Manheim Central Seniors Take Center Stage On Senior Night As Barons Inch Closer Towards Possible L-L League Tourney Run With Friday Night Win Over Solanco Who Continues To ‘Chase’
Written by: Andy Herr on February 4, 2024
Admittedly, it’s probably been the type of grind for the Solanco Golden Mules boys’ basketball team so far this winter that makes them feel as if they were trying to cut a two-dollar steak with plastic utensils throughout the span of these last two months. But for all the disappointment that may come part in parcel with that of a 2-18 overall record, Solanco’s mark coming into Friday night, there is far more to their story than simply those numbers conjoined together that are separated by a tiny dash.
While it may be easy to see and understand as to why a squad in the current position of Solanco may have to fight, claw, scratch, insert any similar activity of your choosing, to get some of the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s notoriety and overall attention this season, that would be doing this pack of Mules a great disservice.
For anyone who happens to watch Anthony Hall, Solanco’s second-year head coach, operate while on the bench, you’d think that the playoffs were on the line on an almost nightly basis. In many ways though, that’s maybe the best honor that a coach in his current shoes can possibly bestow upon his team who has been struggling to push the rock uphill in a season such as this. Why? Well, because it shows he still cares for one. After all, how many times in sports do we see that when the dreams of a season go by the wayside, everyone just inevitably mails it in so to speak and counts down the days –if not the hours—until eventual freedom?
But that’s not occurring in Quarryville down in the southern end. And truthfully, it absolutely needs to be that way when you’re trying to construct the blueprint for a program that has potential, and at times has lived up to it during its history, as Hall is trying to do. Not only that, but for someone who also happens to sit in the athletic director’s chair such as he during his quote unquote “9 to 5 job,” he has seen first-hand what Solanco athletics can mean to that community which essentially converges upon the school’s campus as a gathering spot when events are taking place. And if he had his way, the gym during the winter months would be equally as vibrant and electric as it has been just across the parking lot in recent years during football Fridays in the fall in particular as a reference point.
Yet this is a steady and gradual climb where the bare bones still need to be installed. It won’t happen overnight. Yes, while the wins have been in relatively short supply during this year and last, sometimes going through these wars and coming out the other side with scars and wounds is the best recipe to decide that you simply grow tired of feeling that way, refuse to accept such a feeling of inevitable fate, and then want the other team to be on the other end of experiencing such anguish every now and then at your expense. To see Hall coach, you’d understand that he already feels that way and is trying to get that message across to his troops.
That said, the immediate road ahead for Solanco certainly didn’t get any easier whatsoever seeing as how their travel itinerary brought them northward to Manheim in taking on a Barons squad Friday night at their makeshift home of Doe Run Elementary while understandably in a bit of a sour mood in coming off a narrow loss to Kennard-Dale on the road their last time out which ironically came just 24 hours after a heart-stopping win against Ephrata earlier this week which gave Manheim a massive leg-up in their L-L tourney prospects, perfectly encapsulating the roller coaster season from not just the Barons themselves, but most every L-L team so far this season one could rightfully argue.
But on this night, there would be no roller coaster type swings in-game. Yes, while Solanco did their best to put up a fight for all of 32 minutes on Friday night, the Barons’ weapons proved far too plentiful once the dust had finally settled and curtain had closed.
Truthfully, things couldn’t have started off much better for Manheim Central if the initial assignment put forth was to make a strong opening statement.
Granted, while the hosts had seen their lead sliced down to a penny at 3-2 following a Noah Bailey bucket inside for the Mules, an Aaron Enterline two-handed dunk wasn’t far behind as Enterline’s throwdown made it a 6-2 Barons’ advantage with three minutes have gone by at that particular juncture. Then, after a pair of free throws tallied by the Manheim Central phenom of a 6’3 athletically gifted wing, Enterline had successfully scored seven of the Barons’ first ten points once it became a 10-2 Central cushion with a 3:50 then left in the opening stanza.
Unfortunately for the Quarryville folks, the hits just kept on coming at them throughout the first frame by and large.
Yes, while Noah Bailey was able to continue being his same ol’ hard-working self while mixing it up inside to aid in the Golden Mules’ collective cause, something best evidenced by his offensive rebound and stick-back which made it a 10-4 affair while en route to bucketing eight points to his night’s total, an old-fashioned three-point play contributed by way of Manheim Central sophomore guard, Chase Book, got the margin up to double digits as the Book-led momentum swing promptly made it a 15-4 ballgame before Manheim Central was able to carry the 16-6 lead with them into the second act.
Yet for as strong and emphatic as the Barons may have appeared to be right from the opening jump, their second quarter performance against Solanco wasn’t too shabby either.
For that, while Aaron Enterline had already been seen soaring through the air before coming down with a powerful two-handed dunk, almost all of humanity was keenly aware of what figured to be in store once he came away with a pilfer before taking off a breakaway and tallying yet another impressive dunk to his early evening total as this one would make it a 22-8 ballgame with 6:22 left before half as Solanco was forced into burning a timeout to try and stem the tide.
However, much to the Mules’ chagrin, that largely wouldn’t come to pass.
Sure, while dunks at the high school level are almost always going to draw the upmost attention, sometimes it’s the hustle plays that are even more impressive. In that regard, it’d be easy to cite a fantastic behind-the-back save along the baseline from Mason Rodgers whose frantic tip out to the perimeter found the waiting hands of Sammy Witmer who in turn buried a trifecta as the impromptu and unorthodox Rodgers to Witmer connection would give the Barons a 25-8 lead with the hosts clearly now just having fun on Senior Night by that point.
Needless too say, it was getting late quickly on Solanco with more than half the game still left to be played. And yet, the only real way they were going to get back in this one was by eating the elephant one bite at a time in keeping with the metaphorical phrases. For that, a 3-ball dialed up by one of the Mules’ promising underclassmen, Kayden Tillie, cut the Manheim lead in half at 30-15 following the sophomore’s triple which proved vital with 2:30 left before the intermission.
Even still, Manheim Central continued to be less than hospitable hosts throughout those final two minutes and change most especially.
In fact, the Barons’ cushion would later flirt with the 20-point margin following a layup in transition by way of Book, making it 36-17 ballgame with just one minute left standing before each coach would get a chance to address things directly with their troops following the first two quarters of play.
That said, the margin would indeed creep over top of 20-points within the final few seconds as an Enterline take to the cup would make it a 38-17 lead which that remained in place come the halftime break with Enterline well on his way to capturing another night of game-high scoring honors in posting an eventual 15-point showing.
But not even the brief stoppage seemed to be much of anything tangible when it came to throwing the Barons off course on this night.
Case in point, a pair of Manheim Central triples knocked down by a pair of their senior guards found in Jackson Tracy and Zac Hahn respectively to get the party started, before another member of the four-man senior class, yes, Aaron Enterline, continued with his traditional act of inflicting pain within the lane as an Enterline bunny at the cup made it a commanding 48-19 Barons’ lead with a shade over two minutes having expired off the third quarter clock. Speaking of Hahn and Enterline, while their relationship no matter what the sport typically ends in Hahn tossing the ball to Enterline in some form or fashion, the roles were reversed albeit for at least one moment in time as an Enterline to Hahn dish inside not only gave Hahn two more points which culminated in a solid half dozen by the end of his night, but this particular exchange from receiver to quarterback allowed Manheim Central to crack half a hundred given the 50-21 score.
And yet even while another integral member of the Solanco returning ensemble who figures to be back in the fold for the next couple of seasons, Nolan Wagner, was able to score a pair of buckets within that same span of time that saw the sophomore proceed to claim team-high scoring marks with a nine-point outing, the eventual mercy-rule went into effect against Solanco following a 2-2 trip to the charity stripe from Landon Zeiset, making it 54-23 Barons’ lead with roughly 70 seconds left in the third period.
By now though, while Manheim carrying the 54-25 lead with them into the final frame, the only real remaining question left outstanding would be just how strong the Golden Mules would finish. Well, while understandably not being a fan of pulling out any sort of moral victory card to show off and flash around, the fact of the matter was that the visitors would indeed go on to win the fourth quarter on Friday night.
For that would get kicked-started right out of the chute once Wagner, the Golden Mules’ most prolific flame-thrower from beyond the arc this season, would pour in a triple to get the fourth quarter underway which made it a 55-28 difference with the running clock making things far quicker.
And while Manheim Central 5’10 junior guard, Kyle Mylin, would tally a pullup jumper midway through with things nearly hitting that 30-point ceiling once more at 59-30 with 1:40 left to play, perhaps the clip that Solanco can chop up and use the most when it comes to teaching from this game on Friday night came when yes, another Golden Mules’ underclassman, sophomore guard Isaiah Wright, outright stole a possession from the Barons before coming down the floor with his prize and sinking a smooth pullup jumper, making it a 59-34 contest with time continuing to bleed away.
Yet once it did and the scoreboard clock at Doe Run read nothing but zeroes, it would culminate in a final 59-36 Manheim Central victory over Solanco, a game in which the Barons never trailed, which also saw Manheim Central effectively move one step closer towards locking up an L-L League tourney bid officially with the Barons of course eager at getting a chance at returning to Manheim Township for the right to compete for the league’s top prize in the title fight for what would be the second year in a row.
But while one team may be focused on their postseason which will soon get underway in earnest here in a matter of days, the team found sitting on the other bench on Friday night is just as focused on their future as well. Yes, even if it may be viewed through an entirely different prism.
“I wouldn’t say it’s been slower than I thought, but I would say that it’s been my most challenging program just because we are so far behind,” Solanco head coach Anthony Hall candidly admitted in the postmortem Friday night in regard to the steps that the Golden Mules’ program still needs to yet take. “We’re behind fundamentally, but we’re also behind experience wise too. Like with the rotations (defensively) when you heard me yelling tonight. That’s two years of understanding how to run Shell Drill and how to rotate for each other,” he continued. “I mean, we’ve had some games this year that we probably should’ve won, but (Manheim Central) is very, very good. That’s who we’re chasing. We’re chasing them and we’re chasing Warwick. We’ll get there. We’re in year two of this and we’re about where we should be.”
“They’re tired of losing. Trust me, they’re tired of losing. They just don’t know to break through it just yet,” Hall mentioned of his troops who are continuing to climb when it comes to learning the rigors of the varsity level. “There’s still old habits creeping out in pressure situations….Last year, averaging 25 guys showing up at 6am started the process. Now, it’s just playing experience. We’ve got to be in multiple summer leagues this summer and we have to play together,” he went on to say of what lies ahead in the upcoming months. “We don’t have the type of program (at Solanco) where guys can just go out and do AAU and play for all these different programs. We have to stay together. We’re getting in Linville, we have to play at Hempfield, we have to get in at Nook, and I have to have open gyms as soon as possible,” Hall would mention of three foremost summer league gauntlets most common to Lancaster County clubs and his aspirations to be within the triumvirate. “It’s all part of the process.”
Of course, those grand plans are all fine and dandy. But, if your message in turn falls on deaf ears, everything is then rendered moot. Fortunately for Hall, albeit with the growing pains that comes along with it, he knows the agents of change are already well within reach.
“The kids that are serious about changing this program are expecting it,” said Hall. “Right before we started talking right here, one of my younger kids was just asking me, ‘Coach, when are we getting started?’ They know 6am workouts are coming. And (his players) know that’s the only time I can offer to them because I have baseball, softball, and track to manage in the spring,” the Solanco AD was quick to point out. “When I put stuff out on paper, the kids show up. The big key will be changing the mindset of our players that believe that the summer is for AAU and getting away. I believe that our top players are receiving that message and are going to make the change. But, at the same time, I won’t step on them being an individual and getting some experience in getting away from me. That then becomes part of the third year in continuing to change the mindset of what the coaching staff is asking for being more important than what you think is important. It’s year three.”
Again though, if there’s someone uniquely qualified to occupy that chair on the very far end of the Mules bench and what it will take, there’s probably no better candidate than the one who oversees the entire athletic department from top-to-bottom.
“Every coach that I hire as the AD, I hire them with the premise of you’ve got four to five years to turn the program around because it ain’t happening in two years,” Hall acknowledged. “So, I’m in year two of my own philosophy.”
“What gives me promise is my past experience and past history,” he would mention of what excites him moving forward in leading this ship. “Number one, my staff constantly being on me about the positives. I’m a glass tipped over kinda guy. Like, when the bottoms falls out, the bottom falls out of Coach Hall and they then have to deal with it before my wife does,” he quipped. “But, the promise is Mark Riley running the 9th grade program, former Solanco player, who’s been running the travel league teams for years and they’re competing and they’re winning. A bunch of those kids come to me next year…I’ve got younger coaches with younger guys from 5th grade straight on through that are building, that are coaching, that are teaching, and that are mentoring. For example, our 6th grade team loses in the second round of the playoffs. First time in a long time that Solanco Basketball at that level has made playoffs. Our 5th grade travel team loses in the second round of playoffs and were in both of those games. We’re getting parents to understand that we have to travel and take them outside the Solanco borders for things. The people that are serious about basketball are buying in to that…The promise is in the younger crop and some of my older guys getting fed up with losing,” said Hall. “The big piece is when they start to get on each other about not showing up. Like, ‘I was there. Where were you?’”
“I’ve got great young men,” Hall would mention in closing. “They are great young men that treat each other like great young men. I have yet to have a dawg, but he’s coming.”
Then, with having Coach Hall in charge at that same exact time, the K9 in reference probably won’t be anything like a Labradoodle. Instead, it’s far more likely to behave tenacious and aggressive. And while maybe the nickname of Golden Mules doesn’t figure to change as a result, perhaps Golden Dobermans would in turn be a moniker far more fitting and accurate once that time arrives down in the southern end.
Follow LLhoops on Twitter @LLhoops
