By Mona Steinhauer
After scoring three touchdowns against Pequea Valley, Chad Frey stepped it up a notch. This past Friday night in Fredericksburg the senior exploded with a career game and led the Pioneers past Northern Lebanon 42-7 and kept their playoff hopes alive.
"We're hoping that this win puts us in control of our destiny," said head coach John Manion, "as far as the playoffs go. We end the season at Annville-Cleona (3-6) and they're a Double-A team so we don't get as many points."
Frey finished with 170-yards on ten carries and scored five times en route to the victory.
"I don't like to single out one player but Chad had an exceptional game," lauded Manion. "He did have some great blocking from the linemen but he made some outstanding individual plays as well."
He opened the scoring with a 34-yard run early in the first quarter but the Vikings, who were tied with LS for the No. 14 spot in the recent District Three AAA power rankings, just as easily knotted the score with a one-yard plunge by Ryan Daub.
Christian Davidson set up the next score with a 55-yard kickoff return that Zach Halpin put in the end zone on a one-yard run.
The rest was all Frey as he tallied the next four touchdowns.
He managed a 51-yard punt return and then pushed the Pioneer lead to 28-7 with a 25-yard interception return.
"That punt return was mostly Chad outrunning and out maneuvering the defense and he made a great read to get the interception," Manion said.
Frey tacked on a 29-yard run in the third frame and capped the scoring with a 68-yard run in the fourth. All six of Chris Garaffa's point-after attempts were good as Lampeter improved their overall record to 6-3. They are 5-1 in Section Three.
"Doug Kopp and Chris Garaffa have both done an excellent job on special teams," noted Manion. "Chris has made 11 extra point kicks in a row now and that was something we were concerned about early in the season.
"I thought Andrew Stover, with 65 yards on four carries also played well and defensively, Nate Talamantez, a senior, finished with a season-high ten tackles, including one sack, and Jon Pugliese had a lot of pass breakups."
CROSS COUNTRY
The flu and not necessarily the competition, took its toll on the Pioneers in the District Three cross country championships held last Wednesday on a rain-soaked and muddy Parkview Golf Course in Hershey.
The girls' team finished in 22nd place (out of 40 teams) but was short-handed.
"This was a rough meet for us," said head coach Jared Schnapf. "Only two kids that ran have not been affected by the flu at all over the past two weeks. It's not like an injury that you can ice and rest. It has to run its course.
"Justine Barr did not run due to the flu," he continued. "Melanie tried to run (finished 92nd in 22:18) but was sick all weekend and Monday and Tuesday before the race," Schnapf continued. "Riley Habowski, who was supposed to be our alternate because she is our eighth runner and only the top seven can run, actually ran her best race of the season and was second for us."
Habowski, a freshman, finished 100th overall in 22:28 and was followed closely by sophomore Jenny Lines (102nd, 22:31).
"And we had two runners drop out of the race so our team score (550 points) ended up quite high," Schnapf stated.
Also placing for the Pioneers was freshman Brianna Miranda (140th, 23:10) and senior Jess Visneski (153rd, 23:23). A total of 313 runners competed.
"Overall, the girls had another great season, winning their section and having two League All-Stars in Melanie and Justine Barr and three Scholar Athletes- Lisa Diehl, Kari Landis and Jess Visneski," Schnapf stated. "It will be interesting next year to have a girls' team without the Barrs, but I see a lot of young talent on the way up."
The boys' team suffered similar fate though they had a full seven runners complete the course. Senior Jeff Branson closed his high school career as the Pioneers top runner. He ran an 18:29 for 74th place. Freshman Cole Owens followed, placing 127th in 18:55 and junior Carlton Christie was third for LS, taking 153rd in 19:13. Rounding out the counters was freshman Joe Long (175th, 19:23) and junior Colin Stroh (205th, 19:40). Also competing was Taylor Hartman (259th, 20:05) and senior Leif Arnesen (335th, 21:50).
"The boys also dealt with recovering from sickness the last two weeks and ran admirably, but were not quite healthy enough for this race and this course," Schnapf stated.
The boys' finished the season with a 13-8 record and four scholar athletes in Travis Mable, Mike Good, Jeff Branson and Leif Arnesen.
"I am looking forward to next year," said Schnapf. "We lose just one runner in our top five and have some good young talent in the junior high program developing."
SOCCER
After opening the season with five wins in seven attempts, the soccer team struggled down the stretch and, with a 7-8 league record (8-10 overall), failed to qualify for the post-season.
Andrew Jordan led the team with 17 goals scored and Ben Barnhart was tops with eight assists. Jordan and Mike Lawhead were both First-Team All Section Three selections while Barnhart was voted to the Second Team.
"It was a frustrating season," said head coach Donnie Spangler. "Even though we technically had a losing season, we were not far away from being a good team. We had six games this year that were decided by one goal and every single one of those games we lost."
Last year the Pioneers not only won the Section Three crown, but also finished third in District Three and advanced to the state quarterfinals.
"Looking to next year, we will return eight starters and a total of 11 players with varsity experience," Spangler noted. "We are extremely optimistic going into the off-season."
