Pequea Valley Braves head coach Jeff Werner has had to make tough substitutions on his injury-plagued roster this year. Injuries to starting players on an already slim football roster have created challenging situations.

"The injury bug has hit us hard this year," Werner stated. "On several occasions we've had to put kids on the field in positions they had never played before. At the varsity level, that's asking a lot. It's not an easy thing to do."

But out of difficult times hope often emerges. For example, the play of sophomore Ricky Esh.

In the Section Four contest with Northern Lebanon, the Pequea sophomore rushed for 71 yards on 13 carries and caught a pass for 19 yards.

One of those carries accounted for the Braves' lone score of the game as the Vikings outscored the Braves 42-7 at Kinzers on October 22. The Vikings (4-5) earned their first league victory while the Braves fell to 0-4 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League (1-7 overall).

The Braves were hurt by turnovers. The Vikings picked off three passes. Also, Northern Lebanon's Mitchell Hetrick scored two defensive touchdowns on fumbles, including a 30-yard return of a PV fumble.

"Ricky Esh is a great athlete and very coachable," said Werner. "He's 5-foot-11, 200 pounds of pure muscle and only a sophomore. We will have him back for a couple of years."

"We should have 15 kids coming back," Werner added, referring to his starters. "We return four of our five linemen next year. We should return our quarterback and a couple of running backs."

Peyton Temple is that quarterback. He is looking to surpass the 800-yard mark in passing this season with two more games left on the Braves' schedule.

"I'm encouraged because the kids continue to play hard," Werner added. "I think we're only one year out."