At the L-L League Cross Country Championships held at Ephrata Middle School on Tuesday, October 18, the Hempfield boys' squad finished atop the team standings with 37 team points. A huge part of their success was Aidan Hodge and Joe Fahrney taking second and third, respectively, with times of 16:00.70 and 16:07.80. Colin Whitaker of Lampeter-Strasburg was the fastest runner at 15:49.

Sam Meyer (16:48.30) took ninth while 11th and 12th went to Emerson Long (16:51.6) and Sam Freedman (16:56.6).

Isaiah Hollinger came in at 16th (17:16.9) Chris Titter (28th, 17:32.3) and Frank Christoffel (39th, 17:54.3) also finished in the top-40.

The girls' team compiled 107 points and finished sixth in the overall team standings. Molly Siebert (20:20.9) paced the Knights with her 15th-place finish. Ella Wolfe (18th, 20:27.7) and Roz Scott (43rd, 21:29.40) were also in the top-50 while Ashley Paige (58th, 22:00.20) and Norah Rynier (63rd, 22:10.20) were exactly 10 seconds apart.

Callie Herr (22:25.80) and Leah Forry (22:26.50) finished back-to-back. Freshman Jazahlyn Lopez registered a time of 23:28.8

FOOTBALL

The Hempfield football team faced an Exeter squad basking in the luxury of large linemen, who were able to shut down the Black Knights' usually successful running game on Friday night, October 14 at Landisville.

There were certain factors that had led to the Exeter Eagles bringing a 7-0 record into Friday night's game - a record that included two shutouts and only allowing single-digit scoring from three other opponents out of the seven wins - a stretch of games in which the Eagles had outscored opponents 301-64.

Hempfield quarterback Jackson Landis passed for 293 yards on 23 completions, accounting for all three of his team's touchdowns. The Eagles' defense, however, was too much as the Black Knights fell 44-22.

"Exeter was tough against the run," George Eager, the Knights' head coach, said. "They are huge up front, so it was hard to find any running lanes.

"Additionally, we got away from the run early in the game because of the score," Eager added. "We turned the ball over and got down in the first half, so we needed to score quickly."

The Eagles' offensive line helped Richie Karstien gain 212 yards on the ground on 32 carries. Karstien was the work horse and accounted for four of the Eagles' touchdowns.

A field goal and a Karstien touchdown put the Eagles up 10-0.

A 27-yard pass from Landis to Andy Garcia cut the deficit to 10-7 in the second quarter. Garcia had a night to remember, catching eight passes for 120 yards.

"Our receivers stepped up," Eager said. "For a high school team, we have several options, which can be rare. We feel confident that our guys can get open and make plays. Ideally, we want to be a balanced offense with a run/pass ratio of 50/50. But when given the chance, we aren't afraid to throw the ball 30-plus times a game."

Exeter pulled ahead and made it 30-7 at halftime, finishing the first-half scoring on an 89-yard interception return by Gavin Reiking.

Julian Morales and Micah Gates were both on the receiving end of Landis touchdown passes in the second half. Gates, who caught three passes for 39 yards, also topped off his TD by catching the two-point conversion.

Morales tallied five receptions for 76 yards while yet another passing target Gabe Benjamin had 53 yards on four receptions.

The Black Knights (6-2) scheduled to finish the season with two road games against Section One rivals look to have solid outings and have that carry into the postseason.

"Down the stretch we do not have to change a thing in our approach," said Eager. "We game plan, watch film and practice hard each week. We want to continue to do that. If we do those things and win, the [District Three] seedings will take care of themselves."

Through and including the Exeter game, the Knights are third in the District Three Class 6A power rankings - behind Cumberland Valley and Central York. The Eagles, incidentally, are second in the Class 5A rankings behind Solanco.

BOYS' SOCCER

In the opening round of the L-L League playoffs, the boys' soccer team fell to Lancaster Catholic 1-0 at Hempfield on Saturday, October 15.

The Section One champion Knights fell to the Section Four runners-up.

Despite the loss, the Knights (11-4-2) prepare to embark on the District Three Class 4A playoffs. They are second in the district power rankings.

TENNIS

On Thursday afternoon, October 12, the eighth-seeded Hempfield girls' tennis team lost to District Three Class 3A top seed New Oxford 5-0 at the Hershey Racquet Club.

Nancy Winand and Neha Dhakal were on the short end of 6-0, 6-3 results at number two doubles. At number two singles, Alex Gregory came close in a 6-4 defeat in her first set.

The Knights fell to 11-3.

VOLLEYBALL

Section One champion Hempfield hosted the first round of the L-L League girls' volleyball playoffs on Tuesday, October 19.

Section Two co-champion Ephrata was out-matched by the Black Knights, who advanced to the league semis with a 25-10, 25-12 25-10 triumph.

Hempfield moved on to play Northern Lebanon in the league semis.

The Black Knights (13-1) are claiming the top spot in the District Three Class 4A power rankings as they advance in the league playoffs.