The Donegal football team came up short against Cocalico in a Section Four gridiron clash on Friday, October 14. The Eagles, led by Sam Steffy and Aaryn Longenecker, topped the Indians 39-14 with Longenecker scoring three rushing touchdowns on a night where he compiled 145 yards on the turf at Donegal High School.

The Indians fell to 2-6 (1-4 league) while the Eagles improved to 4-4 and 3-2 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

The only Eagles touchdown that came on a big play was Longenecker's 80-yard punt return in the third quarter, capping the Eagles' scoring. The Indians blocked that PAT kick attempt.

Donegal did not go down without a fight, however. In the fourth quarter with the running clock in place, the Indians crossed the goal line thanks to a Brock Hammaker 14-yard touchdown. Hammaker also had two pass completions on the night for 19 yards.

Later in the final period, Ruben Mumper broke loose for a 61-yard dash to the endzone. Noah Rohrer kicked both extra points as Donegal put 14 points on the scoreboard.

"We did not play well," Indians head coach Chad Risberg said. "There were a lot of missed assignment mistakes.

"They capitalized on our mistakes," he added. "Ruben had a nice run at the end of the game, making a couple of people miss him as he scored. We have to come back strong at practice and prepare for this week's battle."

CROSS COUNTRY

Molly Myers had a strong finish at the L-L League Cross Country Championship race at Ephrata Middle School on Tuesday, October 18. She finished ninth in the girls' race, posting a time of 20:15.

Kathryn Fernald, who took 19th at 20:28.3, helped Donegal gain an overall eighth-place finish with 199 team points. The Manheim Township girls finished at the top of the team standings with 74 points.

Also helping pace the Indians to their strong finish were Marleigh Ballard (21:24.6) and Addison Houck (21:25.5) who finished 39th and 40th, respectively. Emma Myers posted a time of 24:14.

Bailey Shoaf (24:43.40), Natalie Griner (25:00.4) and freshman Kaylan Shellenberger (26:23.6) rounded out the squad for Donegal.

The Donegal boys finished 15th overall while Hempfield was the overall winner with 37 points.

John Spackman's 18:34.10 time was tops for the boys' team. Junior John Hinkle gained 78th place with his 18:44 while Braden Bistline (18:48.10) took 84th place.

Also finishing for the Indians were Cadel Barber (19:00) Dylan Lenhart (19:19.90) Brandon Marcelo (19:37.6) Micah Brydon (19:53.30) and Zachary Karpel (20:05)