NEW HOLLAND, Pa. — We're officially into the second half of the regular season in high school football, and this week we return to the Lancaster-Lebanon League for the FOX43 High School Football Frenzy Game of the Week.
Friday night, Ephrata visits New Holland to take on Garden Spot in a battle of midseason unbeatens. The Mountaineers and Spartans are tied for first place in the Section 3 race, along with Twin Valley (another undefeated team).
The FOX43 High School Football Frenzy will be coming to you live from New Holland Friday, beginning at 6 p.m. Our sports team will get you ready for the game, plus all of Friday night's other action.
Here's a closer look at the Game of the Week.
ABOUT EPHRATA: Ephrata is off to its best start in 28 years; the last time the Mounts opened a season with five straight victories was 1995.
The Mountaineers have been on a roll of late, scoring at least 48 points in each of their last three outings.
Coached by Kris Miller, Ephrata currently ranks fourth in the L-L League in total offense, averaging 397 yards per game. Their defense ranks 12th, yielding 227 yards per game.
Quarterback Sam McCracken has completed 45 of 67 passes for 747 yards and seven touchdowns this season, adding 119 yards and four scores on the ground. The Mounts' ground game is powered by Brayden Brown, who has amassed 572 rushing yards and six touchdowns in his first five games.
Angel Collazo (15-265, 3 TDs), Nick Keller (9-209, 2 TDs), Jeremiah Knowles (10-158, TD), and Quintin Pfautz (10-153, 2 TDs) are McCracken's top targets.
ABOUT GARDEN SPOT: The Spartans improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2014 with a 48-21 rout of Fleetwood last week, riding a hot performance from quarterback Kye Harting, who threw six touchdown passes and ran for another.
Harting threw for 209 yards and rushed for 155 in the victory over Fleetwood. He's closing in on 1,000 passing yards for the season (63-113-2, 906 yards, 20 TDs) and also leads the team in rushing (637 yards and seven scores on 72 carries).
Harting's 20 TD passes rank second in the league behind Manheim Township's Hayden Johnson. His 906 passing yards rank fifth, and he is poised to become the league's fifth 1,000-yard passer.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS: Garden Spot is currently sitting at No. 1 in the District 3 Class 5A power rankings, which are used to determine the eight-team playoff field at the end of the regular season. Ephrata is No. 3 in the 5A field, just behind fellow unbeaten New Oxford. While it's far too early to worry about positioning in the power rankings, Friday night's winner will be sitting pretty.