2021 Team Preview: Ephrata Mountaineers

Written by: David Mika on Tuesday, August 17th, 2021. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

 

Head Coach: Kris Miller

Assistant Coaches:
Clint Surgeoner
Jeremy Franck
Brendan Riley
Josh Clair
Dr. Lenny Harding
Jason Vollertsen
Kyle Gesswein
Pat Ross

Team Name: Ephrata Mountaineers

2020 Record: 4-3

Stadium: War Memorial Field

District: 3

Class: AAAAA

League: Lancaster-Lebanon League, Section 3

Key Starters Lost:
• TE/LB Owen Morrongiello LL Section 3 1st Team LB, LL Section 3 2nd Team TE, PAFN 1st Team All State LB, EasternPAFootball 1st Team LB
• WR/DB Taj London LL Section 3 2nd Team WR, LL Section 3 2nd Team Kick Returner
• WR/CB/P Brock Boyer LL Section 3 1st Team WR, LL Section 3 1st Team DB, LL Section 3 HM Punter, PFN 1st Team All State Punter, Mini Max winner
• QB Miracle Wratto
• OLB/LS Zach Wanous LL Section 3 2nd Team OLB, LL Section 3 2nd Team LS
• RB/LB Richard Greer LL Section 3 2nd Team RB
• K Ryan Honberger LL Section 3 HM Kicker
• T/MLB Tyler Nelson LL Section 3 2nd Team ISLB, LL Section 3 HM T, Playing football at F&M
• C/LB Trent Martin
• G/DT Griffin Snyder LL Section 3 HM G
• G/DE Zach DaBella

Offensive Starters Returning:
Sr. Joey Gunzenhauser QB 5’9″ 145
Sr. Hunter Mortimer WR 5’9″ 182
Sr. Elijah Knowles WR 5’8″ 135
Jr. Andre Weidman RB 5’11” 205
Sr. Deric Hoover OT 5’10” 215
Sr. Cole Sieger OG 5’10” 235
Jr. Weston Nolt OT 6’2″ 245

Defensive Starters Returning:
Sr. Joey Gunzenhauser S 5’9″ 145
Sr. Hunter Mortimer S 5’9″ 182
Jr. Andre Weidman LB 5’11” 205
Sr. Deric Hoover DT 5’10” 215
Sr. Cole Sieger DT 5’10” 235
Jr. Weston Nolt DT 6’2″ 245
Jr. Cole Freeman DE 6’0″ 195
Sr. James Ellis DE 6’0″ 215

Special Team Starters Returning:
None

Key Newcomers:
So. Quintin Pfautz TE/LB
So. Jeremiah Knowles WR/CB
So. Sam McCraken QB/DB
Jr. Detric Updike WR/DB

2020 Returning Player Stats:

Offense:

Joey Gunzenhauser 22 for 49 for 345 Yds 4 TD 2 Ints, 44 carries for 85 yards, 1 TD

Andre Weidman: 43 carries for 262 yards, 1 TD; 11 catches for 157 yards, 3 TDs

Defense:

Andre Weidman: 67 Tackles (33 solo, 34 assist), 6.5 TFLs, 3 INTs

Joey Gunzenhauser: 43 Tackles (14 solo, 29 Assist) 1 INT

James Ellis: 34 Tackles (13 solo, 21 Assist), 7 TFL, 6.5 Sacks, 3 FR, 1 INT

Deric Hoover: 22 Tackles (6 Solo, 16 Assist), 1 TFL, 1 Sack

Weston Nolt: 16 Tackles (12 Solo, 4 Assist) 6.5 TFL, 4.5 Sacks, 2 FR

2021 Offensive Outlook: The key to our offense this year will be our offensive line. We are returning a lot of experience up front and we expect this group to set the tone. We have some talented skill guys stepping into a new role this year. Our skill guys have been working hard this summer to get as many reps as possible so that they can hit the ground running at the start of the season.

2021 Defensive Outlook: The key to our defense this year will be our front 7. We are excited about the caliber of players that we return. This group is very physical and athletic. We expect to be able to put pressure on opposing offenses in a variety of ways. We have some talent on the back end that is inexperienced but has a very high ceiling. We are excited to see this group grow as the season goes on.

2021 Special Teams Outlook: We are hoping that we can fill some young guys into special teams to give them some valuable playing time. We will be breaking in a new kicker and punter this year. We are excited about the explosiveness of our return men.

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