By James Varano
The Manheim Central field hockey team wrapped up the regular season last week with an 8-0 rout over the Lebanon Cedars in Section Two play on Monday afternoon at Elden Rettew Stadium and then played in the L-L playoffs and a District Three play-in match.
Against the Cedars, the Barons took a commanding lead in the first half, getting eight goals from eight different players. Junior Sam Ginder had Manheim's lone assist and goalkeeper Gina Edwards earned the shutout in goal.
The Barons then battled a tough Penn Manor squad in the first round of the L-L League playoffs at Hempfield High School and dropped a 5-2 decision to the eventual champion Comets.
The Comets were keyed by their senior star, Jill Witmer, who is considered to be one of the best players in the nation. Witmer notched a personal hat trick with three impressive goals.
Penn Manor would draw first blood in the first half with 17:44 remaining on the clock when Witmer scored her first goal of the game. She then followed with another goal off a penalty corner with 16:18 left in the first half.
The Comets added to their lead, getting another goal off a penalty corner from freshman Shannon Sloss with 7:47 still left in the half.
Manheim would cut into Penn Manor's lead with a little over four minutes left when senior Cassandra Wagner scored off a penalty corner to set the score at 3-1 at the intermission.
In the second half the Comets tallied another goal from Witmer increasing their lead to 4-1 with 16:16 left, but the Lady Barons would answer when senior Ashley Ream scored off a penalty corner to make it 4-2 with a little more than nine minutes left in the game.
Penn Manor added a final score on junior Maddy Hess' goal with 3:21 left in the game to set the final at 5-2.
Penn Manor assists were credited to senior Kelly Harsh (2), junior Renee Suter (2) and senior Taylor Eichelberger.
Barons' junior Sarah Bomberger was credited with a pair of assists.
Edwards had five saves in goal, while senior Comet goalkeeper Carenna Neely had two.
After the loss to Penn Manor the Barons rebounded with a tight 1-0 overtime victory against Governor Mifflin in a District Three Class AAA play-in match on Friday.
Both teams fought hard through two scoreless periods until Manheim clinched the game winner at the seven minutes into overtime on a goal from Bomberger off a nice setup from Wagner.
Edwards got the shutout in goal for Central.
The Baron boys soccer team tangled with Hempfield last Tuesday evening at Penn Manor's Comet Field in a L-L League quarterfinal clash and came away on the short end of a 3-0 score.
Hempfield was sparked by senior Dan Haldeman, who netted two goals and had an assist. Haldeman scored both his goals 2:13 apart in the second half and got his assist on senior Matt Bechtel's first-half goal.
The Barons had a sluggish time against a tough Black Knight defense and was held to just one corner kick and no shots on goal.
In L-L League Section Two action the Baron football traveled to long time rival Elizabethtown on a wet and chilly evening last Friday and blanked the Bears, 27-0, for its fourth shutout of the season.
After Elizabethtown went three and out on its opening possession, the Barons drew first blood on the ensuing punt which senior Dan Trafford returned 63 yards for a touchdown. Taylor Groff added the PAT to make it 7-0 with 9:30 left in the first quarter.
With three minutes left in the first quarter, Barons senior quarterback Justin Gorman, who led Manheim in rushing with 90 yards, scored on a 12-yard scramble to up the Barons' lead to 14-0 with 2:55 left in the first quarter.
The Baron defense, which allowed the Bears only 66 net yards and three first downs on the night, came up with a big play to add Manheim's third touchdown when senior Brett Barber intercepted an Andy Breault pass and returned it 41 yards to make it 21-0.
The Barons scored again with just four seconds left in the second quarter on Groff's 35-yard field goal to lead 24-0 lead at halftime.
After the third quarter went scoreless, the Barons, who finished with 210 yards and 11 first downs, closed out the scoring with Groff's 33-yard field goal with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter.
The team has a current overall record of 8-0.
"I thought we did very well considering the weather conditions," said head coach Mike Williams. "I was pleased with our defense and it was a good win. Lowen Johnson has stepped things up this year on defense and is doing a super job. Justin Gorman did very well in the weather conditions making some good reads and some nice runs."
The Lady Baron volleyball team traveled to Lebanon County twice last week and posted two impressive victories against Lebanon Catholic and ELCO to close out its regular season.
Against the Beavers, Manheim won easily 3-0 (25-8, 25-6, 25-8).
Senior Alleigh Dunagan served up an impressive eight aces from the back line, while senior teammate Destinee Horning smashed eight kills at the net. Manheim also got a nice defensive effort from sophomore Kaitlin Gochenauer, who recorded a block.
In the match at ELCO, the Barons looked sharp again, shutting out the Raiders 3-0 (25-9, 25-11, 25-12).
The Wiegand sisters sparked the Barons as Renee had key assists at the net and served up four aces, while Rachelle frustrated Raider scoring chances with several blocks. Manheim also got a nice contribution from Dunagan, who pounded 13 kills and Horning, who helped Rachelle Wiegand at the net with a couple of blocks.
The Barons ended the week with a showdown with Lancaster Mennonite in a Section Three championship playoff match last Friday night at Centerville Middle School.
The Blazers out-dueled the Barons, 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-13, 24-26, 15-12), to win the section title.
The match seesawed back and forth as the two squads took turns winning. The Blazers won the first and third sets, while the Barons won the second and fourth games to force a fifth-set tiebreaker won by the Blazers, 15-12.
Manheim got another splendid performance from Rachelle Wiegand, who blasted 18 kills and had three blocks.
The team ends the regular season with an overall record of 11-2.
"We had pretty decent matches last week against Lebanon Catholic and Elco," said head coach Craig Dietrich. "Lebanon Catholic was definitely over matched and we got a good performance from Destinee Horning in kills and Renee Wiegand and Alleigh Dunagan who both served the ball well. It was a good match against ELCO and Rachelle Wiegand had a good night. We did not have a particularly a good match against Mennonite. We did not get out to good starts. We did not serve the ball well and did not attack."
Several members of the Lady Baron tennis team recently participated in the District Three Class AAA Doubles Championships at the Hershey Racquet Club.
The senior duo of Caitie Hosler and Carly Leitzel defeated an Exeter pair, 6-2, 6-2, before dropping a, 6-3, 6-2, decision to a Central York team in the quarterfinals.
Sophomores Tierny Wolgemuth and Jackie Renninger had an early exit with a first-round, 6-2, 6-1, loss to a team from Central York.
The Manheim cross country runners competed in the L-L League Championships at Ephrata Middle School last Tuesday.
Mason Hepner had the best finish for the Barons, finishing 29th overall in 17:35 to win a medal.
"We had one boy that finished in 29th place that won us a medal," said head coach Shane Adams. "Our goal for the district run is to improve our overall season times."
