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Lancaster Lebanon 2022 Season Preview: Section 3

Tagged under: Conference Previews, District 3, News

| August 23, 2022


Cowritten by Carl Frederick

Lancaster Lebanon Section 3

Teams in the Section: Solanco, Ephrata, Twin Valley, Daniel Boone, Fleetwood, Garden Spot, Elizabethtown

Teams to Beat for the Section title
Ephrata: The Mountaineers have their first district playoff appearance in over 30 years on their mind this season coming off a 5-5 campaign. Coach Miller returns numerous starters that have played together since their youth which includes star Running Back Andre Weidman. “For us is the mental toughness. It showed in the final 4 games that we didn’t have it, but this year is different. We are really excited about the experience that we have at our skill positions on Offense and Defense. They guys returning learned a lot last seasons and are poised to make big plays this upcoming season. We are returning our QB (McCracken, Started 7 Games), our RB (Weidman, Started 10 Games), and WR (Jeremiah Knowles, Started 10 games) from last season. Evan Boley and Quintin Pfautz also saw significant playing time last season. On defense we return our entire LB core and 3/4 DBs. The story of the season will be written with our offensive and defensive live play. What the guys lack in game experience the make up for in size, strength, and athleticism. We need this group to gel together this summer and be the work horses we need to let our skill guys get in the open field.”

Solanco: Head Coach Tony Cox’s squad limped to the finish line last season, which started with promise only to see the Mules go 3-7. Solanco returns 26 Seniors will be tested in week 1 with a trip to Lampeter Strasburg, Coach Cox is determined to get his Mules back on track
Cox said “ We have 26 Seniors. Majority of our team is Seniors. Looking forward to playing some teams. We are excited about the new section”.

Sleeper Teams:
Garden Spot: The Spartans were one of the better teams in the second half of the 2021 season, winning 5 of their last 6 contests. Coach Zamperini has been around a long time at Garden Spot, expect the craft veteran to have his team surprise a few opponents this fall.

Daniel Boone: Coach Flowers has done great work turning the Blazers around, including last year’s district playoff appearance. With the merger Section 3 certainly is wide open, Coach Flowers is aware and has his team ready for the new challenge “We are going to continue to climb the ladder. We are super excited to joining a new league. Everyone is 0-0 in the league. It is a great opportunity to attack the schedule.” Boone returns four of five linememen, three of whoom have beem player together since they were freshmen. They also return QB Dean Rotter and explosive running back Ethan Kryman.

“Defensively, we are happy to welcome longtime Coach, Ron Zeiber to our coaching staff. He is providing us with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Our young men have really appreciated his presence in the program. The 3 – 4 defense allows us to play to our players’ strength. Losing an All State Kicker has us looking for a new Kicker. Luckily we have a great relationship with the soccer program so we are happy to welcome Chad Brown to the program. This will be different for us, but we will continue to empower our young men and give everyone a chance. This year we want to continue to CLIMB THE LADDER. Our program has been constantly working on our core values of Accountability, Discipline, Relationships, and Respect. Each and every year, we take time to focus on these areas throughout the off seasons and in season. As we navigate through the off season, we are sure to share love and create experiences that last a lifetime for our young men. We are all truly blessed to be around each other. ”

Players to Watch in Section 3
Andre Weidman RB/Safety Ephrata
Jeremiah Knowles WR/DB Ephrata
Brody Mellinger QB Solanco
Noah Yourkawitch OL/DL Fleetwood
Braden Cummings WR/DB Elizabethtown
Josh Rudy QB Elizabethtown
Blake Weaver TE/DE Garden Spot

New Head Coach in Section 3:
Keith Stokes Elizabethtown: Coach Stokes takes over for Andy Breault and speaking with him both in person and over the phone, you can feel the enthusiasm he has for the game of football. From East Carolina to the NFL Keith Stokes brings a ton of experience to the table for the Bears and he is well aware that Section 3 is up for grabs “We are ready to go. Being in the LL. I think it is good. You mark your calendar. Zero clue who you got each week.”


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