JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Audio Podcast preview interviews below with Elco coach Mark Evans and Manheim Central coach Mike Williams
THE GAME: No. 12 Elco Raiders (6-4 overall) @ Manheim Central Barons (8-2 overall), Friday, 7 p.m.
LIVE BLOG: I will be blogging live from this game on the L-L League Insider at lancsports.com. If you can’t make it to Manheim, be sure to check in for instant updates, analysis, questions and comments and scores from around the district.
WINNER GETS: No. 4 Cocalico (9-1) or No. 13 Susquehanna Township (5-5) in the quarterfinals.
THE COACHES: Elco’s Mark Evans is in his 11th season and he is 60-53 overall. … Manheim Central’s Mike Williams is in his 28th season and he is 284-58-3 overall. … Williams has more victories than any other coach in the history of District 3 football.
ELCO RESULTS: Hamburg (W 21-20), @ Pine Grove (L 40-16), @ Lebanon (L 45-10), Northern Lebanon (L 24-21), @ Columbia (W 58-26), Lampeter-Strasburg (W 35-28), Pequea Valley (W 47-6), @ Annville-Cleona (W 49-42), @ Donegal (W 44-9), Lancaster Catholic (L 42-7). … Highlight was the Raiders’ five-game winning tear, when they outscored their opponents 233-111 over that clip. … Had a shot to tie Lancaster Catholic for the Section 3 title in the regular-season finale, but the Crusaders put the hammer down and scored on their first six possessions on the way to a 42-7 win. … Schedule included district-qualifiers Pine Grove, Lebanon, Northern Lebanon, Columbia and Lancaster Catholic. Elco went 1-4 against that group.
MANHEIM CENTRAL RESULTS: Susquehannock (W 32-10), @ Wilson (L 20-15), Lancaster Catholic (L 21-8), @ Cocalico (W 56-33), Solanco (W 24-14), @ Ephrata (W 61-14), Conestoga Valley (W 34-7), Elizabethtown (W 28-19), @ Lebanon (W 33-28), @ Garden Spot (W 24-19). … Should be battle-tested after that grind, which included back-to-back non-league losses to Wilson (the No. 1 seed in Quad-A) and Lancaster Catholic (the No. 1 seed in Double-A). The Bulldogs and the Crusaders are a combined 19-1, by the way. … Survived two rugged road testers down the stretch, pulling out a little pixie dust in a 33-28 Manheim Magic win over Lebanon, followed by a fourth-quarter 24-19 squeaker at Garden Spot in the regular-season finale. … Schedule included district-qualifiers Wilson, Lancaster Catholic, Cocalico, Elizabethtown, Lebanon and Garden Spot. Central went 4-2 against that group. … Riding a seven-game winning streak.
COMMON OPPONENTS: A pair of them: Lebanon – Central clipped the Cedars 33-28 in Week 9; Elco fell to Lebanon 45-10 in a non-league tilt in Week 3; Lancaster Catholic — the Crusaders bumped off the Barons 21-8 in a much-anticipated non-league game in Week 3, and Catholic topped Elco 42-7 in Week 10 to clinch the Section 3 crown outright.
ELCO STAT PACK: Leading rusher – Arron Achey (136 carries for 1,061 yards, 7.8 avg., 16 TD); Leading passer – Arron Achey (74-of-164 for 913 yards, 6 TD, 8 picks); Leading receiver – Kyle Wenger (27 catches for 236 yards, 8.7 avg., 1 TD); Team offense – 352.1 yards per game (6th in L-L League); Team defense – 332.6 yards per game (16th in L-L League).
MANHEIM CENTRAL STAT PACK: Leading rusher – Joe Gruber (102 carries for 531 yards, 5.2 avg., 6 TD); Leading passer – Jeremy Knosp (102-of-185 for 1,802 yards, 13 TD, 6 picks); Leading receiver – Dakota Royer (43 catches for 902 yards, 21.0 avg., 4 TD); Team offense – 391.4 yards per game (3rd in L-L League); Team defense – 238.8 (7th in L-L League).
NOTABLE: Elco went 5-2 and finished in a tie for second place with Lampeter-Strasburg in Section 3 of the L-L League. … Manheim Central went 7-0 and won the outright Section 2 championship in Section 2. It was the Barons’ first section title since 2005, and 19th section championship overall.
ABOUT ELCO: This is just the third trip to the District 3 playoffs for the Raiders, who made it in Double-A in 2000 and 2001. … In 2000, Elco fell to Delone Catholic in the first round; in 2001, Elco dropped a 28-0 decision to Wyomissing in the title game. … 2,564 rushing yards are second-most in L-L League. … Senior Arron Achey leads all L-L League quarterbacks in rushing (1,061) and rushing TDs (16). … Outscored opponents 298-282 (plus-16 scoring margin). … 12 giveaways and 26 takeaways for plus-14 turnover ratio – second-best in L-L League. … 39 penalties for 346 yards. … 156 first downs – most in Section 3.
Click on the ‘play’ button above to listen to my interview with Elco coach Mark Evans.
You can also download the interview and play it on your favorite mp3 device by clicking here.
ABOUT MANHEIM CENTRAL: The Barons have won a record 15 District 3 titles, including an incredible 10 in a row from 1992-2001. … Central hasn’t been to a district final since beating Muhlenberg for the 2005 crown. The Barons lost in the semifinals in 2006 to South Western, and were bounced by Red Land in the first round a year ago. That was Central’s first first-round exit since 2002. … Outscored opponents 315-195 (plus-130 scoring margin). … Surprisingly, near the bottom of the league in turnover ratio with 22 giveaways and 15 takeaways for a minus-7 turnover ratio. … Two more odd stats – most penalties against in the L-L League (71) and the most penalty yards against (603) in the L-L League. … Keep an eye on the QB spot. Senior Jeremy Knosp missed the regular-season finale with a right (throwing) shoulder injury. Junior Justin Gorman got the start, and passed for 209 yards. If Knosp can’t go, Gorman will be back there again. … Knosp is third in the L-L League in passing yards (1,802). … Junior H-back Dakota Royer is third in the league in receiving yards (902) and fifth in the league in receptions (43).
Click on the ‘play’ button above to listen to my interview with Manheim Central coach Mike Williams.
You can also download the interview and play it on your favorite mp3 device by clicking here.
