The Section One rivalry between Solanco and Penn Manor carried a little more meaning last Wednesday, January 11 in Quarryville. The two teams were vying for the inaugural "Miller Mallet" trophy in recognition of Jerry Miller, a big supporter of both programs.

So maybe it was fitting that Penn Manor, with a match-sealing heavyweight fall by Chris Rachor, lifted the Comets to a 38-33 victory. After all, two of Millers' grandsons, Trevor and Ty, were standout wrestlers for Penn Manor.

"I believe both of the heavyweights are first year wrestlers," said Comet boss Brandon Vernalli. "Carter showed a lot of heart.

"It's always a fun match against Solanco," he continued. "This is a good confidence booster, not only for Carter but the whole team."

Caden Rutt (106) put Solanco on the board with a 1:58 fall but Gavin Boland answered with a tech fall at 113. The Comets forged ahead when Travis Clawson pinned at 120 and Gabe Midile (126) pulled out a tight 5-3 decision for a 14-9 lead.

The Mules roared back with a 6-0 decision, falls at 139 and 145 and a forfeit at 152 to go in front 27-14.

Not to be out done, the visitors countered. Josh Zook worked the fastest fall of the night, pinning Hunter Touchton in 39 seconds before a first period fall by Blaine Plastino (172) pushed Solanco's advantage to 33-20.

But then the Mules forfeited at 189 and 215, leaving the Comets in striking distance, 33-32. Jamar Moore worked a first period takedown and nearfall points for a 5-0 first period advantage and appeared to have Rachor pinned in the second period before a flurry saw Rachor scramble to the top and secure the victory with a fall at 3:09.

The Comets were coming off some mixed results at the Manheim Township duals on Saturday, Jan. 7.

Manor suffered a tough 37-36 loss to the hosts in the opener. Fighting off a 24-6 deficit, Rogers (189) scored the first of five Comet falls to take a 36-30 lead with one bout left. That went to the Streaks and tied the match at 36-36.

"They won on criteria," said Vernalli, "winning seven bouts to our six. We came out flat and we were missing Josh Zook (160) to an illness. Having him in the lineup would have helped. Overall, it wasn't a terrible day."

Rachor (285), Riley Evans (107), Boland (114) and Clawson (121) worked four straight falls, three coming in the first period, to knot the score.

The Comets also suffered a 40-33 loss to Cocalico. Rogers, Rachor, and Boland again recorded falls and Ethan Farmer (133) earned a 15-13 decision.

"Travis and Teagan were 5-0 on the day and Gavin was 4-1, giving up a tough OT loss to a returning PIAA state place winner," added Vernalli. "I was impressed with our heavyweight wrestlers. Racher came up big against Cocalico, pinning his opponent in the third period when the match was tied at 1-1."

BOWLING

In back-to-back league matches last week the Comets rolled a 7-0 shutout over Lebanon on Thursday, Jan. 5 before suffering a 4-3 loss to CV on Friday. It was Manor's third 4-3 loss of the season.

Senior Josh Stock rolled a match-high 650 to spark the shutout. Eva Brubaker (563), Chris Hull (520), Corinne Smith (488) and Lacey Slaymaker (480) wrapped up the scoring.

Friday the Comets got off to a slow start. CV took the first game 979-929 and did even better in game two, winning 1041-975, before the Comets pulled together for a 1093-897 win.

"Our sophomores, Chris Hall and Kayla Wasche led us back in that third game," said head coach Chris Vital. "The way it was going I was worried that they would shut us out. Now we're still 2 points ahead of MT in the standings."

Hull rolled a 245 in that third game and Wasche followed with a 238 and hit "7 of 8 strikes," said Vital. "CV is for real. We just had too many open frames."

Stock finished with a 640 series, Hull, with a team-high 245 game, followed with a 630 with Slaymaker three pins back. Smith (526) and Brubaker (336 in two games) also contributed.

In a key matchup Tuesday, Jan. 10, the Comets took control early, winning the first two games en route to a 5-2 win over McCaskey. Stock was untouchable with a 761 series. Slaymaker followed with a 636 with Brubaker (587) and Wasche (557) close behind. Hull and Smith combined for a 563.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

At Hempfield, Friday, Jan.6 the Comets snatched up its third straight win with a convincing 48-40 Section One nod at Hempfield. Down 8-5 in the first quarter, the Comets held the Knights to three second quarter points, poured in 16 and took a 21-11 lead at the break.

"Brin Groff (9 points) popped in three triples, two in the second quarter, to spark our run," said head coach Mike Glackin. "Once we rebounded from that first quarter Hempfield never took the lead."

Not to be outdone, the Knights forged back in the third quarter, outscoring the Comets 13-6 to pull within three, 27-24, but senior guard Izzy Kligge led a fourth quarter charge, knocking down 10 of her career-high 16 points, to spark the visitors.

"Izzy made sure we beat their press and Paityn Smith came off the bench with five of her nine points," Glackin noted. "When they started knocking down some shots, we got a bit nervous but I'm proud of them. They handled the pressure. We're headed in the right direction."

Alayzha Twyman chipped in with six points, five rebounds, four assists and six steals. Joelle Kroesen (2 pts) led with six rebounds.

Less than 24 hours later, Dallastown's 23-6 run through the middle two quarters proved too much to overcome and the Comets dropped a 38-20 home game.

"It was 4-3 them in the first quarter but as the game wore on, we looked tired," said Glackin.

The Comets traveled to undefeated Lebanon Tuesday, Jan 10. Despite a spirited first quarter that left the hosts with a slim 17-13 edge, Manor struggled down the stretch, losing 63-30. Rineer and Twyman combined for 13 points while the Cedars placed three in double figures.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

The Comets, looking for their first Section One win, gave section leader Hempfield (9-2 overall) all they could handle in Millersville Friday, Jan 6. Unfortunately, close wasn't enough and, despite a game-high 15 points from Ethan Benne, the Knights pulled out a 48-40 win.

Manor held a 23-22 lead at the break, but the Knights exploded after the break, pouring in 19 to take the lead for good. Tied at 28, Hempfield used a 9-0 to gain momentum.

Aiden Mattern also hit for double figures with 12.

Less than 24 hours later, the Comets secured its fifth win of the season, using a dominating second half to flip a 26-23 first half deficit into a 61-54 road win.

Dhamir Wesley poured in a season-high 16 points, Benne dropped 15 and DeShawn Stanley and Nathan Schmidtke combined for 21.

In a battle to move out of the basement in the Section One standings, the Comets secured its third win in four games, dominating a winless Lebanon squad 65-39. Benne netted 20 of the teams' 40 first half points and Wesley, who added 11, controlled the paint as the Comets, who held the Cedars to four second quarter points, sprinted to victory.

"Ethan and Dhamir were the story," said Bellew. "Dhamir had 18 rebounds and 4 assists in helping lead our transition game. And Ethan can be difficult to stop with his length and variety of finishes around the basket.

"And we only had 13 turnovers," he added. "That tends to be our Achilles heel.

"More importantly, it was great to have the opportunity to give everyone on the team a chance to play. Zach Tawfick, Asher Peters, and Jason Andro practice and push our guys every day and rarely get the opportunity to play. It was great to see them get game action."

The starters sat the entire fourth quarter.

Nate Schmidke and Devin Figueroa combined for 15 points.