EPC wins on the road at Manila

By COSMO COSSEY

Sports Connection Team

After a sluggish first half, EPC (1-2) came out and played well on both sides of the ball on their way to a 32-13 win over Manila (0-3) in non-conference football action this past Friday at Lion Stadium in Manila.

EPC’s Tyrus Reel runs between Manila defenders Kallum McWhirter (16) and Blade Platz during non-conference football action this past Friday. (Photo by Cosmo Cossey)

The Warriors got the ball first and were forced to punt the ball away with 9:50 left as the ball was downed on the Lions’ 40-yard line. Manila moved the ball down to the Warriors six-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 5:05 left. The Lions’ defense was strong again forcing EPC to punt with 5:14 left as the ball was downed at the Warriors’ 47-yard line.

EPC’s defense came up big as Quincy Perry jumped the receiver on an out pattern intercepting the ball and returning it to the Manila 30-yard line with 2:50 left. EPC moved the ball to the Lions’ four-yard line before the quarter ended.

Eli Blagg got EPC on the board with a four yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to make it 6-0 Warriors with 11:56 left. The two-point conversion pass was no good. Manila struck back fast as Brody Morris took the ensuing kick and raced about 50 yards for a Lions’ touchdown to make it 6-6 with 11:47 left. Byron Kisner added the point-after to make it 7-6 Manila.

Manila’s Brody Morris makes a nice interception this past Friday during the Lions game with EPC this past Friday in Manila. (Photo by Cosmo Cossey)

EPC wasted little time getting on the board again as Tyrus Reel took the kick-off and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown to give EPC a 12-7 lead with 11:33 left. The two-point conversion run was no good. Manila turned the ball over on downs with 10:04 left with EPC taking over at midfield. EPC had to punt the ball away on their series with the Lions taking over at their own 24-yard line with 7:09 left. Manila gave the ball back to EPC with a punt that was downed on the Warriors’ 22-yard line with 4:48 left.

The Warriors punted the ball back to Manila as the Lions started their drive at their own 40-yard line with 3:13 to go.. Ashton Reel knocked down Manila’s fourth down pass as the Warriors took over with one minute left in the half. The first half ended during EPC’s possession with the score 12-7 Warriors.

Manila got the ball to start the second with Trey Platz returning the kick-off to his own 30-yard line. The Lions picked up a first down on their first play only to gain no yards on their next three and were forced to punt the ball away with EPC taking over at their own 29-yard line with 10:05 left.

The turnover bug hit the Warriors as a broken play put the ball on the ground before Blagg picked the ball and passed to Buchanan in the flat. However, Buchanan fumbled the ball on the tackle with the Lions recovering at the Warriors’ 35-yard line with 9:21 left. Ashton Reel got the ball back for EPC with an interception and return to the Lions’ 46-yard line with 9:10 left inn the third.

Morris returned the favor for Manila with an interception and a return to the EPC 41-yard line with 7:57 left. The Lions capitalized on the turnover with a drive that ended with Matthew Walker scoring from 10 yards out to make it 13-12 Lions with 5:01 remaining. The extra-point was no good.

Kisner recovered his own onside kick on the kick-off as Manila started their next possession at the EPC 47-yard line with 4:56 remaining.

The Lions turned the ball over on downs and with the help of back to back face-mask and dead ball personal fouls, the ball was moved to the Manila six-yard line with 2:35 left. Tyrus Reel took a swing pass from Blagg and found the end zone from four yards out making it 18-13 with 2:23 to go in the quarter.

The Lions started their next possession on their own 46-yard line only to have to punt the ball away with just over a minute left as Tyrus Reel signaled a fair catch at his own 16-yard line with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter a big pass play from Blagg to Perry moved the ball to the Manila 19-yard line with 8:19 left in the game. Blagg capped the drive a couple plays later on a 20 yard run to push the EPC lead to 24-13 with 7:36 left. Buchanan ran in the two-point conversion to make it 26-13. Trey Platz recovered the onside kick at midfield to start the Lions’ next possession. Manila turned the ball over on downs with 7:14 left in the game with EPC taking over at midfield. The Warriors drove the field and scored on a Gaines’ 12 yard run to make it 32-13 EPC with 2:01 remaining.

The Lions started their possession at their own 35-yard line and the game would end during their possession.

“Real sloppy first half, mental mistakes and penalties that were drive killers. Very frustrating first half,” EPC head coach Brandon Powell said after the game. “We went it at halftime, had a little gut check, and I thought team played better in the second half. We finished the game a lot better than we started,” Powell added. “Depth hurt us a little bit tonight with kids out this week. We should be back to full numbers next week,” Powell said. Request for stats from EPC and Manila remained unanswered as of press time,

Manila head coach Ben Fisher left the field immediately after the game and a request for game comments remained unanswered as of press time.