Annville-Cleona and Elco each rushed for over 300 yards in their Week 1 blowout victories and the question coming into Thursday’s backyard showdown consisted of which team would be able to stop the run.
Elco senior Jake Williams provided a swift answer to that question.
Williams, the 5-10, 185-pound running back, rushed 21 times for 306 yards and five touchdowns as the Raiders cruised to a 49-7 victory over the Dutchmen in a non-league matchup in Myerstown.
“We have a massive team,” Williams said of his offensive line, which is led by junior tackle Brayden Malloy (6-3, 245 pounds) and sophomore guard Paul Williams (6-3, 235 pounds). “They give it their all and block super good.”
The win is Elco’s fifth straight in the series against Annville-Cleona, which won’t be continued for the foreseeable future as the Dutchmen have been replaced by Northern Lebanon on the Raiders’ schedule.
“It wasn’t as personal for me,” Williams said. “I’m friends with a few guys on Annville. But I know there’s always been some beef between Annville and Elco. I know some guys wanted to end the rivalry and win really badly.”
Elco’s burly line opened plenty of holes all night for Williams, who showcased his speed, change of direction, and elusiveness once he got to the second level.
Williams scored his first touchdown on a 25-yard run just 8 seconds into the second quarter following a scoreless first.
The Raiders forced a three-and-out and Williams took a pitch 47 yards to the house to put Elco up 14-0 with 9:58 left in the first half.
Timothy Montijo answered with a 61-yard touchdown for the Dutchmen 24 seconds later, but that would be Annville-Cleona’s best play of the day.
Williams scored on a 14-yard run with 8:13 left, a 20-yarder with 7:03 left, and a 12-yarder with 1:53 left to make it 35-7 at halftime.
Junior quarterback Steven Rosado scored on an 8-yard run with 4:48 left in the third quarter, the only score in the period.
Austin Yesko finished Elco’s scoring with a 6-yard plunge with 4:23 left in the game.
Williams won Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 Back of the Year last season and is on pace to put up even more impressive numbers. He now has 10 total touchdowns through the first two weeks of the year; he had four TD runs and a 90-yard punt return in the Week 1 42-18 win over West York.
Elco hosts Columbia and Annville-Cleona travels to Littlestown in Week 3 before getting section play started in Week 4.
STATS:
Annville-Cleona
Passing: Connelly 4-6-0–20.
Rushing: Montijo 15-104 (TD), Navarro 5-37, Mase 3-18, Shay 3-7, Holloway 1-4, Harter 3-(-2), Connelly 3-(-7).
Receiving: Shay 3-15, Watson 1-5.
Penalty: 4-25.
Punt-avg: 4-32.3.
First downs: 6.
Fumbles-lost: 3-1.
Elco
Passing: Rosado 2-2-0–35, Bicher 0-1-0–0.
Rushing: Williams 21-306 (5 TDs), Rosado 6-39 (TD), Yesko 5-29 (TD), Frederick 2-11, Kreider 3-8, Bicher 3-2.
Receiving: Miller 1-29, Kreider 1-6.
Penalty: 2-10.
Punt-avg: 1-34.
First downs: 20.
Fumbles-lost: 2-0.
Scoring Summary
Elco (2-0) 0 35 7 7- 49
Annville-Cleona (1-1) 0 7 0 0 – 7
2nd Quarter
E- Williams 25 run (Gensamer kick) – 11:52
E – Williams 47 run (Gensamer kick) – 9:58
AC – Montijo 61 run (Elzek kick) – 9:34
E – Williams 14 run (Gensamer kick) – 8:13
E – Williams 20 run (Gensamer kick) – 7:03
E – Williams 12 run (Gensamer kick) – 1:53
3rd Quarter
E – Rosado 8 run (Gensamer kick) – 4:48
4th Quarter
E – Yesko 6 run (Gensamer kick) – 4:23
