By Ara Grigorian
The Pequea Valley football program is one that is picking up steam while flying just under the radar.
Even though in their recent three-week stretch of games the Braves have been out-scored 138-7, head coach Curt Waltman has reason for optimism.
"We knew this stretch was going to be hard," Waltman said last Saturday. "These were back-to-back-to-back weeks of playing some of the tougher teams in District Three."
And with a 35-0 loss to Lampeter-Strasburg on Friday, October 23, the Braves have those games behind them and, according to their coach, remain positive.
"The kids have stayed very positive," he said. "I think it [the losing streak] was a combination of things. The competition we've played has been a lot tougher than earlier in the year. The weather played a factor on Friday night too because as much as we throw the ball, it hindered what we do."
Speaking of throwing the ball, junior quarterback Ben Myers leads the entire Lancaster-Lebanon League with 1,720 yards. Entering Friday night's football action, Aaron Achey of Elco was the closest in passing yards with 1,287. Achey led the Raiders to a 34-0 win over Section Three rival Annville-Cleona in a game that saw only 22 combined yards of passing yards between the two teams.
In Friday's game, Myers completed eight of 22 attempts for 126 yards. But mistakes and Pioneer running back Chad Frey's 144 rushing yards spelled defeat for the Braves on this night. The Braves fell to 0-5 in Section Three (1-7 overall) while the Pioneers improved to 4-1 (7-1 overall). Both Elco and Lampeter-Strasburg share second place while Lancaster Catholic has sole possession of first place at 5-0.
"We sat down and watched the films," Waltman said, speaking of Saturday's post-game meeting with his coaching staff. "There were three or four plays where we were one block away from a touchdown. We were playing hard but making some mental errors that had they been prevented could've turned the game around.
"Last night our kids were flying around," he continued. "You try to remain positive. Are they still playing hard and getting better?"
Though the 35-0 defeat was the punctuation on a three-game skid that started with a 62-7 loss to Lancaster Catholic followed by a 41-0 shutout by Elco, Waltman stressed, "I actually thought we got better last night. I saw some kids get back to where they were before this three-week stretch.
"Our kids got re-focused," Waltman added. "They're starting to peak a little bit."
Coming up next week for the Braves is Columbia. The Crimson Tide are also winless not only in the section, but overall at 0-8.
"Next week we'll play Columbia, which is a very comparable team to us," said Waltman. "They've gotten better with each game and are very young. They've probably circled this game on their schedule as their first possible win."
But the Braves are thinking the same thing. They came so close to posting their first Section Three win in over five years when they clashed with Donegal on October 2nd and lost a 28-22
heartbreaker.
"The Donegal game that we lost by a touchdown and was such a heart-breaker," the Braves' coach said. "We should've beaten them and were very upset after that loss because we came so close to beating a section opponent."
The Braves' earlier games this year included a 53-32 setback to Annville-Cleona in the first Section Three game by both teams in '09. The Braves trailed by only 13 points heading into the fourth quarter of that one.
They also lost a close 19-12 non-league game to Reading Central Catholic and posted their first victory since 2006 by topping Fleetwood 35-25 on September 18. Perhaps after next Friday's clash against Columbia at Pequea Valley High School, the Braves' will be picked up by the radar.
