Sports

6- ADVERTISER - Penn Manor Edition - November 9, 2022 SPORTS Conestoga Valley • Donegal • Elizabethtown Garden Spot • Hempfield Lampeter-Strasburg • Manheim Central Penn Manor • Pequea Valley • Solanco MORE SPORTS PICTURES and other high school sports news at

PM Field Hockey, Girls’ Soccer Prepare for States

BY MONA STEINHAUER

Two of the top three teams in the district battled for a spot in the 3A finals on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at Comet field. When the final horn sounded, it appeared that Lower Dauphin, seeded third, topped the Comets 2-1 on a last second shot. When it was determined that shot came after the final horn, the Falcons and Comets battled through not one but two overtimes. This time, however, the Falcons did find the back of the net in time as Avery Pollock scored on a rebound with 6:29 left in the second OT.

The Falcons controlled possession for much of the first half, working six first half corners while keeping the Comets at bay.

Manor earned its first corner of the game at the 8:20 mark of the third quarter and gained momentum. Then, with 28 seconds left in the quarter, Izzy Thatcher’s shot got behind LD keeper Payton Killian and hit a defender on the arm. The Comets (2 corners, 4 shots) were awarded a penalty stroke and Cait McGough found the back of the cage for a 1-0 lead.

Lower Dauphin, (11 corners and 10 shots), tied the score on a corner shot with 9:31 left in the game and set the stage for overtime.

They will face Manheim Township, again, in a state seeding game.

The Comets advanced to the semifinals when they posted their ninth shutout of the season, a 3-0 final over Cumberland Valley Saturday, Oct. 29. Avery Bradburn notched a pair of third quarter goals and Liz Bustillo, with a reverse flick, added a first period tally to take control. Grace Gerner was credited with two assists.

“Everyone played well and came out with great intensity,” said head coach Rachel Suter. “Annie Bibus had some key step-ups and the defense as a whole shut down their attack by allowing zero shots on goal.”

SOCCER

Also playing in the district tournament, the girls soccer team crushed 5th seed Elizabethtown 6-0 on Oct. 29 before losing, for the third time, to Manheim Township, 3-1 in the quarterfinals on Nov. 1.

Carly Keene notched a hat trick with Anouk Landgraff, Lilly Rineer and Paityn Smith adding to the lopsided result.

“The first time we played Township they dominated, winning 31,” said head coach Bill Zapata. “The second time we led 1-0 at the half and again lost 3-1. This time it was 0-0 at the half. I thought we played really well. We were disrupting what they’re used to. It was the best we’ve played all year. We did have chances. We were just unlucky.”

The Streaks scored twice in a fiveminute span in the second half. Manor cut that led in half when Kligge assisted Rineer in the 75th minute. Four minutes later Township scored again.

“Kelly Wall got hurt late in the game and Township caught us off guard because the play wasn’t stopped,” Zapata recalled. “They scored and while we were waiting to see if Kelly was OK, the girls decided they wanted to call the game, with 1:23 left. It was the right thing to do.”

Now the Comets wait to see who they open the state tournament against.

CROSS COUNTRY

Eight members of the cross country team traveled to Big Spring High School to compete in the District Three Championships on Saturday, October 29. Kaleb Kabakjian, with a 21st place effort (16:4) will continue his journey with a trip to states.

“This was the first trip to districts for four of our seven runners and we are excited that all seven will return next year,” said head coach Andrea Kramer. “Tristan Weaver, a sophomore, had a breakout performance with a time of 17:18 (83rd place). Carter Vinson and Aidan Gerlach had season best runs followed by Jack Hightower, Jack Steele, and freshman Chase Bearden.”

Senior Bethany Hetrick represented the girls’ team with her first district appearance. “She ran strong, as she has all season, finishing 175th in 23:03,” Kramer noted.

VOLLEYBALL

After knocking off Central Dauphin in their district opener, the girls’ volleyball team traveled to Ephrata (13-1, 19-3 overall) for the quarterfinals matchup. The 12th seeded Comets were looking for a second upset but the fourth seeded Mounts were just as determined and advanced with a 25-19, 25-15, 25-23 win.

The Comets got within two points in the first set, 16-14, struggled through the second set and regrouped in the third, tying the score a handful of times, including 21-21, before falling short.

Cassidy McCullom topped the stat charts with 13 kills and 10 digs. Maggie Garvey led with 3 aces and added 7 digs while Brianna Lee was tops with five blocks. Lezlie Nguyen (6 kills), Jordan Bailey (9 digs), Janelle Bowmaster (6 digs) and Eliana Knaub (26 assists) were also key contributors. “We went in wanting to limit their best hitter, Taylor Haupt,” said head coach Tim Joyce. “We did limit her, but she is very good and is surrounded by a strong supporting cast. Our focus on her stretched our defense thin in other areas. And when Lezlie severely jammed two fingers in the first set, our offense became a bit lopsided,” he continued. “Cassidy did a great job, but Ephrata’s defense is just too tough. Jordan and Janelle played great defense, but we kept getting stuck in the same service rotations, giving up too many points to tough serving runs. “Our captains, Elaina and Cassidy, did a great job pulling the team together and getting us playing our best volleyball for the last weeks of the season,” Joyce said. “Cassidy is our only senior, but her loss will be deeply felt because of her leadership, calming presence on the court, her scrappy defense and dynamic offense. She’s been playing with our program since 6th grade and has helped this generation of players learn how to win.

“Our season ended exactly eight weeks, to the night, after it started on the same court and against the same team that we played our first match,” said head coach Tim Joyce. “Although the results were the same, we were a very different team. We definitely walked out of the gym with our heads held higher.”

FOOTBALL

Coming off a pair of losses to two of the top three teams in Section One, the football team was determined to end the season on a positive note.

“Sometimes you can look at a team and their record and become complacent,” said head coach John Brubaker. “We did not want to do that against McCaskey (0-6, 1-9). We came out playing hard and the 42-6 result was a nice finish to the season.”

The Comets took an early lead, scoring three times in the first quarter, and never looked back. They led 42-0 by halftime.

Jonathan Osman (96 yards on six carries) scored three touchdowns - a one yard run in the first quarter, a 90-yard sprint to the house in the second and he also hauled in a 20-yard strike from Eli Warfel (6 rushes for 86 yards) who opened the scoring with a 7-yard keeper in the first and capped the offense with a 25yard run just before the half. Dhamir Wesley hauled in a fiveyard touchdown pass from Warfel (9-of-15 for 172 yards) that pushed the lead to 21-0 in the first quarter. Peter Skiadas went 6-for6 in PAT kicks.

“Eli had a great night,” praised Brubaker, “and Jonathan played well on both sides of the ball. DeShawn Stanley and Clark Wagstaff, as receivers and defensive backs, have been steady all season as was Peyton Witmer, our center. Sebastian Rivera doesn’t get mentioned often but he often takes on double teams and does his job,” the coach continued. “Spencer Stuart came back from a knee injury and has contributed in a number of places and Jordan Martin has been our leader on both sides of the ball.

“We have 21 senior players,” Brubaker said. “They will be tough to replace.”

The Comets finished 3-3 in Section One and were 5-5 overall. “That was the same record we had last year but we were a better team this season,” Brubaker said. “We gave up fewer yards, we won the turnover ratio, we were more competitive. And we almost made districts.”

The top eight 6A schools qualify for the district tournament. The Comets were ninth.

photo by Mona Steinhauer

In the District Three quarterfinals at Comet Field Saturday night, October 29, Penn Manor’s Annaliese Mann anchored the backfield as the girls’ soccer team crushed visiting Elizabethtown 6-0.

PARENTS/GRANDPARENTS

Show Your Support For Your Favorite Team Member GoO d luck JUSTIN Wishing you a great season! Be awesome!! Love, Mom & Dad PLACE YOUR AD IN Winter Sports Kickoff

Special Section in the Merchandisers, Advertisers and Pennysavers November 30, 2022 • Deadline: November 23, 2022 Submit your ad online at townlively.com/sports-ad

Actual Size R089206

photo by Mona Steinhauer

Penn Manor’s Annie Bibus looks up the field before making a pass in the Comets 3-0 District Three quarterfinal victory over Cumberland Valley, Saturday, October 29 at Comet Field.

photo by Mona Steinhauer

Penn Manor’s Taylor Long goes up against Ephrata’s Evelyn Banks in a 3-0 loss to the Mounts in the District Three quarterfinals held Thursday, October 27 at Ephrata Middle School. for more photos, visit www.townlively.com