The ELCO football team doesnโ€™t require verification or justification. But it does need to be rewarded.

To a man, the Raiders couldnโ€™t imagine a more desirable reward than spending more time together.

On a rainy Senior Night at ELCO Stadium, the Raiders took another important step towards the postseason with a 12-0 whitewashing of visiting Donegal. The ELCO defense put forth one of its most complete efforts of the year and was supported by a methodical, grind-it-out offense.

ELCO celebrated Senior Night in a number of different ways on Friday night. (Jeff Falk)

With the victory, ELCO moved to 6-3 on the year and 3-3 in Section Four of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. In the latest District Three power rankings, the Raiders were positioned ninth in an AAAA classification which takes 10 teams for its postseason tournament.

The Raiders can presumably qualify for the District Three playoffs with a victory at Berks Catholic during next Friday nightโ€™s regular season finale.

The result means Donegal is now 2-7 overall and 0-6 in Section Four.

ELCO won last night despite being without the services of star running back Jake Williams. Williams dressed and was on the sidelines, and appeared to be healthy, but he did not play a single snap.

โ€œWe only have 48 more minutes of football guaranteed with this team,โ€ said ELCO head coach Bob Miller. โ€œWith tonight, we have a chance to have some bonus time, more weeks together. Our goals are to have fun every day, raise the standard and have a great football experience. If we can go to districts itโ€™ll help with that experience.”

Read More: ELCO Raiders football program has Bob Millerโ€™s fingerprints all over it

โ€œWeโ€™re right on the edge of the playoffs,โ€ said ELCO junior quarterback Steven Rosado. โ€œWe knew it was going to be a tough game. But we also knew if we won and if we win next week, we get a playoff spot.โ€

ELCO quarterback Steven Rosado gets in a little pre-game stretching. (Jeff Falk)

The Raiders laid a foundation for the triumph on the opening possession of the game.

ELCO took the opening kickoff and drove 73 yards in 12 plays to get the 14-yard Ellis Gensamer touchdown run that gave it a 6-0 lead. All 12 of the plays on the march were runs, which came in small chunks.

ELCO prepares to kick off. (Jeff Falk)

It took 5:26 off the first-quarter clock.

โ€œAny time you get the ball first, you want to finish it with points,โ€ said Miller. โ€œFor us to be able to do that, it was a great job by the backs and the offensive line. (Not having Williams) didnโ€™t change anything. We still ran the ball really hard. We had some other kids step up.โ€

โ€œIt (Williamsโ€™ absence) doesnโ€™t really change up much,โ€ said Rosado. โ€œMitchell (Frederick) and Ellis (Gensamer) took on bigger roles. Our offense always comes down to the offensive line. When they play good, we play good.โ€

The Raider defense limited Donegal to just 50 total yards and a negative 16 rushing yards and recorded two takeaways. ELCO shut down the Indiansโ€™ running game and harassed quarterback Brock Hammaker all evening.

It all added up to ELCOโ€™s initial shutout of the campaign.

โ€œOh my gosh, they played phenomenally across the board,โ€ said Miller of his defenders. โ€œWe got several sacks, the linebackers played great and the secondary played well. Luke Bailey, (Brady) Stoops, Tupac (Vasquez-Disla) and Paul Williams have definitely improved each week.

Raider defenders Brady Stoops (33) and Lee Tobias (25) stare down their Donegal opposition. (Jeff Falk)
Raider lineman Luke Bailey displays good form while getting into his stance. (Jeff Falk)

โ€œWeโ€™ve had a great season defensively,โ€ continued Miller. โ€œOur coaches have put kids in the right positions. Weโ€™ve played well from the beginning of the season to the end. We had a couple of hiccups along the way, but the defense has played strong.โ€

โ€œTheir quarterback is pretty shifty,โ€ said Rosado. โ€œBut we had great containment. Our defensive ends made plays.โ€

ELCO junior quarterback Steven Rosado looks to hand off to a Raider running back. (Jeff Falk)

Early in the second quarter, the Raiders padded their lead. ELCO capitalized on a short field for Rosadoโ€™s one-yard touchdown sneak and a 12-0 advantage.

Although there was no scoring in the second half, ELCOโ€™s ball-control offense took huge chunks of time off the clock.

โ€œWe won tonight,โ€ said Miller. โ€œWe went 1-0. Iโ€™m super excited for the seniors. Itโ€™s Friday night. Every game is the same.โ€

ELCO’s Luke Bailey takes every word of head coach Bob Miller’s pre-game address to heart. (Jeff Falk)

โ€œWe had mental mistakes out there,โ€ said Rosado. โ€œWe werenโ€™t on our game 100 percent. But we got the job done. We have great guys up front on offense, and we played well enough to win.โ€

Despite last night’s rainy conditions, ELCO’s defense got off the ball very well. (Jeff Falk)

In Williamsโ€™ absence, Frederick rushed 15 times for 80 yards and Gensamer carried 17 times for 67 yards. This season, Williams has piled up 1,665 yards on the ground and scored 22 touchdowns.

โ€œThereโ€™s been a lot of improvement in terms of all three phases of the game,โ€ said Miller.

โ€œDuring the offseason, we had a lot more guys in the weight room,โ€ said Rosado. โ€œItโ€™s helping us now. Everyone on the team knows weโ€™re a championship team. Everyone knows we have what it takes. We should make the playoffs. If we play with a championship mentality, we should make it.โ€

ELCO Raiders

Read all our coverage of the Raiders here.

Roster

Head Coach: Robert Miller

Assistant Coaches: John Carley, Robert Williams, Wyatt Hall, Earl Thomas, John Wetzel

Jersey NumberNameGradePosition
1Jordan HartzJr.WR/DB
2Justin SmuckerJr.WR/DB
3Steven RosadoJr.QB/DB
4Shane BoyerJr.WR/LB
5Jackson ConnersSr.WR/DB
6Gavin BicherJr.QB/LB
7Phillip HorstJr.TE/DE
8Austin YeskoJr.RB/DB
9Ira GensamerSr.RB/DB
10Elliott KreiderSr.RB/LB
11Dom HerzogSr.WR/DB
14Ethan BusserJr.WR/LB
15Dante JamesSr.WR/DB
16Sara MillerSr.WR/DB
17Josh BlairJr.QB/LB
19James ProsserSr.WR/DB
20Jude WeaverSr.WR/DB
21Jonathan FisherJr.WR/DB
22Jake WilliamsSr.RB/LB
23Zane TrostleJr.RB/DB
24Mitchell FrederickJr.RB/LB
25Lee TobiasSr.RB/DB
26Landon GoodisonJr.K/P
28Butch SavichSo.WR/DB
29Issac HarmsSr.WR/DB
30Griffin KreiderFr.QB/DB
32Ellis GensamerSo.RB/LB
33Brady StoopsJr.RB/DL
34Victor FelicianoSr.WR/DB
35Dom ShaakJr.RB/DB
38Isaiah AngleySr.RB/DL
40Rhyce FaustJr.WR/DB
41Hunter MehaffeySo.WR/DB
42Elejandro WeisterSo.WR/DB
44Connor ShowalterSo.WR/DB
45J.C. DejesusJr.RB/DL
50Luke BaileySo.OL/DL
51Paul WilliamsSo.OL/DL
52Avery KurtzJr.OL/DL
53Alex Muniz CruzSr.OL/DL
54Robert LubinJr.OL/DL
55Brayden MalloyJr.OL/DL
57Mason SipeSo.OL/DL
58Carter KemperSr.OL/LB
59Tupac Vasquez-DislaJr.OL/DL
60Lukas MorascoJr.OL/DL
62Griffin FisherSr.OL/DL
63Asher GrierSo.OL/DL
64Dominick LattaruloJr.OL/DL
65Riley McDonaldSo.RB/LB
66Chris BatemanJr.OL/DL
67Ty LandisSo.RB/LB
68Jason ArnoldSr.WR/DB
71James KuhneSo.WR/DB
72Dawson OckerSr.OL/DL
74Cole HaagSo.OL/DL
75Bryce MaizeJr.OL/DL
76Josie Lebron-MatosSo.WR/DB
77Tyler ShaakSo.OL/DL
78Dylan ReddingerSr.WR/DB
79Ethan BretziusSo.OL/DL
80Tyce FiddnerJr.TE/DE
81Michael BooksJr.WR/DB
82Bryant AukerSr.WR/DB
84Noah BurgessJr.WR/DB
85Landon LeonardJr.TE/DE
87Chase HessJr.TE/DE
88Bryce HaislipSr.WR/DB
89Dalton PyzkaSo.TE/DE

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Jeff Falk is a seasoned journalist based in Lebanon, PA. He's a graduate of Cedar Crest High School, Penn State University, and a lifelong resident of Lebanon, born and raised. Currently, he is a feature writer for Engle Publishing in Lancaster, the editor of LebCoSports.com, sports director at WLBR...

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