In the first round of the District Three Class 4A girls' volleyball playoffs, the Hempfield Black Knights downed Cedar Crest 3-0, advancing to the quarterfinals.

Hempfield (14-1) hosted the opening-round match, which was played on Tuesday, October 25, representing the top seed in the district while the Falcons (9-8) came in as the 16th-ranked team.

Following an opening set in which the Knights were challenged before earning a 25-20 win, they went on to post 25-5 and 25-9 winning sets.

TENNIS

Sophie Carson and Alex Gregory posted a 6-2 victory in the second set of their District Three 3A doubles match against Palmyra's Marissa Nicholson and Nitya Patel.

The Palmyra pair had won a close opening set 6-3 and came back to eke out a 7-6 win in the tiebreaker, ending the Hempfield twosome's quest for a district medal.

BOYS' SOCCER

Hempfield advanced to the District Three Class 4A boys' soccer quarterfinals with a 4-0 defeat of Red Lion on Tuesday, October 25, at Landisville.

The Knights (12-3-2) used their precision passing and strong defense to earn this win. Goalie Matt Roth was not tested much by the Lions' attackers.

"Our defense limited Red Lion's shots on goal," head coach Mark Ashley said. "Matt was not called upon much to make saves. He was able to distribute the ball for us as we would play it back to him. We were able to stifle their attack and switch the field on them. We figured that would be an effective strategy - quick switches of the field."

Hempfield, the No. 2 seed, scored twice in the first half with Devin Schmitt putting his team ahead on a perfectly-timed header.

"Brady King had a direct kick and he played it to their keeper," Ashley explained. "Devin Schmitt got in front of their keeper and was able to skim it off his head just enough to redirect the ball into the net.

"It as a great service by Brady and great timing by Devin," Ashley added.

King scored the team's second goal, scoring off a Ben Ammon corner to give Hempfield a 2-0 lead at the half.

The Knights' third goal demonstrated a true team effort for scoring.

"Ben Singizwa received the ball at his feet, one-touched it to Ben Ammon and to Schmitt," Ashley explained. "Schmitt hit it off the far post and it bounced in front of the net. Ben Singizwa finished it off the rebound.

"We really have been working on our players playing one- and two-touch passes and not doing a lot of dribbling," added Ashley.

The fourth goal was a combined effort with Kena Bekere sending a cross to Diellon Trinaku.

The win advanced them to the quarterfinals against seventh-seeded Dallastown.

GIRLS' SOCCER

Having lost to Manheim Township twice during the regular season, 6-0 and 4-0, the Hempfield girls' soccer team came into its opening-round match of the district playoffs determined to give the Blue Streaks a true battle.

"Our girls came out and executed the game plan," Jason Mackey, the Hempfield head coach, said. "We wanted to take away a couple of key things we thought Township did to be successful. They have so many dangerous weapons, you can't take them all away."

Among those dangerous weapons was Liza Suydam. She scored in the final minute of the first half to give the Streaks a 1-0 halftime lead as Township, the top-seed in the District Three Class 4A playoffs, went on to post a 3-1 victory at home on Tuesday, October 25.

"The girls did such a great job keeping it scoreless until they scored with 18 seconds left in the half," Mackey explained. "But in terms of coming out in the second half, the girls didn't let it affect them."

Township doubled its lead to 2-0 only to have Hempfield slice the lead in half.

Maya Trowbridge made it a 2-1 game. But it wasn't enough as the Streaks added a third goal on a penalty kick.

The Knights (7-11) entered the playoffs as the 16th seed. They will say goodbye to goalkeeper Emileigh Antesberger and defender Blythe Jacobs.

"Obviously, we won't lose many seniors," Mackey said of his roster that has a dozen juniors. "We do lose a vast degree of experience and the roles they played. Blythe has been one of the best defenders in the league and Emileigh was consistent in her years playing for us.

"We're hoping our big junior class, as they move into their senior year, can take their experience and build on that for next year," continued the coach.

FOOTBALL

The Black Knights notched their first shutout of the year. After dominant wins over McCaskey and Penn Manor with final scores of 42-7 and 34-7, respectively, Hempfield's defense didn't allow anything in the 24-0 Section One win at Cedar Crest on Friday, October 21.

"The defense played really well," head coach George Eager said. "Scheme was to provide run support on early downs to hopefully force third-and-long situations. When we did get them into third-and-long, we were able to bring pressure, which worked well for us.

"The defense created turnovers, which is big at any level," continued the coach. "If our defense continues to play well, we can win any game we play."

Jackson Landis threw two touchdown passes as he completed 14-of-23 pass attempts for 149 yards. He connected with Gabe Benjamin for a 19-yard TD toss in the second quarter. He also hit Julian Morales for a 24-yard score in the third. Morales finished with 65 yards on four receptions.

On the ground, Grant Hoover gained 82 yards on 18 carries and Hempfield's one rushing TD. Stephen Katch compiled 65 yards on nine carries while Landis gained 34 on three attempts.

The Knights (7-2) took a 10-0 lead into the locker room at halftime on Benjamin's touchdown and a 36-yard field goal by Cannon Biscoe.

Hempfield improved to 5-0 in the L-L League (7-2 overall). With Manheim Township and Wilson both at 4-1 in section play, Hempfield has the head-to-head edge over those opponents.

"With a chance to win the section crown, it's something the team will dwell on more so after the season because right now we are focused on the next game," Eager said.

As for the next game, following the regular-season finale with Reading, the Knights hope to have good seeding in the District Three 6A playoffs. They found themselves seeded second behind Central York (8-1) following the win at Crest.