Central Dauphin Rejects Manheim Township’s Persistent Advances As Rams Take Third In Manheim Township Tip-Off Tournament

Written by: Andy Herr on December 4, 2022

You know, whenever Central Dauphin and Manheim Township happen to find themselves locked up in competition no matter what the sport, chances are two-fold. First, there will be a lot of eyeballs on the matchup itself. Why? Most certainly because those two names alone carry nothing if not a ton of equity and weight behind them given how successful the two overwhelmingly large public schools from the mid-state have been for quite some time, again, no matter the scholastic sport of your choosing given their name recognition alone. Secondly, part in parcel with the first point quite frankly, is that the stakes are usually pretty high whenever the Blue Streaks and Rams do happen to find themselves embroiled a hotly-contested battle with one another. And as fate would have it, yes, hyperbole alert pushed to the side for just a moment, but Saturday night’s consolation battle between the two in the third-place place game of the Manheim Township Tip-Off Tournament would check all those boxes.

Hyperbole noted because of the sheer fact that it was only the second game of a very long season still yet on the horizon. However, it cannot be overstated that coming out of the opening weekend with at least a 1-1 overall record is the first critical checkpoint of the season, especially considering that both Central Dauphin and Manheim Township compete within the unforgiving neighborhood that is District 3-6A basketball. And considering that both had lost their opening night contests against lower competition –in terms of what the enrollment-based classification system would tell you — in the Rams’ setback to 5A Muhlenberg and Township’s shortcoming against 3A Columbia as well, scooping up those precious power points could pay dividends as the season trudges forward towards mid-February.

Yet as would become readily apparent as the game itself rounded into form; Central Dauphin had no interest whatsoever in going back to Harrisburg without first taking something home with them. Unfortunately for the hosts, it would happen to be at their expense.

Early on however, it didn’t necessarily seem that way however. At least not when Manheim Township’s multi-talented 6’2 junior forward, Sebastian Henson, was able to work himself free off a screen and promptly splash in an early 3-ball which made it a quick 6-2 Streaks’ lead just three minutes into the contest.

That said, the long ball both giveth and taketh from the Township perspective considering that the Rams were then able to find themselves playing with the lead shortly thereafter, 9-8, following a trifecta knocked down by way of junior wing, Mason Gross, nearly two minutes after they had yielded the Streaks the aforementioned four-point advantage. From there, the three-point play of the old-fashioned ilk was on display for CD as a bucket through contact plus the free throw added on top courtesy of 6’4 senior, Georgios Arahovas, allowed the green-clad visitors to double-up their hosts, 16-8, with 1:30 still left to play in the first. And while Township would be able to insert a deuce into the Rams’ existing cushion throughout the final minute and change of the period, Central Dauphin’s 16-10 lead after the opening eight minutes seemed justified given their first quarter performance.

That said, the initial moments of the second frame saw the game do a complete about-face.

Despite staring up at the deficit in front of them once the second quarter got underway, Township remained undeterred. Case in point, a pair of jumpers chipped in by Landon Kennel and Henson respectively, making it a slim 16-14 Central Dauphin lead just 1:20 into the stanza. From there, Kennel, Township’s 6’4 junior big man who also happens to reside on the very short list of star wide receivers in all of District 3 as well, was able to tally a layup following his earlier J, allowing Township to surge back in front by an 18-16 count with 5:30 still left to play in half.

However, even despite all the momentum accrued amid their 8-0 salvo, that would be the last time Manheim Township would enjoy the spoils of playing with the lead for the remainder of the night.

For the overtaking of the scoreboard for good, Central Dauphin proceeded to get things started with a pair of triples cashed in by 6’1 sophomore guard, Wayne Fletcher II, as the Rams’ young buck was able to add half a dozen to what would be his final tally of 18 points once the evening was over with en route to an all-tournament selection nod to boot, but he also more importantly made it a 24-19 CD lead with 2:40 left to go before the break on the heels of his back-to-back treys. And speaking of runs, the Rams proceeded to keep marching on one of their own as the guests’ advantage then ballooned to a 31-19 difference in relatively short fashion following a Daron Haggans reverse finish at the cup, all of which led to the net result of a 33-21 Central Dauphin lead at the intermission once both teams retired to their respective locker rooms.

 Yet even while the back half of the second quarter had undeniably gone against them, Manheim Township continued to push onward once the second half got underway.

For proof of that, look no further than a Sebastian Henson acrobatic reverse layup at the tin which cut the Rams’ advantage down to single digits, 35-26, a difference which remained in place once Township 5’11 junior guard, Caden Young, was able to finish around the cup in his own right, making it a 39-30 affair with 3:30 left in the third.

However, as would be a prevailing theme throughout much of the entire evening, Central Dauphin was largely able to withstand any and all threats posed to them by way of the Blue Streaks.

That happened to be the case once CD’s senior athletic dynamo, Daron Haggans, was able to finish with a bucket inside, keeping the Rams’ lead at that nine-point threshold, 41-32, with the visitors eventually being able to saunter into the final quarter with ownership of the 43-36 lead 2:15 later.

In the final frame, Township certainly did their best to keep firing off shots.

Sure enough, again, refusing to simply take a possible loss with acceptance, Township continued to battle, eventually finding themselves with a somewhat do-able eight-point deficit with 3:10 left following another Landon Kennel bunny inside, making it a 49-41 contest as Kennel would finish the evening with a nine-point outing to his name.

However, even despite the Streaks continuing to hang around at 52-44 with 1:38 left following a key triple knocked down by Township 5’10 junior guard, William King, Central Dauphin had enough of being flirtatious.

Instead, the Rams’ bench was able to bear witness to two key buckets late in the frame. The first of which came with a Haggans take to the rack making it a 54-44 lead which preceded the death-nail on Township’s comeback efforts, a Mason Gross runaway layup in transition which made it a 58-46 count, which is exactly where things would remain in place once the final minute and change ticked off the fourth quarter clock as Central Dauphin found themselves back on level ground at 1-1 on the young season while Manheim Township came out of the opening weekend with an 0-2 record next to their name on the ledger following Central Dauphin’s 58-46 triumph on Saturday night.

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