Elco

By Chris Fidler

cfidler@GameTimePA.com

@cfidsports on Twitter

MYERSTOWN >> Elco football coach Robert Miller hopes the third time really is charmed.

Miller embarks on his third season in Myerstown with more questions than answers. Gutted by graduation, the Raiders return only three seniors from a team that finished 4-6 overall and on the outside of the district playoff picture.

Twelfth-graders Pat Adams and Dustin Miller are the lone holdovers from last year. Dakotta Moyer, meanwhile, will be making his varsity debut this fall as a senior.

“We’ll see — we lost a lot of key kids to graduation, so we got a lot of new faces,” Miller said. “We’ll find out what we get from them in the week coming up.”

Elco’s roster features 35 players, highlighted by a talent-filled sophomore class of 17.

Regardless of experience, the Raiders enter the year ready to make a run in Section Three of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

Junior quarterback Jeff Martin serves as the foundation for a high-scoring offense which put up 31 points per game last year.

The 6-foot-3 signal caller took over as a freshman and continued to reach new heights in 2013. Martin completed 151-of-259 passes for 2,000-plus yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore.

“His composure is getting a lot better,” explained Miller. “The game is really starting to slow down, and he’s really picking things up.”

Martin, a pure pocket passer, attended camps at Akron, Old Dominion and Shippensburg in the offseason.

“The next transition is for Jeff to make adjustments on his own,” added Miller. “He’ll be able to read fronts and coverages better so he won’t have to stick with the first or second read in the passing game. We can really open up the playbook.”

The navy blue and gold will need to replace its top two wide receivers from 2013. Derek Miller (Millersville) and Phil Kline both graduated after combining for 91 catches and 1,200-plus yards a year ago.

“The young guys are working hard and getting better,” said Martin. “We got some fast guys and some pretty good skill guys.”

The Raiders will rely on Dustin Miller to anchor a promising — albeit unproven — crop of pass catchers. Cory Kline, Kory Brown, Luis Rolon, Garrett Hill, Josh Musser, Dane Miller, Joe Rittle and Nate Beamer are all potential targets.

Martin can also dump it off to emerging tight ends Ryan Eshleman, Dylan Stoops and Kyle Yoders.

In the backfield, Elco will roll with a tailback-by-committee approach to replace Cameron Strause, who took his versatility to West Chester University. Strause rushed for 1,100-plus yards and led the L-L League in scoring with 22 touchdowns.

Travis Zimmerman, a shifty junior, figures to be the primary ball carrier, while classmate Ryan Rolon and sophomore Tyler Horst offer a change of pace.

Up front, the 6-4, 280-pound Adams doubles as a human soda machine. He is complemented on the line by returning starter Nate Hostetter, a 5-10, 185-pound junior.

The veteran duo will need to fill the void left by the graduation of Steven Rhoades (Section Three Lineman of the Year) and Misericordia freshman Marshall Witmer.

“We plan on having a balanced attack. We’ll find out,” smiled Miller, who called 10 straight pass plays to start the Raiders’ first scrimmage vs. Ephrata.

Defense — not offense — has been the Raiders’ Achilles’ heel. Elco allowed 37 points per game last year and nearly 400 yards of total offense.

“We were playing catch up and were in shootouts the whole time,” said Miller, 10-10 in two seasons. “This year we’re more experienced on defense even though we are younger. We’ll have three or four guys with experience back. That should help out a lot.”

The Raiders host Hamburg to open the season 7 p.m. on Aug. 29, followed by non-league games against Palmyra and Lebanon. Elco started 1-5 last year.

“It’s pretty important to get off to a fast start. Our schedule is different this year,” said Miller. “Hamburg had 10 returning starters on each side of the ball last year. Then there was Steel-High, and Lebanon was up last year. It could be a different world for us.”