Barons Flash Sizzle And Substance As Manheim Central Takes Down York Suburban To Conclue Pre-Christmas Slate
Written by: Andy Herr on December 25, 2022
Coming into this season, there figured to be a lot of eyeballs centered around the year-long race for the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two title in boys’ hoops. And rightly so quite frankly. After all, you wouldn’t be all that likely to receive much of a beef from anyone with a keen knowledge of the local high school basketball landscape if one were to feverishly argue that this division above each of the remaining three inside the conference might very well end up being the most exciting in terms of finishes. But why exactly? Sure, you have the usual suspects who will be on the scene for the entirety of the season no doubt. Chief of among them being the defending District 3-6A runners up in a bit of irony considering this isn’t even Section One, the proverbial “big boy” division, were talking about here. Oh yes. Pardon me, but we’re of course referencing the Warwick Warriors in that definition. So yeah, you can pencil Warwick in for an upper echelon finish more than likely along with some of the others you’d figure would be in the mix, such as an always dangerous Conestoga Valley bunch and an equally feisty and scary Elizabethtown program added in as well, not to mention an up-and-coming crew down there at Solanco too.
But the one who probably needs to be talked about the most? How about a team that is actually making its way “up” to the Section Two rank and file this year?
While the Manheim Central Barons may not always be amongst the foremost topics of discussion coming into the winter on a perennial basis, it’s not as if the team representing the borough of Manheim has been exactly devoid of success here. In fact, and I’m sure as most are already aware, but the Barons just a handful of years ago had been able to establish themselves into a formidable force on the hardwood in boys’ basketball as Manheim Central was seen competing for both L-L League and District 3 AAA championships alike before then eventually parlaying that same success into state playoff berths as well. Of course, having a handful of collegiate talent doesn’t hurt the cause the either, especially when some of it is still found competing at the Division 1 level to this day (Hello, Taylor Funk at Utah State).
In other words, step aside wrestling. A new sport has emerged in town that has become more than just a fun activity to stay in shape during the football offseason inside the winter months. And yes, this 2022-23 Barons’ group seems at least on the surface to possess some of those characteristics as their most recent brethren who have been able to march the program to what has been its highest summits too.
From the talent piece, probably a good place to start would be one of the few returning All-State players that the L-L can claim, yes? For that, the league’s leading scorer, Trey Grube, is back for his final curtain call in Manheim this season with a bevy of talent surrounding him. Talent that includes but is certainly not limited to classmate, Connor Fahnestock, as these two Central seniors in particular have certainly been through their fair share of conference wars over the last couple of campaigns in navigating the varsity ranks. And up through the holiday break this season in particular, there hasn’t been much of a tangible reason given thus far as to why doubting the Barons would seem to be a wise decision considering that MC had only dropped one game in its first five outings –a 12-point setback at the hands of West York— en route to the Barons owning a 4-1 overall record heading into their Wednesday night matchup while out on the road at York Suburban in the last game prior to Christmas.
Now granted, while it may not have been the most glitzy and glamorous display of roundball that Manheim Central figures to put forth for a paying audience this season, perhaps that is why their decisive takedown of the Trojans was impressive in the way that it was. In short, for a team that has the type of weaponry that can go off like a pallet full of dynamite seemingly on a moment’s notice, that same Manheim-esque workmanlike mentality will surely not be far behind either if we are talking about the team’s DNA and overall makeup. And if both are seen working in tandem with one another such as they were on Wednesday evening in York County, yes, there is ample reason to believe that Manheim Central will be a force to be reckoned with this season, perhaps even the favorite to raise Section Two’s banner.
If there is one thing that most know about the Manheim Central, albeit even from afar, it’s that the Barons are typically proficient in terms of filling it up from bonus distance. And as if to be right on cue to start things off at York Suburban, a pair of Manheim Central triples –the last of which came via the aforementioned and aptly named Trey Grube — propelled the guests out to an early 8-3 lead through the first 2:15 of the contest. Then, with the Barons’ outside game appearing to be clicking on all cylinders, a smooth turnaround jumper sunk by Central 6’2 underclassman, junior Sam Witmer, gave the black-clad guests from Lancaster County the 10-3 cushion shortly thereafter to help begin the night’s proceedings.
That being said, that would prove to be the largest lead that the visitors would enjoy for the remainder of the frame.
Needless to say, it appeared as if the potent long-range shooting exhibited by Manheim rubbed off on their hosts somewhat considering that a York Suburban trey would be splashed in following the earlier Witmer bucket. For that, the Trojans’ turned to a sophomore, Kai Stryhn, who proceeded to hit a 3-ball of his own which made it a 10-6 affair at the 3:19 mark of the opening quarter before a floater in the lane that came via the handiwork of another Suburban sophomore, Brayden Egger, helped the Trojans stay within shouting distance at 14-10 as Egger’s late bucket beat the first quarter horn with 10 seconds left to spare.
However, just when Suburban may have been feeling good about things heading into the second stanza, Manheim Central had an ample cast of characters who had no issues whatsoever when it came to playing the role of Grinch right then and there.
Case in point, Manheim Central’s Zach Benner as the 6’0 senior proceeded to hit a triple in the early going of the second quarter to make it 21-12 Barons’ advantage with 5:15 to play in the opening half. But as it would quickly become readily apparent, Benner’s trey only opened the floodgates.
Sure enough, a timely Grube 3-ball wouldn’t be tardy in this onslaught either as the All-Stater’s most recent one not only helped him to finish the evening with game-high scoring honors in posting a 21-point effort, but this one here put Central back up by double figures, 24-14, before a fearless step-back cashed in by Grube not only put the Barons up by two touchdowns at 28-14 not long afterwards, but it also prompted York Suburban to burn a timeout to try and stop the bleeding with 2:15 left before intermission.
In short, it would not.
In the immediate aftermath following the Trojans’ timeout, Manheim Central only kept their foot planted firmly on the accelerator. In fact, an impromptu 5-0 run following the Suburban-fueled stoppage –capped off by a Trey Grube 3-ball of course – pushed Manheim Central’s lead out to a 33-14 count. And if the fireworks found on the offensive end for Manheim weren’t already enough, they were about to light some defensively as well considering a clean rejection of a would-be Suburban shot courtesy of 6’3 junior forward, Aaron Enterline, helped serve as a fitting punctuation mark to what would end up being a 33-19 Barons’ lead at the halftime break.
This time around though, a brand new York Suburban team appeared to emerge from the locker room.
Sure, while a layup authored by Suburban’s Kane Stryhn may have seemed rather innocuous and innocent given that it kept the Barons’ lead at ten, 35-25, with 5:40 left to play in the third, a triple dialed up the Trojans’ freshman shooting guard not long afterwards was far more emphatic and demonstrative in that it cut the Manheim Central down to a 35-28 clip with the Barons now finding themselves on the responsible end of having to call a timeout to try and stem the tide following Stryhn’s personal rally.
This time around, the timeout taken during a current salvo would indeed make a difference.
For that, Manheim Central head coach Charlie Fisher would certainly need to offer gratitude and thanks to the efforts of one Aaron Enterline as the Barons’ prolific wide receiver looked more than comfortable here without his gloves and pads considering the athletic junior wing proceeded to rip off six of the next eight Central points, a key late third quarter run which helped usher the guests into the final frame with the wind of a 45-34 in their collective sails.
And speaking of those playing the dual-sport role for Manheim Central, we must cite the quarterback, yes?
Sure enough, while junior Zac Hahn may not have been able to crack the scoring column here in this one on Wednesday night at York Suburban, a pair of magnificent assists –including one which somehow traveled the entire width of the baseline – thrown by the quarterback turned point guard to recipients Sam Witmer and Trey Grube who cashed in on a pair of 3-balls right on cue respectively, helped Central open up a sizable lead with time starting to wind down on a Trojans’ comeback bid.
And yet while Suburban’s Kane Stryhn would pump in another triple inside the final of minute to bring the gap back down to a 58-48 difference with 56.2 seconds left to go, a pair of Witmer free throws and a lay in by way of Connor Fahenstock not long afterwards helped prove to be the eventual, final difference in the end as Manheim Central was able to head back home late Wednesday night after formally taking care of business. “Business” of course coming in the form of a 64-48 nonconference triumph over York Suburban upon entering the holiday week.
NEXT UP: Alright, full disclosure here, but the start to this season has admittedly felt and looked a bit odder than most others of late quite honestly. Now, whether it be the ingredients of the L-L going back down to four sections as opposed to its most recent makeup which contained five, or the implementation of the season itself starting a week earlier than normal, or perhaps a concoction of both working in tandem with one another, there have been some true oddities in the schedule for teams thus far before Christmas. Case in point, while some teams have already nearly played upwards of ten contests up thus far, there are others who are only flirting with five outings within that same span of time. But even all that aside, I humbly assert that everything else “odd” pales in comparison to this….In their next outing, Manheim Central will take on nearby Columbia. No, not at Hempfield. No, not at Warwick. No, not at either school’s home gym either. Instead, how about a casual 90-mile, hour and a half one-way drive up to Mifflin County? Yep, you read that right. Two schools found within a few miles of each other inside Lancaster County will meet up Lewistown of all places to help raise the curtain on Mifflin County’s holiday tournament come Wednesday. Yet no matter where they would play, whether it be a locale somewhere in the nether regions of a trip towards State College such as the case here, or somewhere else more centrally located, this is a game that will undoubtedly make either program all the better for it considering that both the Barons and Crimson Tide have their eyes on divisional titles this season. And hey, who knows? Maybe this will end up being a game that those of a more local audience will be able to see in a month and a half. That of course coming in what would be a possible future matchup with all the fanfare and intensity that comes prepackaged inside the L-L League tournament.
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