2019 Team Previews: Ephrata Mountaineers (3)

Written by: David Mika on Sunday, August 11th, 2019. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

Head Coach: Kris Miller

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

Team Name: Ephrata Mountaineers

2018 Record: 5-5

Twitter: @varsitymountsfb

Hudl Highlights:

Key Starters Lost: Dakota Deemer (MLB), Dylan Coen (FS), Brandon Walton (SS), Parker Heinsey (DE), Arturo Ramirez (OT), Ethan Moyer (OT), Ethan Cooper (OG), and Ben Kamide (K)

Offensive Starters Returning: (10)

Sr. QB Caden Keefer 6-0, 185
Sr WR Tucker Parmer 5-4, 150
Sr WR Samuel Knowles 5-7, 145
Sr OL Damian Kubovcak 5-10, 185
Jr RB Miracle Wratto 5-7, 165
Jr RB Owen Morrongiello 5-11, 171
Jr RB Richard Greer 5-7, 200
Jr WR Castor Shuman 5-9, 145
Jr TE Trent Martin 5-7, 165
Jr G Griffin Snyder 5-8, 220

Defensive Starters Returning: (8)
Sr S Tucker Parmer 5-4, 150
Sr CB Samuel Knowles 5-7, 145
Jr LB Zach Wanouos 5-4, 165
Jr DE Richard Greer 5-7, 200
Jr LB Trent Martin 5-7, 165
Jr LB Tyler Nelson 5-10, 258
Jr DT Bryan Stewart 5-4, 225
Jr DE Zach DaBella 5-11, 215

Special Team Starters Returning: (1)

Jr K Kai Mast 6-2, 175

Key Newcomers: (5)

So WR/LB Ricardo Dyer
So C James Ellis
So S Joesphy Gunzenhauser
So RB/LB Stanley Wratto
So OL/DL Deric Hoover

Key Stats:

Passing: 96/17- 1298 Yards, 12 TDs
Rushing: 370 Carries for 1767 yards 29 TDs
Scored: 29.8 Points per game

2019 Offensive Outlook: Last year we had a breakout year on offense. We will continue to be a pistol triple option this team. We return all of our skill positions this year. Our focus this off-season will be rebuilding our offensive line and getting our guys into the correct positions. We believe we have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball and just need to get our new guys as many reps as possible before our first game.

2019 Defensive Outlook: We made major strides last year on defense. We still have some more steps to take to get us where we need to be in order to be a contender. We are putting in a new scheme to better suit the ability of our returning players. We return our entire secondary and have a few guy to replace at the first and second level. We are excited to see how much this unit can improve this summer.

2019 Special Teams Outlook: We return an electrifying kicker this season. He only kicked in 5 games for us last year, but the ball flies off his leg. We believe with him we can can at least get 3 points when we are inside the 30 yard line. He has been working hard to improve his kickoffs and I expect to see some touch backs.

In our return game we return quite a few guys and are dangerous with the ball in their hands. If we can get them a seam they will be able to take it to the house.