Lancaster Mennonite Hits The Trifecta As Blazers Top Antietam For Third Straight Year To Claim District 3-2A Supremacy
Written by: Andy Herr on February 28, 2023
Cam Hurst and David Weaver- Three peat
Full disclosure, but we must start this piece by laying out an inquiry that most in basketball circles would consider to be completely blasphemous given the months of hard work that each team puts in year-round to try and reach this particular summit. Even still, we must ask—Was it possible that Tuesday afternoon’s District 3-2A title game was a little bit anticlimactic all things considered?
Of course, we utter that outward question with the upmost consideration and appreciation considering that its two entrants have made this such an annual tradition between themselves that the bracket might as be labeled as the “Lancaster Mennonite/Antietam Invitational.” After all, this year marked the third-straight year where the Blazers and Mounts would meet up to write the final chapter of the District 3 season inside the 2A ranks with Lancaster Mennonite eventually emerging as the victor in each of the two previous meetings, including one skirmish of which was held on their very own campus thanks to everyone’s good friend (he said in jest), COVID-19.
And wouldn’t you know it, but that same old storyline held true to form in 2022-23 yet again.
That said, it wasn’t necessarily a shock to see Mennonite emerge into the final pairing yet again. In fact, one could argue that the advent of the six-classification system has benefitted no program more in the entire mid-state than the Blazers themselves seeing as how they for years would climb up and climb up, only to be knocked back down to base camp by the Trinity Shamrocks on any given year it largely seemed. Sure enough, with the blessing of Trinity being bumped up to that of a 3A school, the Blazers have filled that void and have established themselves as the foremost bully inside this particular class, a feat that comes with a top-seed awaiting in the state tournament coming out of District 3’s weekend – or this year weekdays – of championship competition. And once there, Mennonite typically makes a long jaunt throughout the state field, so long in fact that they are typically the final Lancaster-Lebanon League boys’ still found playing competitive ball on any given year. Ironically though, just so long as long as Mennonite doesn’t inevitably run into Old Forge somewhere along the journey it would appear as the small public school from outside of the Scranton city limits has played the role of the Blazers’ kryptonite the last two seasons seeing as how the Devils have knocked Mennonite out of the PIAA bracket on each successive occasion.
But scouring the statewide bracket to see where an adversary the likes of Old Forge may be situated is a problem for Lancaster Mennonite of the future to worry about. Here, in a rare Tuesday afternoon game at the palatial Giant Center, was the Blazers’ opportunity at formally calling themselves a dynasty by going back-to-back-to-back should they be able to head home with a trophy that would have the year 2023 inscribed on it, something that would pair rather nicely alongside the two they already had placed inside the trophy case that lists 2021 and 2022 respectively.
However, if there was one saving grace above all else that was likely to keep the Blazers relatively grounded and level-headed coming into the task at hand, it was almost certainly the aspect of seeing Antietam there on the opposite line of the bracket.
Simply put, for a program that has thrived upon the identity it has created for itself by the way in which the orange and black play with clear chips on their respective shoulders by never backing down from a fight, the Mounts surely relished the opportunity at playing the role of spoiler on Mennonite’s coronation, especially seeing as how this had evolved into a two-year-old score to settle in this the newest rivalry that District 3 has created with advent of the six-classification expansion.
But if we’re keeping score here, the ledger now reads 3-0 Lancaster Mennonite’s favor as far as this series is most concerned once the final buzzer rang out on Tuesday.
Early on though, it didn’t necessarily seem as if the eventual outcome would be a forgone conclusion however.
At least certainly not when Antietam’s Carson Lubas completed a tough take to the cup which knotted things up at 5-apeice three minutes into the opening stanza. And sure, while Mennonite was able to counter back with a rally that was punctuated by a David Weaver bucket inside that made it 11-7 in the Blazers’ favor with just 1:15 left to tick off the first quarter clock, a timely 3-ball on the Mounts’ ensuing offensive trip down the floor by way of 6’4 sophomore wing Julious Williams not only got Antietam back within a whisker at 11-10, but a Williams bunny off a nice feed underneath the cup mere moments before the first quarter horn blared sent the team clad in orange hailing from the foot of Mount Penn in Berks County into the second quarter with ownership of the 14-13 after the opening eight minutes.
The second stanza though? Well, that would prove the quarter where the Blazers would make their initial push of the afternoon.
Case in point, following a nice move en route to the hoop by Mennonite’s all-state guard, Cam Hurst, the Blazers found themselves with possession of the 17-14 lead three minutes into the quarter. Then, following a 3-ball sunk by the 6’2 senior that preceded a knife-like move to the tin courtesy of Myles Halvorsen, the Mennonite cushion had swelled up to a half dozen, 25-19, with one minute and change left before the halftime recess. Yet once the clock eventually did run dry, it would prove to be a 27-19 advantage owned by the back-to-back defending champs once halftime rolled around.
However, unfortunately for the Antietam contingent, the ten-minute break in the action did little to nothing when it came to slowing down the Mennonite machine.
There, with the third quarter still well in its infancy, a pair of buckets in quick succession chipped in by way of yet another stalwart found inside the Mennonite lineup, Savier Sumrall, forced the Mounts into burning an early timeout with momentum clearly going against them not even a minute into the period. Then, following a bucket in transition by way of one of Mennonite’s youngest of players, freshman guard Chase Hurst, the Blazers’ lead had suddenly ballooned up to a 35-19 count with 5:15 still left to go in third.
Suffice to say, time was now of the essence for Antietam to try and counter with some sort of rebuttal with time running thin along with the fact that the Mounts’ deficit was only growing steeper and steeper. Well, in that regard, Antietam most certainly welcomed the services of Jovan Hollis into the equation as the Mounts’ 6’3 senior forward put together a 5-0 rally all by himself that cut the Blazers’ lead back down to a baker’s dozen, 37-24, with inside of three minutes left to be played in the frame. Speaking of Hollis, he would be the one who would best stir the Mounts’ drink on this day as the matchup nightmare proved himself to be precisely that against Lancaster Mennonite, something best exemplified by his team-high 18-point afternoon.
To be sure, the Hollis-led rally was the foremost catalyst for Antietam’s late charge to end the third period as the Mounts had successfully clawed their way back within nine at 39-30 with only the final eight minutes left to be played.
Here again though, the shots traded back and forth between the two sides only continued to be waged onward.
Sure, while there was a Cam Hurst traditional three-point play at the 5:30 mark of the fourth that put the Blazers up by two touchdowns at 44-30, a three-point addition to his game-high 19-point outing, a hard-nosed take to the tin via the efforts of Antietam 6’3 senior guard Noah Archambault cut the gap right back down to ten at 44-34 not long thereafter to cap off the timely 4-0 Mounts’ charge.
But that would be the last instance of Lancaster Mennonite appearing to come across as a hospitable acquaintance.
True to form, having excelled on this very same stage before, the Blazers took off past the Mounts and never looked back.
For proof of that, it’d be easy to cite a leak-out bucket that ended in a Myles Halvorsen deuce, making it a commanding 54-37 Mennonite advantage with time starting to run out on the prospect of Antietam perhaps reversing its fortune of the very fate they’ve experienced the previous two years in this very game.
However, by that time, the fact of the matter was that the bulk of the damage had already been done. And once it was done for good, aided by the chants of “three-peat” from the adorning Lancaster Mennonite student section behind the bench, the latest chapter in this dynasty-like story was formally cemented into reality as Lancaster Mennonite was able to prevail over a very game Antietam crew by virtue of a 57-44 final triumph around the dinner hour at Giant Center on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ve been blessed with very good players and that helps a ton,” Lancaster Mennonite head coach Seth Buckwalter said following his third-straight District 3 title while carrying his team’s scorebook underneath his arm and adorning duffle bag draped over his shoulder after posing for the obligatory photos, perhaps the truest example as to business-like demeanor that the Blazers came into the day with. “But this year was a challenge,” he candidly admitted. “Almost everybody in our lineup sat out at least one game with an injury. Battling that all year as we got closer to the playoffs, these guys still feel like they have a next level they can get to because we’ve only played six games with our current lineup, so we’re hoping we can keep playing a little bit better.”
And at times on Tuesday, “playing a little bit better” meant that they would have to stave off Antietam’s persistent charges. In that regard, mission accomplished.
“The guys definitely didn’t panic,” Buckwalter said of his team’s refusal to blink, particularly with the Mounts coming downhill fast near the conclusion of the third quarter. “But we have great leaders,” he added without hesitation. “We have great leaders at every level and guys who help along the young guys as well.”
That right there? That right there might be the biggest thing to takeaway from Tuesday in Hershey from the Blazers’ perspective first and foremost. Yes, while this was a day largely reserved for marking the culmination of three consecutive District 3 titles for Lancaster Mennonite, the fact of the matter is that this is a program currently residing on nothing but a firm foundation for years and years to come. And when you get right down to it, perhaps that’s the biggest compliment of all. If you can make the highest levels of success almost routine, rest assured that you’re doing something right. And if we’re keeping track, no one, at least in the 2A ranks of District 3 that is, has been doing it any better of late than Lancaster Mennonite the last three years.
Bill Rothwein- 6’2″ Freshman with LLhoops swag
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