Behind Book And Witman’s Big Nights (And Some ‘GWP’s’), Manheim Central Scores Key December Section Win In Defeating ELCO As Barons Aim To Regain ‘Rhythm’

Written by: Andy Herr on December 20, 2025

The month of December is always a fun one around here when it comes to the world of high school basketball. Sure, aside from a Captain Obvious moment to mention how the 12^th month on the calendar is always the first month of the hoops slate starting in full bloom, one of the better features that routinely comes out of this first month are the storylines that round into form.

Some of them maybe we never saw coming.

There are definitely strong nominations to be had when the conversation shifts to best overall storyline throughout the first couple of weeks regarding this season. Chief among them, Conestoga Valley coming out of the starting blocks incredibly strong heading into their Friday night game against Solanco with the Buckskins owning a perfect 6-0 record to their name.

But if said award wouldn’t be bestowed upon the CV Buckskins, let us introduce you to these guys – the ELCO Raiders.

In judging them purely based on their overall record alone, 7-1 coming into their game Friday evening, it’s rather apparent that the Raiders have made the most of their time throughout their first eight games of the season thus far considering such a mark in the win/loss ledger. That lone defeat you ask? A mere nine points to Section One’s Lebanon – in the Cedars’ own house – as Lebanon knocked off ELCO in a 60-51 verdict back on December 6^th.

Since then, aside from a hard-fought 38-33 victory over Schuylkill Valley, no opponent has really appeared to even be in the Raiders’ area code all that much in assessing their other final scores during the Raiders’ current sojourn of five consecutive victories when you consider that those wins have come by an average of margin of victory of 18 points, a feat which means that ELCO has been closer to inflicting the mercy rule upon their opposition rather than suffering a loss in actuality.

But did we see this coming?

In truth, it depends on who the “we” being described is exactly.

To most, the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Three pecking order coming into the season largely started with Octorara, a group returning their entire roster from last season’s run into the 5A state playoffs, and then likely Lampeter-Strasburg and/or Manheim Central coming in behind the Braves on those preseason projections. Perhaps those two out of force of habit more than anything else considering the sheer success that both the Pioneers and Barons have enjoyed in recent memory most of all despite both programs suffering key graduation losses this past spring which hit their respective rosters.

Notice then though how we still haven’t mentioned ELCO yet?

To be perfectly fair though, maybe the Raiders’ start to the campaign in 2025-26 shouldn’t be viewed through the prism of “surprise.” Heck, when you return the services of veteran seniors the likes of Josiah Hayes, Kaden Tillison, and Paul Williams, all of whom know their way around a gym or too inside this league given their years of combined experience, yeah, maybe this shouldn’t be considered a story that’s just now making its way from the furthest depths of left field.

But as anyone with any sort of experience coming from within this conference will tell you, whether it be from a player, a coach, or just someone who follows the comings and goings around the league on their own accord, games played within the section are a ballgame entirely different. Make that section games played on the road and you’re suddenly talking about an ball of wax of which there really is no equal or comparative measure. And not to throw a bucket of cold water on that scintillating ELCO start here considering you can only play the schedule given to you, but save for a road game at Donegal, the Raiders were sure to see that those road tests would ratchet up here ten-fold moving forward.

Like, say on Friday night for instance.

An ebb and flow of emotions. Without speaking for those in Barons’ camp directly, that’s likely been the prevailing feelings shared over the course of Manheim Central’s first four games thus far.

To start, a tough, emotional defeat at the hands of Conestoga Valley in the season opener. Then, some good vibes accrued by going on the road and defeating Northern York their next time out to get back even at .500. To follow that though, a road setback at the hands of those aforementioned Octorara Braves, before a cruel overtime loss at Cocalico, a game much in the same vein as the CV contest that the Barons likely had circled on their calendars for quite some time as those were the same two schools who largely made Central suffer their most stinging of defeats down the stretch last season, losses that ultimately helped lower the curtain on what had been a 20-win regular season jaunt prior to the start of the playoffs a year ago for the Barons.

For that reason, that’s part of the reason as to why ELCO’s Friday night trip to Manheim was so intriguing. Could the Raiders keep up this fast start and slay a big road demon? And could Manheim Central re-insert themselves into the discussion provided they pull off a head-turning victory against this ELCO crew?

And in the end, while not necessarily emphatic in the literal sense of the word, the Barons’ collective effort by all parties from start to finish Friday night would help make the latter and not the former ring true by the end of the evening.

The juice that the hosts relied upon in the early going? A deft touch from beyond the arc.

Sparked by a pair of triples sunk by way of the senior duo of Maddix Witman and Mason Olinger respectively to help get things started, Manheim Central found themselves with an 8-6 advantage just three minutes into the contest in initial action that saw both squads trading opening barbs.

Yet while they may not have known it at the time, that would prove to be the final instance in which the Barons would ever be required to come from behind against this group of Raiders for the duration of the contest.

Speaking of Witman, not even a wardrobe change midgame that forced the Barons’ guard who typically wears #0 to adopt a #14 jersey because of a bloodied uniform seemed to deter him all that much.

Case in point, Witman proceeding to knock down an NBA trey against the ELCO 2-3 zone staring right in front him, this latest Witman-trey now upping the Central cushion out to an 11-8 difference no more than a minute later following his prior 3-ball.

Then, the one who typically handles to the scoring load for the Barons’ collective unit on most occasions, Chase Book, proceeded to then knock down a trifecta of his own inside the first quarter’s waning stages as Book’s exploits that came paired alongside a key Isaac Cook bucket tallied just prior to the first quarter horn going off helped to vault the Barons into the second stanza with the added benefit of the 19-13 lead.

Come the start of the second, Book picked up right where he had just left off. In other words, unwelcome news for the ELCO contingent.

While en route to what would be team-high scoring honors once more by the time the dust would settle in this one, crystalizing in the form of a 25-point showing to pace the Barons’ outfit against ELCO, the Manheim Central senior wing helped raise the curtain on the new quarter by rattling off two straight buckets in quick succession with his four point addition helping to make it a 23-15 Central lead with the visitors suddenly seeing themselves trailing by darn near double figures.

Ironically though, Book wasn’t done writing.

Later, in the form of back-to-back buckets once again, Book helped to award Manheim what was then their largest lead of the evening at a ten-point gap, 29-19, with the first half rapidly drawing to a close.

By this point, it’d be apropos to say that ELCO needed a cut-stopper to help stop the bleeding. Fortunately, they too have someone on their roster who has the talent and pure ability to help get them out from plenty of tight jams.

While maybe it wouldn’t be fair to characterize the ELCO scoring output on Friday night as an entirely a one-man show that took the form of Kaden Tillison, it wouldn’t necessarily be all that inaccurate either.

As far as the specifics, Tillison proved himself to be a riddle which the Barons couldn’t solve on Friday, highlighted by the Raiders’ supremely talented senior guard going off for what would solidify into a game-high scoring punch of 32 points to his name. For that matter, no other member of the ELCO contingent would come within 21 points of Tillson’s mark. With that in mind, Tillison tried to keep his troops engaged in the fight all throughout, but especially with a personal five-point swing in the waning stages of the second quarter action – including a trey nailed right before the buzzer – helping to keep the guests from Myerstown within reach somewhat albeit with a 33-24 difference come the start of the second half.

Yet once the third quarter rolled around, while it would be true that there were ten players playing out there on the court at any one time, this one had suddenly morphed into a makeshift game of one-on-one. Well, two-on-one battle perhaps that was currently being waged between Chase Book and Maddix Witman leading Manheim Central’s efforts, with Kaden Tillison meanwhile repping the ELCO charge.

Case in point, while Tillison would come up with a pair of buckets in successive fashion which helped the Raiders lay within half a dozen at 35-29 with 4:20 left in the period, Witman decided to take the baton and run with it in leading his side.

On the night, the number would translate to five.

Five meaning the number of 3-balls Maddix Witman dialed up against ELCO on Friday night. Needless to say, such productivity from beyond the arc usually flips the course of momentum. With that front of mind, a pair of Witman triples found inside the middle portions of the third frame gave Central what felt to be a commanding 41-29 cushion which only grew more impressive in stature once his fellow scoring mate, Chase Book, followed suit with a take to the rack which prompted ELCO into calling a timeout to try and stem the tide with 3:01 left in the quarter and the Barons rolling.

Funny enough, five triples would be the same exact number that Kaden Tillison would counter back with on Friday night as well.

In fact, that once impressive Manheim Central buffer was suddenly whittled down to much more modest six, 47-41, with Tillison’s trey from bonus distance capping two prior buckets of his own doing from inside the painted area just before it, an exchange which allowed the Raiders to roar back into the thick of things with time winding down in the penultimate period.

But the other member of the Barons’ prolific punch, Mr. Book, he helped to calm some of that sudden nervous energy bubbling up inside “The Derb” with a deadly trey of his own mere moments before the quarter concluded, making it a 50-41 Manheim Central lead upon entering the fourth.

Yet Tillison wouldn’t allow his team to go without offering one last rebuttal to try and get the Raiders out of dodge with a victory, especially one in which ELCO had barely led whatsoever.

For that proof, Tillison would then submit another of that handful of 3-balls near the midway point of the final act, this most recent example here making it a 52-50 contest with the Raiders back within their closest margin at any singular point seen since the first quarter.

Even still, while Tillison would do his yeoman’s work to help power ELCO towards the finish line, Maddix Witman conversely wasn’t entertaining any of that.

Ironically enough, coming on the ensuing possession down the floor following Tillison’s trey which cut it to a pair, Witman would counter back with a hoop plus the harm to then extend the MC lead back to five, 55-50, with all of 4:52 remaining by that point.

But Witman was only truly saving his best for the final encore.

While it wasn’t necessarily the game-winning bucket per se, it certainly had that feeling wrapped up in it once Witman, well on his way towards authoring a 22-point on the night all his own, proceeded to complete the rare four-point play not long afterwards as Witman followed up his all-cotton trifecta sunk through contact with a freebie at the charity stripe to top it all off, a key momentum-swing which vaulted Manheim Central back out to a 61-53 lead with time starting to run somewhat thin on the ELCO clan.

Don’t bother mentioning that to Tillison though.

Yes, after another triple rained down by the sixth-leading scorer across the entire L-L League, Tillison had done his part to help bring the Raiders back within two possessions, 61-57, with a shade over one minute left to be played.

However, try as they might, that would be all the closer ELCO would get when it came towards stealing a late-game victory to maintain their impressive start to December provided it came part in parcel with a victory enjoyed on this night.

In the closing seconds, a way that truly best exemplified the crucial minutes that the likes of Isaac Cook had offered all throughout, the final bow on this eventual Manheim Central victory would come via the late-game foul shooting of the other key members of the Barons’ cast, Mason Olinger and Colin Connelly respectively, as the pair of MC seniors helped to shut the lights out on ELCO, while simultaneously turning up the lights in their own house moving forward, as the Barons were able to head into the holiday break joyful courtesy a key 64-57 triumph over a game bunch of Raiders hailing from the eastern side of Lebanon County.

Afterwards, while they both obviously were the key ingredients as to why this proved to be a stew worth serving, both Chase Book and Maddix Witman were quick to point out the efforts of their fellow teammates as well, a feature of team unity that shouldn’t go unnoticed nor underappreciated.

“Isaac (Cook) had some big rebounds for us, big minutes for sure,” Book offered up of his 5’11 junior running mate who’s impact on the outcome didn’t go without importance. “We had a slow start to the season for sure, but we played some pretty good teams too…I feel like we’ll be fine, especially when guys like Isaac can play big roles like he did tonight.”

Witman too felt the same.

“Isaac, he was out there grabbing like every rebound for us,” Witman chimed in regarding Cook’s performance. “If he doesn’t do those little things, we don’t score off those (rebounds). Jayvior (Morales), he was a big help with our rebounding tonight too…We need everyone to do all those little things.”

Fair and well-stated point, but scoring a combined 47 points between both Book and Witman isn’t too shabby either of course.

“I still feel like there’s another level I can get to,” Book said when asked about his 25-point night viewed through the game’s 32 minutes. “I missed some 3’s out there that I normally would hit, but I was playing well down low in the paint I thought…We put in a new offense for me to get the ball in the paint to where I can get it and do my thing. I really like that,” Book said with a smile and laugh regarding the added onus offensively.

A locale on the court not only pivotal for his own personal production, but getting others involved as well. Like, say Maddix Witman for instance.

“(Maddix) was hot tonight. He was making everything,” Book said praising his fellow senior tag team partner. “I was just finding him. When I got the ball down low, the defense would collapse, I’d just kick out to him, and he’d make it every time. I’m really proud of him.”

As far as Mr. Witman, while he might’ve begun the night in one jersey and had to change things up (literally) by adopting a new number midgame, don’t be so sure that a numerical change will be in his future.

“Nah, 0 is my favorite number. I’ll be keeping #0,” Witman said lightheartedly about the whole circumstance. “In class today, I was trying to scrape glue off the project I was working on with a chisel, and I cut my finger. I had Gabby, our trainer, wrap it for me before the game, but it kept slipping off so I ended up getting a little blood on my jersey,” he continued. “I just ended up getting a JV jersey to wear.”

Oddly enough, a little symbolic in the way Manheim Central found themselves entering the evening too. Things might not start according to plan, but early panic will lead to anything but a positive outcome in the long run. Witman himself was well cognizant of that.

“I mean, we weren’t off to a great start this season. We had two games there (Octorara and Cocalico) where we just needed to get it together,” Witman said of the team’s prior two setbacks. “Hopefully, now, we started to find our rhythm.”

His coach would tend to agree.

“No, the mood’s been great,” Manheim Central head coach, Charlie Fisher, said regarding the vibes surrounding his club in general coming into Friday night. “We are where we are.”

“The expectation is high just because of what we’ve been able to do as a program,” he continued. “Right now, we just have a bunch of guys that are just trying to figure out varsity basketball right now. High school basketball is its own monster. There’s nothing like it. That’s why I love it more than anything in the entire world of sports,” said Fisher.

“We’re just trying to figure it out right now. I don’t think it’s tension, pressure, or anything like that. I think it’s just guys trying to figure out what the right thing to do is,” the Barons’ chief said simply. “We’re writing it down. GWP. Game winning plays. Can we make enough game-winning plays to win a game? Tonight, we did enough to win a game. We did plenty of stuff I wish we didn’t do,” Fisher then chuckled. “But that’s part of the grind where every day is a new journey.”

“It’s the emphasis of the blue-collar, hard-nosed stuff. Understanding what we gotta do to win,” said Fisher of what he hopes his team takes out of this game and applies moving forward.

“To use the analogy, when you’re in the water out in the open ocean and your boat’s cruising, you’re loving life and living the dream. Sometimes, you take on water though. Right now, we’re getting the buckets out. You just gotta do what you gotta do in order to stay afloat. Sometimes it’ll be ugly, but if you can make enough of those plays, it gives you a chance to win. We did that tonight…..We don’t need to win pretty,” he said in closing. “We just have to win.”

On Friday, in as close to a must-have scenario as you’ll find in mid-December game, Manheim Central did precisely that.