Township turns back Mounts

It had been two years since Manheim Township's boys' lacrosse team won a league championship.

And to end their two-year drought, the Blue Streaks made it rain.

Township poured in 11 unanswered goals to storm by Ephrata, 17-2, in the L-L League championship Friday night at Warwick.
 

"They're good. There is no way around it," said Ephrata coach Kevin Pletz, talking about Manheim Township. "They controlled face-offs and the offense. It was tough to play with them."

The win capped a perfect 14-0 league season for the Streaks (17-1 overall) and ran their winning streak to 16. Township's only loss was a 12-11 setback to perennial Maryland power St. Mary's.

"It's sweet because we know we're on top. No one (in the league) has beaten us yet," said MT senior Quint Miller, who scored a game-high five goals. "We just need to keep it up."

Township's first-year head coach Kyle Wimer took the win in stride.

"It's always great getting a championship," Wimer said. "Now that we've won our first goal, we're looking for our second goal (District Three championship). We'll enjoy this for a little and get back to work on Monday."

Ephrata (16-4) struck first when Nate Muckle scored 23 seconds into the first quarter. Township answered quickly with six straight scores to lead 6-1 with 1:18 left in the first. Miller netted a hat trick in the run and Alex Bradbury (4 goals, 1 assist), Robby Wertz (2 goals) and Tyler Karpinski (2, 1) each added one.

"We had to bring our energy up to match theirs because they just came off a big win," Bradbury said, referring to the Mounts' upset win over Hempfield in the semifinals. "And we did."

M.J. Horst scored Ephrata's last goal, on an assist from Tyler Sensenig, to make it 6-2 with 28 seconds left in the first. The Streaks made it 8-2 with two scores -- from Karpinski and Bradbury -- in the final 11 seconds of the first.

"I expect our offense to put up numbers," Miller said. "We haven't run into anyone that's stopped us yet."

And the Mounts wouldn't in the remaining three quarters of the game.

Chase Miller netted two shots, and Wertz and Bradbury one, to give the Streaks a 12-2 halftime lead.

"We had some high-quality shots early on but they weren't on target," Wimer recalled. "We had our first couple go wide. But we brought the shots in and started making them."

Quint Miller and Mark Stratton scored twice in the second half for Township, and Karpinski once, while the Streaks defense pitched a shutout. Chad Neiss and Alex Ready combined for just three saves while the rest of the defense put up a wall around the cage.

"After the first two goals we decided to amp up the pressure a little bit," Wimer said of his defense. "We want to dictate what a team does to us and make them react to our defense."

Friday's game served separate purposes for each team.

For Ephrata, it was just another learning experience. With only one starting senior, the Mounts hope the lessons will pay off in the future.

"It was a stepping stone. This is the first time we've ever been in the L-L championship," Pletz explained. "We're making improvements every year and hopefully that continues."

Township, on the other hand, fully expects to be in title games and winning. With 14 seniors on the roster, the Streaks expect great things this season.

"We have so many seniors that have grown up playing together," Wertz said. "We knew since we were in eighth grade that this would be our year."