chance of rain, 20 percent.
SEASONS AT A GLANCE:
Solanco: The Golden Mules are coming off of two straight wins, both in Monday night games, including their first shutout since 2002. Solanco started the season with a tough 14-13 loss to Penn Manor, but rebounded to beat Kennard-Dale 12-7 in week two and Oxford 25-0 last Monday, rounding out nonleague play at 2-1.
E-town: The Bears are also flying high, coming off a last-minute 28-27 win over Manheim Township. E-town started the year with a dominating 53-7 win over J.P. McCaskey and dropped a 28-27 decision in overtime to Muhlenberg in week two. E-town also got through nonleague play at 2-1.
E-TOWN ON OFFENSE: The Bears are coming off a very physical matchup with Manheim Township, but one in which they found success on the ground and in the air. E-town had 191 rushing yards and 152 passing yards against the Streaks last week. The Bears spread the ball around on the ground to backs Shane Rosenberry, Conrad Heisey and Mitch Weidman, and will likely do more of the same against Solanco.
E-town will use its running game to set the tempo of the game, control the clock and set up quarterback Kyle McNeil and the passing game. McNeil's favorite target is senior Jeremi Jones, who already has four touchdown receptions, and caught the game-winning 76-yard score against Township. The Bears are still a run-dominant offense, but they are a threat to strike with a deep pass at any time, with McNeil's strong arm and Jones and fellow wideout Steven Nunez's speed.
Defense has been Solanco's strength so far this year. The Mules have allowed just 21 points in three games and are big and strong up front. And they're full of confidence after shutting out Oxford last week. Their defensive line is anchored by senior guard Bryan Boulden, but it's the linebackers that spearhead the defensive attack. Solanco returns five of them this year, including outside linebackers Jared Cartwright and Trevor Marsh and inside linebackers Mike Buffington and Sam Johnson.
The secondary is young (Solanco lost all three defensive back starters to graduation last year), but it is starting to come together. The Mules have yet to allow 100 yards passing in a game and McNeil has thrown for more than 100 yards in his last two games – so something has to give there. The Bears will take their shots downfield and test Solanco's secondary, and the weather calls for a clear night, which means the ball will be easier for McNeil to throw.
Players to watch: Jones and Nunez. E-town's two main wide receivers have shown big play ability already this year, and they'll be going up against a stout, but relatively inexperienced Solanco secondary. Rushing yards figure to be hard to come by so the Bears could find some big plays downfield in the air. To do so, Jones and Nunez will need to run good routs and make plays with the ball in their hands, which they both can do very well.
E-TOWN ON DEFENSE:
Solanco spreads the ball around extremely well and has a deep, diverse compliment of running backs. That said, Solanco is still a run-heavy team, so expect E-town to load up to stop the run.
The Mules' best runner is probably B.J. Enck, who had more than 100 yards and three touchdowns against Oxford. But expect John Kirk, Ryan Kutz, Jordan Elvey and Brock Snider to all see carries as well. Because they have so many capable running backs, the E-town defense is going to have to be ready for any one of them to get the ball at any given time. E-town cannot key on any one back for an extended period of time, because the ball could go anywhere.
Also, Solanco gets starting quarterback Ben Miller back, so the passing threat will be there as well.
In order to be successful, E-town will need good pressure from Alex Kirchner, Shaun Buller and the defensive line in order to squeeze the running backs into E-town's aggressive linebacking unit. If the Bears win the battle in the trenches, Solanco's offensive unit will find it tough to put points on the scoreboard. E-town allowed 27 points last week, but the defense played tough late in the game, coming up with a huge stop to give the offense a chance to win.
Player to watch: David Kennedy, LB. Solanco will be trying to come up with ways to keep middle linebacker Shane Rosenberry from hurting them. If they key on Rosenberry, Kennedy will be there to cash in. He is quick and physical and has been a terror for opposing offenses. Watch for Kennedy to be among the team leaders in tackles. Saturday night, he has to follow Rosenberry's lead and read the play at the line and try and anticipate and attack.
E-TOWN ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Bears are coming off of a very good special teams effort last week, converting on every extra point attempt and forcing a fumble on the second half kickoff.
If E-town can match what it did last week, the Bears will be fine in the special teams department. Its only Achilles heel in special teams had been converting extra points, and the Bears may have put that problem to bed last week. Kicker Shane Long looked excellent on all four extra point attempts, including his last one, which was moved back 10 yards due to penalties. Long's kickoffs have also looked good and the Bears have been doing a good job on kick coverage.
E-town's return game is also good, with Jones handling the bulk of the punt return duties and Heisey and Weidman deep on kickoffs. All of the Bears' returners are quick and skilled and can turn field position can turn in an instant.
Player to watch: Long. In the last two weeks, E-town has a one-point loss and a one-point win. Think extra points are important? But Long's confidence should be high after a fine performance last week. He'll be kicking in dry weather Saturday night on brand new turf, which should only make him better.
OVERALL:
What a way to start section play – a match up of the reigning Section Two co-champions. Solanco will be extremely fired up, playing its first home game of the year under brand new lights on on top of a new playing surface. E-town must match Solanco's intensity from the opening whistle. If the Bears can get an early lead, it could take the Solanco crowd out of the game and help the Bears take control.
In this game, expect a hard-hitting battle at the line of scrimmage and two teams trying to cram the ball down the other's throat. E-town's offense is more prolific than Solanco's and definitely has more of a passing threat, but the Solanco defense is very stout and physical. They will come up and hit the Bears in the mouth, but E-town has taken on two pretty good teams in Muhlenberg and Manheim Township in the last two weeks, so they are battle-tested.
E-town has played a tougher non-conference schedule, but the Mules have had to deal with two straight games on Monday and are coming off of a shorter practice week than the Bears are. Don't expect too much fatigue this early in the season from a short work week, though.
It appears that the Bears simply have more weapons than Solanco, but the Mules won't take anything lying down and they'll counter everything E-town has with whatever it takes to out-muscle the Bears. This is a key week for both teams, because they will know a lot about where they stand in the gauntlet that is Section Two after it's over.
My apologies, Den Dwellers, for not getting this post up on Saturday as I promised. I planned on doing it, until I stumbled on tickets to the Phillies-Brewers game on Saturday afternoon. I thought I might still have time, but that was before I realized how far away Philly was. Sheesh. So most of my day was driving, and then watching some baseball, and then driving some more. It was a good game though and, I have to admit, a little strange. Being a life-long Orioles fan, it was weird to be at a professional baseball game that actually meant something – since the Orioles haven't had a winning season in 11 years. It was also the first pro baseball game I've ever been to without the Orioles playing. Pretty bizarre. I felt like a Martian at Citizens Bank. And I kept looking out to the stands in right field expecting to see the B&O Warehouse that is at Oriole Park. But a fun day nonetheless. And on Sunday...well, Sunday is NFL day for me and I don't do anything but sit on my recliner and watch the games (thank you DirecTV and the NFL Ticket).
Anyway, back on track here... So here is this week's Saturday Morning Quarterback, two days late. Shame on me. Oh, quick reminder before I forget, the Bears play Solanco this week on Saturday, so this will be Sunday Morning Quarterback next week (guess I'll just have to get up early and post before the NFL starts. Sacrifices, dear readers, sacrifices. I owe you one).
What a game this was. After last week against Muhlenberg, I didn't think there was any way I'd see a more exciting E-town football game this season, but I was wrong. The Bears had another heart-stopper, but this time E-town was able to come out on top. It was everything I thought it would be – a physical, back and forth game between two good teams.
E-town's Offense: Another week, another solid performance for one of the Lancaster-Lebanon League's highest-scoring offenses. The Bears came in to the game with the most points in the league at 80 and now are third in the L-L with 108 (Lebanon is 1st with 122 and Cocalico second with 111). That said, I think E-town's strength of schedule so far is much harder than what Cocalico or Lebanon has faced.
Before we get into specifics, here's some basic numbers for you: E-town had 191 team rushing yards and 152 passing yards, which is 343 total yards of offense. And they scored four touchdowns against a Manheim Township team that had allowed a total of three points in two games coming in.
The running game was strong once again against a stout Blue Streak defense. Township did hit the Bears hard and held E-town to 4 or less yards on 30 of the Bears' carries, but E-town kept coming at them and was able to break several big plays. Shane Rosenberry led E-town with 121 yards on 18 carries with a 6.7 yards-per-carry average and 2 touchdowns (he now has five this season). Rosenberry was exactly the type of runner the Bears needed against Township's physical defense. He bulldozed defenders a couple times and had a few long runs, including one for 32 yards, one for 46 yards and one for 14. Conrad Heisey also had runs of 11 and 14 yards and Mitch Weidman broke one for 42 yards in the first half.
The threat of that big gain helped the passing attack and got E-town into scoring position and kept drives going several times.
The conditions didn't exactly favor the passing game, but both teams found big plays through the air late in the game that decided the outcome. Kyle McNeil was effective, going 5 for 10 in the rain and hit Mitch Weidman on a 47 yard bomb in the first half. Of course, he found Jeremi Jones for 2 TDs, one on a 10 yard inside post and the other on a beautiful 76 yard bomb that turned out to be the game winner. McNeil has all of the tools to be one of the best QBs in the area. He's big and strong, sees the field very well and is calm in the pocket. Oh, and he's got a cannon for a right arm. That helps. He did make a few poor decisions and it cost him two interceptions, but when the game was on the line, he made the plays when he needed to. The throw to Jones to win the game was spectacular. McNeil put it right where he needed to and Jones, who is quickly becoming the Bears' biggest receiving threat with four TDs in three games, somehow found enough footing on a nasty field to make three Township defenders miss on his way to the end zone.
E-town appeared to have the deep ball open several times during the game, but just came up short a few times before the completion to Jones that sent Thompson Field into a frenzy. The Bears are going to be able to churn out 200 yards on the ground every game, that much is a given, but if the passing game continues to develop, defenses are going to have a tough time slowing this E-town attack down.
E-town's Defense: For three quarters, E-town played some of its best defense of the season. Township had 11 yards in the first quarter, but the game was tied at 7-7 after the Streaks returned a fumble 61 yards for a score. Township's only offensive touchdown of the first half came when they got the ball at the 10 after an interception, and it took them four downs to get it in from there. Shaun Buller made a great play to block the extra point, which turned out to be huge in the game.
Going into their first possession of the fourth quarter, Township had managed just 77 yards of total offense. The defensive line and the linebackers were doing an excellent job of reading Township's spread offense and coming up to stop the run. It also seemed that Township slipped and fell a lot more than E-town.
Township got 40 yards on its first play of the fourth, on a halfback option pass, and Dan Wertz took it in from there, carrying the ball four straight times to get into the end zone.
The Streaks ran the exact same option pass on the first play of its next possession, this time resulting in an 82-yard touchdown throw. But other than those two plays, the E-town defense was in control. And they stepped up when it mattered the most.
After the long TD, E-town fumbled (although it appeared Township was offsides on the play, but it wasn't called) and the Streaks got the ball back with a six point lead and 3:55 on the clock. Wertz carried three straight times for nine yards, setting up a fourth-and-1 at the 24. Township elected to give the ball to Nick Sizemore on the fourth down play, and he was stuffed by Dylan Allison short of the first down marker. One play later, McNeil hit Jones for the game winner.
In all, E-town held Township to 244 yards of offense, which is a good day for any defense. They also forced a turnover and got a sack, which was by Alex Kirchner on fourth down to seal the win.
E-town's Special Teams: What a complete difference the special teams were this week. Shane Long looked excellent on extra points, going 4-for-4, and he needed every one of them as the Bears only won by one point. Shoot, that reminds me, I didn't even tell you the score – E-town won 28-27 in case you didn't know.
Long has a great leg and looked to be more comfortable out there, getting to the ball quickly on those PATs and crushing them through the uprights. There was some drama on the last PAT attempt, but Long squashed that quickly. After the Jones TD, the Bears were called for offsides and then for illegal procedure, pushing the kick back to the 13 and making it about a 30-yard extra-point try. But Long crushed it through. It would've been good from at least another 15 yards.
Another big turning point in the game came on the second half kickoff. Rosenberry forced a fumble on the return and it was recovered by Tyler Miller. The Bears took advantage with a 22-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass from McNeil to Jones and gave E-town a 21-13 lead at the time. The coverage unit was excellent, keeping Township's return game bottled up for the most part.
Josh McMaster punted three times for a 33-yard average, which is pretty good on a rainy night. No bad snaps + no dropped kicks + no blocked PATs + a fumble forced = one good night for the special teams.
Did E-town make mistakes? Sure. They turned the ball over three times and that really kept Township in the game for the most part. But those kinds of things are going to happen in high school football. What matters at the end of the day is that E-town is 2-1 heading into section play after facing three Class AAAA teams to start the year.
Now comes the teeth of the football season. Section Two is loaded with good teams and it's going to be a fun battle to watch for the next seven weeks.
Here are the section standings heading into section play next week, plus next week's slate of Section Two games. Cocalico.....3-0 Lebanon......3-0 E-town.......2-1 Garden Spot..2-1 Solanco......1-1 (Their game Friday at Oxford was moved to tonight). Central......1-2 Ephrata......0-3 CV...........0-3
Games: The Bears play Saturday night, so you could check out some other Section Two action on Friday night. Tonight, Solanco at Oxford, 6 p.m. Friday, Ephrata at Lebanon, 7 p.m. Friday, Garden Spot at CV, 7 p.m. Friday, Central at Cocalico, 7 p.m. (this one should be a dandy). Saturday, E-town at Solanco, 7 p.m. (match up of the two reigning section co-champions).
Today's rain has forced the postponement of the EAHS girls tennis match at Cedar Crestfrom today until Tuesday afternoon.
As of 2 p.m., all other E-town sporting events were still on as scheduled, including field hockey, boys soccer and football.
Field hockey and boys soccer both play relatively early in the day, at 4 p.m., but the football game doesn't begin until 7 tonight. If this rain keeps up, it could make for an interesting game. That pigskin is slippery when wet.
If the rain keeps you away from the football game tonight, you can still follow along. Jeff Reinhart from the Lancaster newspapers will be blogging live from the game at www.lancsports.com. You can follow along there, or you can tune in to 1600 AM, which I think will be there as well. And don't forget to visit the Bears Den tomorrow for Saturday Morning Quarterback, breaking down the game. I'll bring my computer along tonight and try and get wireless internet access to post updates, but I don't know if it will work.
OK, that's all for now, if I hear anything different about the weather, I'll update you.
On most Thursdays in the fall, I'd spend the majority of my day thinking about what lineup I'm going to submit for my fantasy football team this week, or how the Redskins plan on stopping Drew Brees and the Saints this Sunday. But not this Thursday. Today, my mind – like many of yours has probably been – is fixed on the past. Seven years ago to the day. A day I don't want to remember, but one I'll never forget.
Sept. 11, 2001 started like any other day for me during my sophomore year at Salisbury University. I woke up way too early for my tastes and headed over to campus, cursing at myself for scheduling an early class. As I sat in Physical Geography, thoroughly bored, the United States was changing forever a mere couple hundred miles away, and I had no clue. It started with some uncharacteristic mumbling in the hallway that turned into conversations, that turned into silence. Deafening silence. Before I knew it, a university official came into our classroom and informed my professor that school would be dismissed for the rest of the day. Normally, this would result in sheer ecstasy, but not that day.
I left class and hurried to my car, trying to call anyone I could think of to figure out what was going on, but I kept getting the same automated message on my cell phone. "All lines are busy." I got home and turned on the TV minutes before the second plane hit. I remember seeing the smoke and wreckage of the first plane that had hit, and thinking it was a tremendously tragic accident. And then that second one hit, and word began to come out about it being a terrorist attack.
I was stunned. I didn't know what to say or what to do. I had no clue how to react, except to sit there, speechless, horrified and incredibly scared. And not scared like when I thought Freddy Krueger was in my closet. The kind of scared that only something of this magnitude could produce.
As the day wore on, we learned about the Pentagon and the plane that went down here in Pennsylvania, and I became even more shocked. How could this have happened HERE? Who the hell is doing this to us? That was all I could think. How? Why? What did we do to deserve this?
Seven years later, I have the answers...somewhat. How? Cowards manipulated their way into control of airplanes and changed the course of history. Why? Because they dont' like our country. What did we do to deserve this? Nothing. NO ONE deserves that kind of attack and brutality.
I was angry about what happened that day for a very long time. In a way, I'm still angry today. I'm angry that the cowards in the Taliban will be in my child's history book. That they'll spend parts of marking periods talking about those events and that questions about that day will appear on a history test. The Taliban doesn't deserve to be in my country's history for what they did. I'm angry that hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans lost their lives. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters. Heroes like the emergency workers who put their lives on the line to help and the people that stopped that plane in Pennsylvania before it could strike another building, forfeiting their lives so other people could live.
We've all gone on with our lives seven years later, but this is a day we should always pay respect to those who died that day. So tonight, forget about the bills on the table or that you just payed $100 to fill up your gas tank. Tonight, go home and hug your children. Give your spouse a kiss. Call your parents. And tell them all that you love them. Because if we learned anything from that horrible day seven years ago, it's that we are extremely resilient as a nation and that terrorist attacks can happen any time and take lives away in an instant.
Because at the end of the day, it's those closest to you that define who you are and who you want to become. And today is a day to appreciate those people as well as the millions of victims that you didn't know.
Elizabethtown will hold its second Athletic Wall of Honor inductions tonight. A reception with light refreshments will be held from 6:30 to 7 p.m. in Daubert Gymnasium at Elizabethtown Area High School, with the induction ceremony slated to being at 7 p.m. in the gym. The induction is open to the public free of charge, so go out and check it out tonight.
As a reminder, here is the second class to be inducted:
Gene Garber, baseball. Garber was a standout pitcher for E-town and went on to play for a very long time in Major League Baseball.
David Whitmore, soccer. Whitmore was an all-state and All-American selection back in 1980.
Charlie Jackson, wrestling. Jackson is considered the father of the E-town wrestling program and was its first coach.
Tommy Miller, wrestling. Miller remains the only individual state champion in program history.
Jennifer (Williams) Mitchell, track, field hockey and basketball. Williams was a three-sport star for the Bears.
Richard D. Miller, athletic director. Miller was one of the first athletic directors for the district and also was a coach on Phil Daubert's staff.
The 1975 field hockey team. The very first PIAA state champions in Pennsylvania history.
The 1993 baseball team. This team also won a state title.
The inductees will also be honored tomorrow night at halftime of the E-town football game. The Chronicle will be printing a special insert highlighting all of the inductees individually on Thursday, Oct. 23, so be on the lookout for that as well.
The Bears play hosts to Manheim Township tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Thompson Field. I caught up with E-town head coach Jeff Polites today to get his take on the game. Here is the second installment of Five Downs with Coach Polites. Enjoy.
First Down: In practice this week, how has the team responded after last week's loss? Coach: The response was fantastic. We realized how close we were to beating a good team and took great pride in making our game better in all areas.
Second Down: What kind of game do you expect against Township? Coach: I expect a tough, hard-hitting game. Our kids play very physical defense and (Township) has not given up a touchdown this season. It could be another exciting night at home.
Third Down: What's the defensive game plan against Township and its "Razorback" offense? Coach: We have faced the same offense against McCaskey and Muhlenberg, they just did not have a specific name for it. Our kids are well prepared for their offensive sets and plays.
Fourth Down: On offense, how do you deal with their missile of a linbacker, Nick Sizemore? Coach: He is their main defender. He makes plays all over the field and is very physical. We need to make sure he is accounted for in all our blocking schemes.
Fifth Down: How important is it to win this game and get some confidence heading into section play? Coach: This is the third of our rescheduling tough non-league games. We want to head into league play at 2-1. It is very important for us to clean up our mistakes from the first two games so we can focus on the little things next week.
After getting off to somewhat of a slow start, the E-town soccer team is starting to heat up, cranking out two straight wins, both against Section One opponents.
The Bears got a thrilling 2-1 win in overtime against Warwick, as Sean Strangeway scored early in the overtime period to give the Bears their first win of the year. After the game, Strangeway called the win "season changing", and I think he might be right. E-town played pretty well in its first two games, but had only a tie and a loss against section opponents to show for it. And against Warwick, the Bears were frustrated offensively and fell behind 1-0 before Brian Savage (more on him in a minute) sent it to OT with a beautiful goal with eight minutes to play.
E-town carried the momentum into yesterday's game with a dominating 4-0 win over Cedar Crest – E-town's highest scoring output of the season. And E-town will look to continue its roll tomorrow afternoon when it hosts Manheim Township. The Bears battled the Streaks in a great game in the L-L playoffs last year, taking them into double OT I believe, before Township ultimately prevailed. E-town is on a roll, though, and they'll give Township a run tomorrow. It should be an excellent game.
Losing all-state player Peter Davis to graduation was certainly a blow to the E-town offense this year, but they did get Savage back. He missed all of last season with a knee injury and has been one of the best players on the team so far. He's got a motor that doesn't stop and he plays a very physical style of soccer, something that can help a team scratch and claw to get goals and ultimately win a lot of games. With Savage's return and the emergence of Strangeway, Josh Reem, Ryan Sostack and Kevin Romanauskas, something tells me that E-town has a great chance of repeating as Section Two champs and will be headed back to the L-L and District Three playoffs.
If they can keep finishing plays with goals, the Bears are going to be tough for anyone to beat.
Here are some scores from around the section in Week 2:
Lancaster Catholic 44 - Ephrata 7 Cocalico 35 - Exeter 21 Wilson 20 - Manheim Central 15 Lebanon 38 - Spring Grove 32 Warwick 35 - CV 0 Hempfield 28 - Garden Spot 14 Muhlenberg 28 - E-town 27
Section Two standings after 2 weeks: Lebanon.........2-0 Cocalico........2-0 Garden Spot.....1-1 Manheim Central.1-1 E-town..........1-1 Solanco.........0-1 CV..............0-2 Ephrata.........0-2
Notes: • E-town has scored 80 points in the first two weeks, more than any other team in the entire L-L League. Lebanon is second with 77. • Manheim Township (who plays E-town Friday) has allowed the fewest number of points (3) in the L-L League this year.
After dropping their first two games by a combined total score of 3-0, the Bears unloaded in their first section game, walloping Cedar Crest 5-0 last Thursday.
Here are the Section One standings as of today: E-town.............1-0 (3 pts) Hempfield..........1-0 (3 pts) Penn Manor.........1-0 (3 pts) Warwick............1-0 (3 pts) Cedar Crest........0-1 CV.................0-1 Manheim Township...0-1 McCaskey...........0-1
Today at 4, the Bears will host Warwick at Jane Hoover Field in a huge early-season test for them. E-town is just 1-3 overall, but have been right there in all three of their losses (losing 2-0, 1-0, and 2-1). they could easily be 3-1 right now. But they aren't, and now comes the teeth of the schedule. 13 straight games against Section One opponents. It certainly doesn't get any easier. I'll be at the game, so check the blog or the print edition (or both) for coverage.
I'm catching up on stuff for this week's print edition, but wanted to check in quickly and introduce a new segment to the blog – Saturday morning quarterback. Every Saturday, I'll check in and give my thoughts on every aspect of the EAHS football game from the night before. I was a little lazy this week and didn't post immediately followed E-town's thriller against Muhlenberg, but the SMQ will give me a chance to digest the game and break it down.
Here's a little info. on last Friday's game. This thing will be more expansive in the coming weeks. Like I said earlier, I'm swamped with the print edition today, so here's an abbreviated version of it:
Overall: This was one of the most entertaining high school football games I've covered in my time here. Perhaps the only one that was more dramatic was when Garden Spot beat the Bears on a Hail Mary at the end of the game on Homecoming two years ago.
Both teams played well, but both teams made their share of mistakes too. Muhlenberg got beat deep a couple of times against E-town's passing game, and the Bears had some problems slowing down Muhlenberg's quick passing game and stopping the run.
This one was a knock-down, drag out battle. And you have to give Muhlenberg credit for coming back after trailing 13-0 in the first quarter. The Muhls stuck to their game plan and the defense dug in and held E-town scoreless for the second and third quarters, which is no easy task. The Bears had a bit of trouble running the ball by their standards. They finished with 200 yards on the ground as a team, but with only a 4.5 yards per carry average, and had three runs of more than 10 yards. But there were quite a few times that the Bears' runners were stopped for no gain or even lost yardage on key third and fourth downs that kept them from sustaining drives.
E-town's offense: We already pretty much went over the running game. It was a steady diet of Shane Rosenberry, Conrad Heisey and Mitch Weidman, with each getting a 20-plus yard run and all getting at least 60 yards. Weidman scored E-town's only rushing touchdown on a nice 29-yard run in the fourth quarter on a third down. He's got game-breaker skills.
The offensive line had its hands full all night with Muhlenberg's huge defensive front. The Muhls were blowing E-town off the line for the most part, and held E-town's three feature backs to 10 runs of 1 yard or less, including three runs for negative yardage. They also got to QB Kyle McNeil quite a bit, sacking him four times.
Speaking of McNeil, the passing game looked very good. McNeil was 9-for-12 for 158 yards with three TDs and one interception. He hit Steven Nunez on a 57-yard TD strike on E-town's first possession and had several other balls that were perfectly thrown, including a huge two-point conversion to Jeremi Jones that made it 21-14 E-town in the fourth quarter. If teams aren't careful with E-town and just decide to load up to stop the run, the Bears will burn them deep with the passing game. McNeil has show fantastic touch and arm strength so far, and Jones and Nunez can go get the ball with the best of them. If McNeil keeps burning defenses, that'll open up the run game later.
E-town's defense: It seemed like E-town had trouble with Muhlenberg's quick passes and running game pretty much all night long. The Bears did get pressure on QB Nate Daniels to make up for it though, as Alex Kirchner and Shaun Buller each had two sacks, and Rosenberry had one sack. But Daniels and the Muhls just looked like a good football team. They have a lot of weapons, and they know how to use them. They're going to be a tough team out there in Berks County. Daniels and company also showed that they don't get flustered, despite trailing by two touchdowns in the first quarter on the road. All in all, E-town did a decent job, but got confused a few times and gave up some big plays to the Muhls. Again though, it seemed like Muhlenberg's running backs were getting 8-12 yards a lot of times, which is something you usually just don't see from an Elizabethtown defense.
Muhlenberg also converted on a bunch of third downs, going 6-for-11 on third down plays, which is better than 50 percent.
However, despite what could be considered an "off" night by the E-town defense, they still were in the game throughout and had a chance to win.
E-town's special teams: Here's the bottom line for the Bears' special teams. They have to find a way to convert their PATs. Period. End of sentence. E-town has scored 12 touchdowns in the first two games.
• Of the 12 TDs, they have successfully made four PAT attempts. • 2 of the 12 attempts have been blocked (one in each game). • 2 more were nearly blocked and were subsequently missed. • The Bears have gone for two-point conversions four times, and are 2-for-4 on those.
Missed kicks happen, and there's not much you can do about that. However, blocked PATs shouldn't happen very often, and it's happened to E-town two straight weeks now, forcing them to attempt two-point conversions. They've got to block better on those PAT attempts, or it is going to come back to haunt them again.
That said, I think head coach Jeff Polites' decision to go for two in overtime was absolutely the right call. It's not a knock on the kicking game, but the bottom line is that he had to go with what he felt was his team's best chance to succeed in that moment, and he felt that a conversion attempt had a higher chance of success than a PAT.
OK, that's all for now, but I'll check in later with a look at the E-town vs. Manheim Township game, and plus some news and notes on EAHS field hockey, boys soccer, the Wall of Honor and the upcoming Pep Rally Bonfire....
I wanted to try something new here at The Bears Den this football season, and E-town head coach Jeff Polites has been kind enough to help me out. Before every E-town football game this season, we'll run something called Five Downs with Coach Polites. I'll send Jeff five quick questions about that week's game, and I'll post it every Thursday. Many thanks to Jeff for making this thing happen. Hopefully it'll give you some more insight on the game.
Up first is this week's matchup with Muhlenberg, this Friday at 7 p.m. at Thompson Field. Enjoy.
First down: How do you plan to slow down Muhlenberg's passing attack?
Coach: We plan on changing coverages often to confuse their offense. We will move and adjust so we have good matchups with their best players, as well as limiting their time to throw with linebacker pressure.
Second down: Was it a help for your team to attend camp with them? (E-town attended its summer team camp at LVC with the Muhls.)
Coach: It was helpful for both teams since it is the first time we will play. There is not an advantage to one team or the other.
Third down: What was the practice atmosphere like this week?
Coach: It has been an excellent week of practice so far. We had an extra day to prepare with the whole team since the JVs played on Saturday. The players are excited for this challenge.
Fourth down: How will playing at home for the first time help the team this week?
Coach: We like to think of our home field a special place to play. We seem to play better at home, so it will definitely be to our advantage for the first time playing Muhlenberg
Fifth down: What do you think is the biggest key to victory?
Coach: We must eliminate their big plays and make them drive the ball. On offense, we need to be mistake free and control the ball with sustained drives and score while limiting their opportunities on offense.
E-town senior Dustin Horning is off to a great start and is one of five Lancaster-Lebanon League cross country runners to be unbeaten after the first week.
Horning has finished first in both of E-town's meets so far, finishing first against Hershey last Friday and beating Solanco's Adam Duke by one second in a meet against Solanco, Manheim Central and Penn Manor on Tuesday.
