JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Digging all of the lead changes already this season.
Seems like there is a great race in every section so far, meaning things could get mighty interesting when L-L League play starts up again in (gulp) 2008.
Happy New Year to you, while I’m at it.
A bit of a shakeup once again in my rankings this week.
I have a new No. 1. Mennonite is back. McCaskey is out. And all five teams have just one loss apiece as we hit the holiday break.
Drum roll please …
1. Hempfield (5-0 Section 1, 9-1 overall; last week: 4th) – Black Knights vault to No. 1 this week after shredding McCaskey in its Section 1 opener, and then rallying past a tricky Warwick team for its scorching-hot ninth win in a row on Friday. And that lone loss was to L-S in the season-opener. And considering the Pioneers are also 9-1, that was hardly a bad loss. Good balance on O, and D has been vice-like, allowing just 31 points a game over the last eight games. Big test against Lancaster Mennonite in first-round of Hempfield Holiday Tournament on Wednesday. Could get Lancaster Catholic on Thursday. That’s a meat-grinder of back-to-back nights.
2. Manheim Central (4-1 Section 3, 8-1 overall; last week: 2nd) – Kept the Barons in the No. 2 slot. Solid week for Central, including a 52-49 win over L-S, handing the Pioneers their first loss this season. That was a great bounce-back game, two days after Central dropped its first game this season, a 73-67 gut-wrencher at home to Lancaster Catholic. I was at that game, which turned out to be a track meet. Big week for senior F Bekah Roland – 17.0 points per game, including 20 points and a pair of 3’s in win over L-S. Will play in the Daniel Boone Holiday Tournament. Not that I have a rooting interest or anything, but my tax dollars go to Daniel Boone.
3. Lancaster Mennonite (4-1 Section 4, 9-1 overall; last week: not ranked) – Welcome back, Blazers, who trailed host Lancaster Catholic 33-17 at the half on Friday, then went on a 20-2 tear to tie the score, and ended up winning 45-40. Great game. Wrote about this for Saturday, but in case you missed it, Mennonite senior G Kelsey Gorman got out of her sick bed (flu, fever, you name it) and hit four monster foul shots in the final 44 seconds for the Blazers, whose lone loss is to L-S. Seems like all of these Section 3-4 teams are taking turns beating one another. Super matchup vs. Hempfield in first-round of Hempfield Holiday Tournament on Wednesday. If you can put your new X-box down for a minutes, get out of the house and head to Landisville for that one.
4. Cedar Crest (5-0 Section 1, 8-1 overall; last week: 3rd) – Falcons are flying along quite nicely, thank you. Lone loss was to Cumberland Valley, which, quite frankly, floored me. Three double-digit scorers continue to lead the way (Shannon Stokes, Aubrey Hoover and super soph Meghan Phillips), and Crest had a solid gut-check non-league win on Saturday – 43-36 over previously unbeaten Lower Dauphin in OT. Will play perennial District 3 Quad-A power Red Lion in the first round of the Wilson Holiday Tournament. Host Bulldogs get Cocalico in the nightcap.
5. Lampeter-Strasburg (4-1 Section 3, 9-1 overall; last week: 1st) – Bumped the Pioneers out of the top spot after they suffered their first loss this season last Wednesday – a nip-and-tuck 52-49 setback to Manheim Central. Man, I’m harsh. Still tied for the top spot in the section with the Barons and 3-1 Elco. Was updating some stats when I realized junior Lisa Boyer is already up to 725 career points. That’s a bunch of points for a kid who is 10 games into her junior year. If L-S goes deep, she could crack 1,000 this season. Good game vs. McCaskey on Thursday in the first round of the Ephrata Holiday Tournament. If the Red Tornado’s Teasia Myers can miraculously recover from a pretty bad sprained right ankle in time, this could be one heck of a game. If Myers can’t go (she’s wearing a protective boot, and was still on crutches as of Wednesday night), advantage L-S.
