Going 3-0 is a great way to start the season, however, beating a powerhouse like Manheim Central to get to 3-0 makes it even sweeter. Warwick did just that on Friday night at home when they left no doubt about it in a 37-7 win over the visiting Barons whom they had not beaten in 36 years.
Joey McCracken threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for another. Colton Miller ran for 128 yards and a touchdown as well, and Conor Adams racked up 153 receiving yards and a touchdown in a lopsided affair that usually falls in Manheim's favor. Holding the Barons to only 152 total yards, Warwick's defense harassed quarterback Evan Simon all game and held Manheim to only 44 yards on the ground.
"We are a good defensive team - our kids believe in what we are doing and played a great game," commented head coach Bob Locker when asked about his team's ability to hold Manheim in check.
It was Caleb Schmitz (4-56, TD) who drew first blood on Warwick's opening possession of the game when he capped a 59-yard drive with an 11-yard pitch-and-catch from McCracken with 7:43 on the clock for a 6-0 lead after a failed PAT attempt. McCracken then hit Justin Gerhart (1-70, TD) with a 70-yard open field bullet 23 seconds into the second quarter which made it 12-0 after a two-point conversion attempt fell short.
On the ensuing drive, Wes Herder reeled in a Simon pass from 8-yards out to pull the Barons within five, but a timely Adams interception later in the half led to another Warwick score with only 27 seconds on the clock. McCracken finished off the possession by calling his own number from the Manheim one-yard line.
"The interception before the half was a momentum changer and scoring before halftime allowed us to go to the locker room with a sense of confidence," stated Locker.
The rest of the game was all Warwick as the Warriors scored three more times to close out the victory. McCracken first hit Adams on a 76-yard bomb late in the third to make it 27-7 when Gerhart made good on a two-point conversion reception, then Miller got in on the action with a 15-yard romp with 10:22 remaining and Tanner Haines connected on a 33-yard field goal with less than two minutes for the final score.
VOLLEYBALL
In their two matches last week, the lady Warriors came away with a win as well as a loss with both being polar opposites of each other. First, Elizabethtown handed Warwick a 3-0 shutout last Tuesday but against McCaskey on Thursday they returned it with a 3-0 blanking of the Red Tornado.
Against the Bears, Warwick struggled to get into a rhythm as no one recorded a kill in the 25-11, 25-9, 25-11 loss. Libby Smith served up an ace while Gwen Meyer tallied seven digs and Shannon Morrisey assisted on three.
Thursdays match went much the same way only this time it was Warwick finding an easy go of it as the ladies seemingly cruised to a 25-8, 25-11, 25-8 victory. Morrisey was on point with her serves, acing 12, as well as recording eight assists while Allison Forsythe matched her in that department, Tanner Armstrong came in with six kills and Meyer with six digs.
CROSS COUNTRY
Warwick opened the season with a tough matchup at Elizabethtown last Tuesday and it showed in the results as the girls were just barely edged out 27-28 while the boys came away with a 28-33 victory.
With Jeremy Bell (18:00) and Parker Kearse (18:34) coming in third and fourth, respectively the boys also finished sixth, seventh, and eighth to take the meet despite Elizabethtown's Jesse Myers (17:32), and Alex Hartman (17:46) landing in the top two spots. Jeremiah Hendrix (19:08), J.H. Mertz (19:17), and Ryan Horner (19:24) completed the scoring for Warwick.
Finalizing the overall finishes were David Bach (9th, 19:41), Marcus Wachira (10th, 19:48), Colby Richard (11th, 19:50), Logan Mull (13th, 20:19), Jonathan Martin (15th,20:23), Josh Wenger (16th, 20:31), Ben Schweigert (19th, 21:06), Mason Caleca (23rd, 21:20), William Perez (24th, 21:36), Josef Bach (25th, 21:54), Alex Barney (26th, 22:11), Nico Tocci (29th, 25:30), Colin Hutchinson (30th, 26:04), Sill Stover (31st, 28:31), and Henry Stover (32nd, 36:31).
For the girls, it all came down to less than a second to decide the winner and that fell to Elizabethtown's Olivia Shenk who finished fourth with a time of 23:11 just ahead of Alexa Wenger (23:12), and Kendall Eby (23:14) who were fifth and sixth, respectively.
With Anna Martin (20:53) placing second behind Katie Locker (20:13) of Elizabethtown and Sierra Kaspcsos (21:08) also locking up the third spot for the Bears, had Shenk not overtaken Wenger and Eby the victory would have gone to Warwick.
Sophie Brandwene (7th, 24:19) and Rachel Bonner (8th, 24:54) rounded out the scoring for the Warriors followed by Emily Beale (11th, 26:48), Alexa Ovalle (12th, 26:50), Leann Runkle (13th, 27:23), Morgan Leakway (14th, 27:33), Willow Forney (16th, 27:58), Ella Simmons (17th, 29:10), Avery Goshart (18th, 29:19), Abby Smith (19th, 29:28), Anna White (23rd, 32:27), Chloe Nightingale (24th, 33:34), Margot Long (26th, 34:44), and Lindsey Cammauf (27th, 35:02).
FIELD HOCKEY
With two games last week the ladies went 1-1 with a 3-2 loss to Conestoga Valley on Wednesday and a 2-1 overtime win at Manheim Township on Friday. Those results placed Warwick (1-1, 2-2) in a tie with Ephrata for third place in Section One behind CV (1-0, 3-1) and Penn Manor (2-0, 2-1).
Abby Morley scored a hat trick for the Buckskins as the section leaders only managed four shots on goal while Warwick fired off seven with Lamya Mejias connecting on both scores for the Warriors. CV got on the board early when Morley came through 6:35 into the first half, but Mejias knotted the score at the 9:54 mark and then gave Warwick the lead less than two minutes later.
Morley added her second goal of the game late in the half and then provided the game winner only 21 seconds after the break. Julia Healy stopped one Buckskin shot on goal and Warwick enjoyed an 11-4 advantage in corners.
In the nail biter against Manheim Township both sides remained scoreless until Kayte Moist put the Blue Streaks on the board 12 minutes into the second half on a penalty corner with an assist from Rea Fox. Twelve minutes later Julia Eshelman returned the favor on a Warwick corner that tied the game at 1-1. Still knotted at the end of regulation, Mejias ended things when she snuck a shot past Township goalie Vanessa Daniels 3:22 into the overtime period.
GOLF
Undefeated at 20-0, things are looking pretty good for Warwick's golf team which leads Section Two with Garden Spot well behind at 13-7. Playing at Meadia Heights last Tuesday the Warriors tallied a 349 to notch wins over Ephrata (367), Garden Spot (378), Elizabethtown (395), Solanco (405), and Conestoga Valley (478).
Solanco's Logan Wagner placed first overall with a 79 while Warwick's Ethan Minnich came in second tied with Elizabethtown's Alex Williams at 85. Following Minnich were Clayton Hartman (86), Brant Bomberger (87), and Zach Stoyer (91).
TENNIS
Still looking for its first league win, Warwick (0-2, 1-5) lost matches last week against Ephrata 7-0 and Manheim township 6-1. While the girls were swept by the Mounts last Tuesday, Payton Brown and Ellie Krushinski provided Warwick with its lone win against the Blue Streaks. The number four duo defeated Sarah Cramer and Jessie Davidson by a score of 8-6.
GIRLS' SOCCER
Although the Warwick girls' soccer team record showed as 0-1, 1-2 at the end of last week, the Warriors could easily have two of those losses switched as they dropped two games by a combined two goals. Manheim Central and Manheim Township both came away with 1-0 victories as the lady Warriors struggled to find their offense.
Against the Barons, Warwick had opportunities as they fired off nine shots on goal with seven corner kicks but were foiled by Manheim goalie Mia Reed who denied all of them. Kendall Morgan stopped five Baron shots but allowed one by Isabell Wendler at the 33:15 mark of the first half.
The Blue Streaks' defense held the ladies to only four shots while taking 10 of their own with both sides earning 5 corner kicks apiece. It was Caroline Wood for Manheim Township, however, that found a way by Morgan in the second half for the game winner.
BOYS' SOCCER
In an odd ending to a soccer game on Thursday the Warwick boys played Lampeter-Strasburg to a 0-0 tie. Neither side was able to solve the other's defense as Warwick keeper Boston Libhart made two saves on the day and the Pioneer's Collin Reinacher stopped five.
Both teams earned four corner kicks but could not find the back of the net through regulation and two periods of overtime. With the tie, Warwick (0-0, 1-0-1) was tied with Manheim Township (0-0, 1-0-1) at the top of Section One with Conestoga Valley (0-0, 2-2) lurking in the shadows.
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