The Indians picked up their first league triumph on a road trip to Ephrata on October 15th, outpacing the Mountaineers 35-27.

After a scoreless opening quarter, Donegal made some adjustments and the offensive line opened up pathways for Noah Rohrer (140 rushing yards) to run the ball into the endzone three times.

When the running game was not optimal, Donegal quarter back Landen Baughman threw 127 yards finding Ian Brown for a pair of touchdown passes, 52 and 33 yards, respectively.

"We had to adjust a little bit to how they were playing us," commented coach Chad Risberg. "We took what the defense was giving us."

When it came to the Indians' turn on defense Rohrer (10 tackles), and Baughman (two interceptions), once again came up big.

Rohrer also punctuated three TDs with successful PATs.

The momentum-boosting victory came after a tough 55-0 setback the previous week on a trip to Lampeter-Strasburg.

"The kids showed a lot of character after that loss," acknowledged Risberg. "It was a great team win."

FIELD HOCKEY

The Lady Indians suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Manheim Township in the semifinal round of the L-L League Tournament last Tuesday, October 19th.

Neither team was able to connect with the back of the cage in the first three quarters of the showdown held at Donegal, despite a barrage of 15 shots from the Township offense.

Donegal keeper CC Emswiler came up big with 14 saves, but Township was able to slip one in early in the fourth.

The Tribe provided a dramatic entrance to that semi-final contest, earning their 2-1 victory over Lancaster Mennonite after a 1-1 stalemate forced a shootout, which went Donegal's direction by a count of 3-1 on October 16th.

Emswiler was the hero of the day forcing one Mennonite shot wide and making stops on another two on the way to the 3-1 tally, in addition to five saves in regulation.

"CC played amazing in goal and was confident going into shoot outs," praised head coach Gina Allessie.

Netting the three Donegal successes in their one-v-one showdowns were Reagan Clark, Marie Gehman, and Grace Dickinson.

"It was a great team effort," celebrated Allessie.

Regulation saw just one goal apiece from the dualling teams, and both goals were netted in the second quarter. Gehman got the job done for Donegal on a penalty stroke, but Mennonite answered minutes later, and the score remained deadlock until time expired.

Double overtime was no more successful in determining a victor despite a game total of 16 corner opportunities for the Indians and seven for the Blazers.

CROSS COUNTRY

Freshman Kathryn Fernald cruised her way to an 8th place finish, clocking a 20:32.5, at her debut in the L-L League Cross Country Championships held had Ephrata on October 19th.

Teammate Hadley Shoaf also grabbed a medal with her 18th place finish (21:13.3). Marleigh Ballard crossed in 32nd and Addison Houck secured 37th.

The squad's combined efforts earned them fifth place team honors and a ticket to the District Championship.

"All the girls ran great," encouraged head coach Philip Koser. "Going into the meet, we talked about running as close to 100 percent of their fitness level as possible, and to be confident and patient in the first mile."

Sam Rothstein produced a standout 12th place finish out of 174 harriers in the boys' race. The senior's time of 17:11.7 was Donegal's best of the day.

"Sam had a great race. He went hard and just hung on as long as he could and it paid off," praised Coach Koser.

Hunter Gehman crossed in 17:52.3 for a 35th place finish, and John Spackman took 77th with a time of 18:48.9.

Collectively, the boys grabbed an eighth-place finish, and took third of the participating 2A teams earning them a spot at the upcoming 2A District Championships.

"The boys eighth place finish out of 24 teams was outstanding," Koser added. "We are now ready to gear up for the District Championships."

BOYS' SOCCER

The boys' soccer club earned their way into the L-L League playoffs after an 8-2 regular season but were bumped out of the tournament in by a 2-0 loss to Hempfield on October 16.

"We played hard against Hempfield," noted head coach Andrew Wagner. "Hempfield is a very experienced team and can handle the ball very well. We have to get more possession in order to be effective."

Though their L-L playoff run ended, the squad will get another opportunity to demonstrate their improvement in the PIAA District III playoff bracket.

"We have a lot of experienced players, and they will respond to the challenge," summarized Wagner.