With a great team effort, the Black Knights came back from almost insurmountable odds to defeat Downingtown West in a PIAA class 3A girls' volleyball match at Landisville on Tuesday, November 8. The Whippets won the first two sets, putting Hempfield in the most difficult position.

Using the positive momentum near the end of their second loss helped the Black Knights (21-1) to come up with three straight wins by scores of 25-12, 25-20 and 15-8, right when it seemed there was no escaping the Downingtown Blob.

The Hempfield onslaught included 18 kills each by Sarah Hess and Addison Leber. Melody Butzer dished out 41 assists and 15 digs while fellow junior Kate Howard led the team in digs with 24.

Hess also helped power Hempfield back with her five blocks.

Hempfield, while seeking the state championship, had already hoisted the District Three trophy only days earlier. On Thursday, November 3, Hempfield edged Wilson for the district's Class 3A title in an intense 3-2 victory.

Hempfield, the district's top-seeded team, also fell behind in this match with the Bulldogs grabbing a 25-14 win. Following 25-13 and 25-19 victories by the Knights, the Bulldogs pulled even with an intense 25-22 victory, setting up the tiebreaker, which went to Hempfield 15-13.

Wilson, the sixth-seeded team in the brackets, was coming off a classic battle with second-ranked Central York in the semifinals (25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-13), improving to 20-3 prior to the battle with the Black Knights.

SOCCER

The Conestoga Pioneers managed to escape unscathed as the Hempfield boys' soccer team came close to scoring on a few chances Tuesday afternoon, November 8, at Berwyn - the Pioneers' home turf. Conestoga's Diego Ramirez scored in the 30th minute to give the Pioneers a 1-0 edge in this Class 4A PIAA opening-round playoff match. The District One runners-up managed to hang on to that lead, ending Hempfield's season with a 1-0 victory.

"We played really well in the first half," said Hempfield head coach Mark Ashley. "We had three very good opportunities. Their keeper made a nice save on one of them. We also put one just wide and one on the crossbar.

"We had real good possession," continued the coach. "I felt that by being able to move the ball and by us keeping the ball, it kept them from attacking - minimizing their chances."

Defending PIAA Class 4A champion Conestoga (18-4) earned a spot in the state quarterfinals. The Black Knights (14-5-1) would have faced Lancaster-Lebanon League rival Warwick a fourth time this season, including the two regular-season meetings and a District Three playoff win, had they been able to get past the Pioneers.

The goal by Ramirez had enough of a curve on it to sneak into the corner of the net - beyond the reach of goalie Tate Roth.

"They had several long throw-in's into the box," Ashley noted. "Their score was a clearance that bounced just at the top of the 18. Their guy was able to volley it just inside the post."

Pioneers' goalie Ryan Carella registered four saves in the shutout. Roth grabbed five saves for the Knights.

The Black Knights were coming off a tough loss in the District Three 4A title game at Eagle View Middle School in Mechanicsburg where they faced the district's top seed Central Dauphin for the championship on Saturday, November 5. Hempfield was awarded a penalty kick with eight minutes left in regulation. Devin Schmitt converted on the opportunity, giving the Knights a late 1-0 lead.

"It felt like we were going to close that game out," Ashley said. "It gave us a boost of energy. We thought this was going to be it - we were going to get our district championship."

In perhaps the most unlikely circumstance, the Rams tied the score when a free kick was saved by Roth but was put back in with under 10 seconds to go by Central Dauphin's Konstantinos Bouboukas for the equalizer.

"A foul was called at the top of the 18," Ashley explained. "The referee stopped the clock because the ball was kicked away."

Roth did make a save on that last-ditch effort by the Rams

"Tate was able to make a great save," Ashley said. "But their player ran to it and basically bicycled it toward the goal."

The Rams and Knights played scoreless overtime periods until Central Dauphin finally claimed the district trophy by winning the penalty shootout 4-2 over the Knights.

Both goalkeepers saved the first penalty shot in the penalty shootout round.

"It was probably the toughest loss of my coaching career," Ashley added.

Summing up the season, Ashley spoke about the senior leadership as well as the general "team-first" attitude by the Black Knights.

"A lot of veteran seniors helped carry us," he commented. "Those guys will be missed. But they're leaving a good legacy

"This was a very resilient group, who battled back from adversity," he said of the 2022 squad. "We won 3-3 early in the season after being down 2-0 to Dallastown. It showed me they were able to overcome challenges. That was something that was huge for us in the playoffs.

"We were very proud of the boys," Ashley added. "They stayed committed to the team. Everyone played as a unit."

CROSS COUNTRY

The Hempfield boys' team finished fifth in the PIAA Class 3A cross country championship race on Saturday, November 5 at the Parkview course in Hershey.

North Allegheny's squad finished atop the team standings with 85 points followed by LaSalle, Penncrest and North Penn, which registered 192 points. Hempfield finished fifth with 198 team points.

Aidan Hodge concluded his high school cross country career by earning a medal at states. The senior secured sixth place with his pace at 16:19.20. Joseph Fahrney was also impressive, earning 43rd place at 17:13.50. Not far behind was sophomore Sam Meyer (51st, 17:20.90)

Also helping Hempfield finish strong was Isaiah Hollinger (17:55.60). Juniors Emerson Long (18:11.50) and Sam Freedman (18:43.00) were also in the top-200 as was senior Chris Titter (18:45.10)

In the girls' race, Ella Wolfe claimed 66th place at 20:52.70.