The weekend that was...

On Mondays, I'll take a quick look back at weekend EAHS action, and update you on how the Bears fared in different sports. Here's the first edition of "The weekend that was":

Another week, another win for the Bears football team. This one was ugly by halftime. E-town's defense looked great against the Buckskins, who were without their best running back – Kevin Kelley, suspended for disciplinary actions by the CV coach. But the Bears knocked CV's starting quarterback out early in the first quarter, and the Bucks' offense had no chance against Sean McMullen and that ferocious E-town defense. CV turned the ball over a lot and made a ton of mistakes, setting up the E-town offense in good field position all night long. Credit to the Bears too, they capitalized on good field position every single time. Kyle McNeil looked very good at quarterback in limited action. Starter Preston Faith continued his strong play too, and still has yet to throw an interception this season.

Down in Quarryville, Solanco handed Manheim its first section loss of the season, setting up a big battle this Friday night when the Mules come to E-town with both teams 2-0 in the section. Before Friday, the talk around town was that the Central game on Oct. 26 was the game of the year for the Bears, but I'd argue that this Friday's game is more important for E-town. Not that they have anything to prove, but a win over the Mules will go a long way in keeping the Bears as the team to beat in the Section, and do a lot for their District Three power ranking.

In field hockey, E-town lost a close game to undefeated Ephrata, 1-0 on Friday. You have to give credit to E-town for keeping the section's best offense to just one goal and to goalie Becca Bigler, who made 13 saves against the Mounts. A win against Ephrata would have pulled the Bears into third place in front of Manheim Central, but instead E-town is sitting at 4-3, 1 point behind the Barons for third and three behind L-S for second. I don't see anyone catching Ephrata in the section, but E-town could still make some waves. They play Central at home on Wednesday, and then go to L-S on Friday. Two wins there, and the Bears could find themselves in the league playoffs and in second place in Section Two. They've got to find a way to score more goals though.

In soccer, the E-town boys were pretty much handled by Manheim Township on Thursday, but are still tied for second place with CV at 6-3-1. Ephrata leads the section at 6-1-3, but can still be caught by the Bears or the Buckskins. CV should get a win tonight against Cedar Crest, while E-town has a much more difficult task ahead of them – the 7-1-2 Black Knights of Hempfield. This is a big week for E-town and will pretty much make or break them. After Hempfield tonight, they play at Ephrata on Wednesday (a game they can certainly win), and will host CV on Friday at 4. A 2-1 week puts the Bears in good playoff position, if they go 1-2, they'll need a strong finish and some help to have a hope at the section crown. Peter Davis and this offense can score with anyone, though, so the Bears are never out of a game.

Also, congratulations to the E-town Girls Cross Country team, who finished fifth overall and second out of AAA teams at this weekend's Carlisle Invitational. The turnaround of the girls team has been amazing. Just a couple of years ago, they didn't even have enough runners to compete as a team. Now, they are looking for a winning season. Great job by coach John Spittal and the seniors on the team making the Bears resectable again.