Pequea Valley runner Aubrey Ressler came down the home stretch of the cross country course at Ephrata Middle School on Tuesday, October 18, with an excellent pace. She crossed the finish line in a time of 20:03 and claimed seventh place in the girls' Lancaster-Lebanon League Championship race. She also became the top finisher on the day for runners from the Class AA schools.

Ressler's seventh-place finish and teammate Caleigh Vincent's 20:33.2 pace, which earned 20th place, paced Pequea girls to an 11th-place finish in the team standings. The topo 25 individuals earned medals. The Braves finished with 307 points. Manheim Township finished atop the team standings with 74 points.

Abby Beiler also had an impressive finish, earning 50th place overall at 21:50. Izzy Hershey (24:59.60) and Ashlee Hershey (31:07.40) rounded out the Braves' top-five.

In the boys' championship race, Cameron Beiler paced Pequea with a time of 18:57, earning 96th place.

The Braves' top-five finishers included Hugh Johnson (19:24), Nate Sensenig (21:12.7) Ryan Flaim (21:47.5) and Nathan Gehman (25:00.7).

FOOTBALL

In the Section Five gridiron battle between the Braves and visiting Annville-Cleona on Friday, October 14, the Dutchmen deluged the Pequea Valley defense with 30 points in the second quarter of their 59-12 victory.

Heading into the second stanza, it was an 8-6 game with A-C ahead by merely a two-point conversion.

"The game got away from us in the second quarter," Pequea coach Mike Choi stated. "We struggled on special teams and ended up giving short fields to a good team like Annville. We paid the price."

The Dutchmen improved to 3-2 in the L-L League (5-3 overall) spoiling the Braves' Senior Night at Kinzers. The Braves fell to 1-7 (1-4 league).

Annville's Phoenix Music rose to the occasion with four touchdowns on a night that he gained 200 yards on 28 carries.

One of the obstacles facing the Braves was injuries.

"We dressed 19 kids, so we were short-handed with some injuries," Choi explained. "You get out there on Monday and you find out how many injured players you have. You try to find time with the new kids to have as many reps as possible in three days of practice.

"We had some second- and third-string players who worked hard all week," continued the coach. "But it's difficult situations in games without all the reps."

Pequea Valley opened the scoring on the first drive of the game. Dontae Petersheim's four-yard rushing touchdown capped the drive.

"It was nice to see our offense move the ball on that first drive," Choi said. "It was a nice mix of pass and run. It was certainly a good way to start the game."

Quarterback Peyton Temple, who completed five passes for 73 yards and no interceptions on the night, helped engineer the drive. Two of Temple's passes went to Orlando Stoltzfus for a total of 50 yards.

The first period ended on Music's first score of the game - also a four-yard carry. Cael Harter's run for the two-point PAT made it 8-6.

The 30-point period featured two more TD's by Music and a 24-yard scoring pass from Gavin Keller to Jonathon Shay.

The Pequea touchdowns were the bookends in this game. Petersheim, who ran for 57 yards on eight carries, scored on the opening drive. Darrell Beiler broke through for a 70-yard dash to the endzone in the fourth quarter to end the scoring for the night. He tallied 87 yards on the night.

"That was an awesome run by Darrell Beiler," said Choi. "He made some athletic moves, some cutbacks. He then turned on the speed.

"You always look for guys who compete to the last whistle," Choi added. "For us to be able to score that last touchdown, that shows what our kids do - they fight to the end."

GOLF

At the PIAA Class 2A state championships on Penn State University's Blue Course, senior Matt Lapp ended the first day of competition tied for 41st with a10-over-par 82. On the second day of competition held Tuesday, October 18, Lapp shot an 81 (two-day total of 163) and finished the tournament in a three-way tie for 39th place.

"Matt finished with a strong back nine on that second day," Pequea coach Clair Beiler commented. "The weather was cold on both days. Matt finished his solid high school career with a round that embodied his senior year. His strong finish included a birdie on his last hole."

The championship went to Nick Ciocca, of Devon Prep, who had a combined 6-under-par two-day total of 138, including a 68 on his second day. Jacob Wolak of Slippery Rock finished second at 139.

GIRLS' SOCCER

The hat trick by Manheim Township's Eloise Warfel included two scores in a five-goal first half as the Blue Streaks blanked the Braves 7-0 on Saturday afternoon, October 15 in Neffsville. In the opening round of the L-L League Girls' Soccer playoffs, the Section One champion Streaks knocked out the Section Four runner-up Braves.

In the District Three Class 2A power rankings, the 10-7-1, 12th-seeded Braves missed the cut for top 10 teams qualifying for district playoffs.

In the Township game, the Streaks compiled 19 shots on goal with Pequea goalkeeper Carissa Mulder making 12 saves.