Ephrata Withstands Furious Cocalico Charge As Mounts Secure Key Victory In Rivalry’s Latest Chapter
Written by: Andy Herr on January 11, 2022
Whenever Cocalico and Ephrata happen to go up against one another, it’s usually a pretty big deal around that northeastern portion that is tucked away inside Lancaster County. To be sure, you can bet that these backyard rivals most definitely make a habit out of circling their matchup dates on the calendar each and every season. And wouldn’t you know it, but this year too appears to be no exception to the norm.
Granted, while both the Eagles and Mounts are staring at uphill battles midway through crossover season before they each embark on the last portion of their section slates respectively, Monday night in Denver was just as big for a variety of reasons.
For Cocalico, while the journey to claim one of Section Three’s two bids into the Lancaster-Lebanon League tournament seem to grow slimmer and slimmer by the night -primarily driven by the most recent exploits of Lampeter-Strasburg and Manheim Central and the stellar stretch of play from both of those two squads of late- the defending Section Three champions and District 3-5A runner ups would assuredly receive an enormous boost in momentum for the final stretch run of the regular season should they be able to prevail over their purple-clad arch nemesis.
Sitting on the other bench, the Ephrata Mounts also knew the stakes heading into this one too. For a program that finally seems to be putting together some solid bricks in its foundation for which they can build upon under the direction of second-year site foreman turned head coach, Scott Gaffey, the Mountaineers found themselves sitting right on the cut-line as far as the District 3-5A tourney field was concerned heading into the night. Needless to say, snatching a victory on the home floor of a fellow 5A competitor would certainly go a long way in terms of boosting the Mounts’ resume heading into the mid-February deadline for when those dance tickets finally get handed out.
And fittingly, for a matchup between these two bitter rivals, the game would come fit with all the trimmings of a back-and-forth affair with plenty of momentum swings that went right down to wire. In the end though, while they had to hang on for what felt to be dear life, Ephrata would prove themselves to be the last ones standing in the ring after yet another heavyweight battle in the latest renewal of this stellar series.
In the early going on Monday night, the visitors didn’t waste any time in terms of authoring the first large body blow of the evening. Granted, while junior stretch forward, Dylan Kohl, would begin the evening by promptly burying a trifecta to get the Mounts started off on the right foot, Ephrata’s suffocating defensive effort simply owned the remainder of the first half of play from there on out.
While using their inherent length to their advantage magnificently, the Mounts’ zone trap proved difficult for the Cocalico guards to try and master right from the outset. In fact, the Eagles struggled mightily to even penetrate below the foul stripe in most instances it seemed while trying to operate offensively. All told, with their defense carrying much of the weight upon its shoulders, the Mounts would hold their hosts without a field goal throughout the opening eight minutes of action on Monday. And with one facet of their attack humming like a finely-tuned machine, Mason Hagen decided to take matters into his own hands on the offensive end of things as the Ephrata senior point guard authored his own personal 8-0 run to close the first quarter proceedings as the Mounts stormed out of the chute en route to an emphatic 12-1 lead after the opening stanza.
In fact, the Ephrata lead would swell up even larger from there.
After a sweet inside/out play to begin the second frame, the Mounts went on to claim their largest lead of the evening up until that point as yet as sophomore, Gavin Haupt, proceeded to sink a long-range bomb in the corner in front of the Eagles’ bench following the kick-out as Haupt’s trifecta made it a 15-1 Ephrata lead with the second quarter still well in its infancy.
Finally, and not a moment too soon as far as they were certainly concerned, Cocalico finally got itself into a groove offensively.
With 4:10 left to go before the halftime intermission, the Eagles were able to nab their first field goal of the evening courtesy of a Brycen Flinton pullup jumper which made it a 15-3 affair in favor of the Mounts at that point in time. From there, while the Mounts’ lead would remain at a dozen later on at 19-7 following a tough bucket inside thanks to the handiwork of senior big man, Jared Stauffer, the Eagles would finally be able to get back within single digits in the waning stages of the second quarter as a Flinton theft and layup right before the first half horn sent Cocalico into the locker room with all the momentum it seemed, albeit looking up and seeing a 19-10 deficit staring right back at them.
Sure enough, whatever mojo Cocalico carried with them into the intermission following their second quarter charge seemed to remain in their clutches once the third quarter got underway in earnest.
That said, the Eagles’ hill to climb would grow even steeper once the third frame began considering the Mounts came out of the dressing room and executed a gorgeous horns’ set that ended with a Mason Hagen bucket from point-blank range, good for two more en route to his game-high 18-point effort once the night was through.
Shortly thereafter however, the Eagles proceeded to climb right back to within shouting distance. In fact, the Cocalico surge would start by way of an old-fashioned three-point play as Trey Rios was able to finish through contact as the Cocalico senior guard’s hoop plus the harm with a free throw added on top cut the Mounts’ lead back down to an eight-point bulge at 21-13 before the Eagles would get back within a touchdown at 23-16 following a 3-ball splashed home by Brycen Flinton. Speaking of the second key cog who helps operate and oversee the Cocalico backcourt attack, Flinton would go on the author the best performance of anyone wearing an Eagle uniform on Monday night, a feat best evidenced by his team-high 16-point outburst to pace the Cocalico scoring charge.
And while the Ephrata advantage would run itself back up to ten following two bunnies from point-blank range courtesy of senior big man, Mason Campbell, making it a 28-18 with roughly two minutes and change still left to tick off the third quarter clock, the Eagles would proceed to claw their way right back into the thick of it as a smooth Flinton pullup jumper later on sliced the Mounts’ lead back down to five at 28-23 with the final eight minutes getting set to go.
All night long, Brycen Flinton would prove himself to be the straw who would stir Cocalico’s drink once he finally checked into the contest. To be sure, there was no player out on the court who was hotter in the second half for either side than he as nearly everything he seemed to touch turned to gold as far as the Cocalico contingent was most concerned. Sure enough, even in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as well, Flintoncontinued his stellar play with another trademark pullup jumper, this one bringing Cocalico back within a pair at 28-26, the closest margin the Eagles had gotten within since the opening tipoff about an hour earlier.
However, while it would have been almost impossible predict given how fast it had appeared that the Cocalico snowball was rolling down the hill at that point in time, the Eagles would be shutout for the remainder of the contest following the Flinton J.
Sure enough, by leaning upon that same stingy defense that helped usher them out to such a sizable lead to begin the contest, Ephrata was able to call and trust upon their defensive moxie to help them cross over the final finish line as a pair of late-game, clutch free throws from the charity stripe by Mason Hagen in the waning moments helped the Mounts finally helped seal the deal and slam the door on their worthy adversaries with a tough-as-nails, gritty 34-26 final verdict once the final buzzer blared out.
NEXT UP: For the Mounts, Monday night’s triumph was large for a variety of reasons on both the micro and the macro. On the micro, their win on the road at Cocalico allows the Mounts keep pace with the other contenders within the 5A field in their quest to possibly sneak into the largest bracket that District 3 has to offer. On the macro though, this win in particular was significant in its own right. For this group, learning how to win is the most significant puzzle piece that Ephrata needs to adhere to in terms of building this program back up to where it truly belongs. And while the wins are certainly starting to become more plentifulthan they have been in recent years, especially given their quest to snare a postseason bid a very real possibility no doubt, this win over Cocalico, a victory that very nearly got away from them after building up such a sizable lead, proves that what they’re constructing there in the gym at Ephrata Middle School most definitely seems to be working. Simply put, yes, with triumphs like the one put forth on Monday night, Ephrata appears to be on its way back. Needless to say, lessons like that will certainly be worth their weight in gold amidst the Mounts’ next stretch games which is not for the faint of heart. I mean, just listen to this. After Monday night, Ephrata is tasked with going on the road to Hempfield on Tuesday night, returning home for a date with Penn Manor on Friday, then going back out on the road for a Saturday afternoon tussle with a surging E-Town squad, all before starting next week off with a pair of back-to-back Section One juggernauts in Cedar Crest and McCaskey respectively. Yet tough stretch of games on the surface or not, such is life when simultaneously competing inside L-L Section Two and District 3-5A respectively. And with efforts like the one cashed in against Cocalico, you can best believe that Ephrata has no reason whatsoever to feel intimidated by anyone they happen to step on the floor against.
For Cocalico, Monday night’s defeat will most certainly leave a stinging feeling in Eagles’ camp. Yet tough feelings aside, it’s simply no rest for the weary, nor time to lick their wounds either as far as they are concerned given that Cocalico is tasked with going right back on the road on Tuesday night against an absolutely hard-charging ELCO squad. From there, Cocalicowill come back home to Denver on Thursday night for an always tricky test with Northern Lebanon before then finishing off the week with what has formed into a fairly consistent series with Penn Manor over the last couple years with the Comets also paying a visit to the “Eagles’ Nest” on Saturday afternoon as well.
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