Consolation games are often played for pride and other times for placement. In the case of the District Three Class AA girls' field hockey playoffs, the consolation matches to determine the third place through seventh place teams were played for placement in the PIAA state playoffs.

Garden Spot's field hockey team was coming off a tough 4-3 overtime loss to Fleetwood on Wednesday, November 3. After a tremendous comeback in which Garden Spot scored two fourth-quarter goals to even the score, the Tigers claimed the contest on Casey Dewald's third goal of the game.

"Everyone played with a lot of heart in that game," said head coach Katy Eby. "We told them that they had control and just needed to keep playing hard. For us to come back and show how much we wanted it was really meaningful."

The Spartans' final hope was to earn seventh place in the district by playing Susquehannock on Saturday, November 6 at Courtney Pollock Field at Lower Dauphin Middle School.

The Tribe managed to eke out a 1-0 victory in overtime, ending the Spartans' season at 14-7.

"Bryna Kelly, our goalie, played a great game against Susquehannock," Eby remarked. "She and our defense really stepped up and limited their opportunities - defensive line with Emma Swatski, Lacey McCalicher, Erin Hamer and Kylee Barshinger.

"Our team was prepared and hung for both of those overtime games," added the coach.

As the season wrapped up, the impact left by some of the players on this section champion Spartans team included three girls voted as first team all-stars: McCalicher, Melanie Esh and Erin Gonzalez. Second team all-stars included Swatski, Kelly and Lauren Horning.

"Erin Gonzalez was named all-league," Eby added.

The team will miss Gonzalez next year, but Eby has several returning players, including Esh and Horning.

"We're really excited that Melanie, Lacy, Emma and Lauren are returning," she said. "We are losing three starting players on the field but most of our starting lineup should be returning.

"Our expectation is to compete for another section championship as well as make the state playoffs," Eby added.

FOOTBALL

The Garden Spot football team was saddled with a record of no wins and four losses to start the 2021 season. That rough start included close non-league losses to Twin Valley and Cocalico.

The Spartans' offense, guided by quarterback Kyle Harting, found its groove in game number five. The Spartans outscored Pequea Valley 56-0 on the road and returned home the following week to post a 36-0 Lancaster-Lebanon League victory over the Lebanon Cedars on October 8.

As the season wrapped up on Friday, November 5, the Spartans had managed to take five of their final six games to finish the season at .500 (5-5). In those five victories, they outscored their opponents 223-43.

The regular season finale was a non-league game at Elco where Harting threw for 188 yards, completing 12 of 18 pass attempts including four touchdowns. Two of the sophomore signal callers scoring strikes went to Derrick Lambert, who caught five passes for 47 yards on the night.

It was the third straight game in which Garden Spot racked up over 300 total yards, including the 411 yards two weeks prior in a victory at Lancaster Catholic.

The game at Elco was a season-ending contest in which both teams were vying for a .500 finish. The Raiders fell to 4-6 with the loss.

The Spartans charged ahead for a 14-0 lead in the first quarter - an advantage they held into the second half. Harting hit Tristin Sadowski for a 31-yard score and connected with Lambert on a nine-yard touchdown. Walker Martin, who would go on to finish with a phenomenal feat, kicked both extra points.

A rushing touchdown by Joel Martin, who had a team-high 67 yards on the ground, and Blake Weaver's 15-yard touchdown catch made it 28-0 after the third stanza. The Harting-to-Lambert connection worked again on a 22-yard score in the fourth quarter.

Walker Martin capped the scoring with a 51-yard field goal - the longest in Garden Spot history. It was also the longest by any L-L League kicker this season.

Two more stars on offense were Tyler Gillenwater (40 rushing yards on six carries) and Zechariah Nagle, who caught four passes for 85 yards.