Mounts hold off Braves

ATGLEN — Octorara tried to play the spoiler Friday night. But in the end, Ephrata took care of its business.

Now the Mounts will wait anxiously over the next day or two to see if it was enough.

The Mounts entered Friday’s Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Three contest at Octorara needing a win to stay alive for a District Three Class 5A playoff berth. Ephrata, ranked 15th in 5A — the top 14 teams qualify — hasn’t qualified for districts since 1987, but the Mounts put themselves in contention with a big second-half effort that yielded a 35-14 [boxscore] victory over the Braves.

With the game tied at 7-7 at the half, quarterback Caden Keefer and Richard Greer sparked the Mounts’ offense in the second half as they scored on all four possessions to seal the victory.

Keefer rushed for a team-leading 96 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and was near perfect through the air, completing 14 of 15 passes for 216 yards and three scores. Greer, who didn’t have a carry in the first half, ran 11 times in the second half for 44 yards and scored the gameclinching TD on a 13-yard connection with Keefer.

Ephrata (6-3 L-L, 6-4 overall), which posted its best regular season record since 2003, did all it could do. Now it’s time to play the waiting game.

“We gave ourselves a shot,” Ephrata coach Kris Miller said after the win. “And that’s something we always wanted to do after losing three straight games in the middle of the season. We could have packed it in but the kids found a way to muster up the courage and we played our best football the last four weeks.”

Turning point: The insertion of Greer at running back to start the second half. He carried the ball three straight times of 8, 8 and 9 yards to get the offense going. And two plays later, Keefer carried around right end for 26 yards and the go-ahead score.

Star of the game: Ephrata wideout Sammy Knowles had a huge night with five catches for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Defensively, his interception in the final minute sealed the victory for the Mounts.

Key statistic: Octorara quarterback Jansen Schempp had a big first half, scrambling his way to 65 yards on 11 carries. However, the Mounts’ defense tightened up in the second half, allowing the QB just 20 yards on 10 carries. Schempp’s 85 yards led the Braves (2-7, 2-8) in rushing.

Quotable: “It is nothing but a credit to our kids that we’ve had in the program,” Miller said. “It’s pretty special. I told the kids how important it is to raise the bar each year. And last year’s senior class raised it to 5-5. This year, they raised it again.”

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