Manheim Township falls to Wilson in District 3 Class 3A boys lacrosse championship game (2024)

As the Manheim Township boys lacrosse team entered its home stadium for Tuesday night’s District Three championship game, the Blue Streaks girls team was still on the field receiving medals and a trophy.

Having just dispatched Wilson to win their own district title, the girls posed for pictures with a clear message for their classmates warming up on the field behind them: “Your turn, boys.”

It appeared that mission would be accepted early, as Township raced out to a three-goal lead only to see Wilson — yes, both schools were in both title games — come storming furiously back to win 11-8, capturing the district’s Class 3A title for the Bulldogs.

The late rally meant that the Blue Streaks had to watch as a jubilant sea of red stormed their home field to celebrate a championship.

Both teams move onto the state playoffs starting next week.

Despite the tough loss, Township head coach Dan Lyons is confident his squad will bounce back.

“We know we can play better,” he said, “and we’ve got to take advantage of whatever opportunity comes our way.”

After trailing all night long, Wilson scored six fourth-quarter goals. The late offensive onslaught was spearheaded by Cohen Renninger, who scored his third and fourth goals of the game in the final stanza. Renninger also chipped in with three assists.

“Wilson controlled the game in the fourth with their faceoff guy,” Lyons said. “They really valued the ball, and did not take any bad shot.”

The Bulldogs focused their defensive effort on bottling up Township’s Bennett Parmer, who had scored 61 goals on the season. Parmer, however, nearly rallied the Blue Streaks with two late goals that cut the deficit to 9-8 before Wilson scored two more in the game’s final minute.

Tied 5-5 at the half, the Streaks and Bulldogs battled throughout the third quarter with end-to-end action and big hits with each possession becoming sacred.

To open the second half, Township’s Mason Lyons sprinted 30 yards past two defenders and snapped a shot into the upper left corner to give the Streaks a 6-5 lead.

Wilson’s Cole Kaufmann knotted the score at 6-6 with about four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Township goalie Brady McCracken came up huge in the third with six clutch saves, including two back-to-back stops late in the quarter. He then had another tough save early in the fourth.

The first half started as a completely different game.

The Blue Streaks, making their 12th district title game appearance, are well versed in the pressure that comes with high expectations. After having beaten Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One rivals Penn Manor and Hempfield 15-7 and 16-8, respectively, to reach the title game, Township came out and set the tone from the opening whistle. Gaining possession on the opening faceoff, the Streaks’ Simon Bowen received a pass behind the net, raced around the left post and scored a wrap-around goal.

“We came out with a lot of energy, and got off to a good start,” Dan Lyons said.

Later in the first quarter, Township’s Trey Dotter used a superb pick from Peyton Moritzen to get the space he needed to deposit the second goal of the night.

After Wilson cut the Streaks’ lead to 2-1, Breven Baublitz darted up the right sideline and found Jackson Pfitzenmaier sprinting through the middle. In one swift motion, the long stick midfielder ripped a shot into the back of the net for a 3-1 lead.

Bowen punctuated the dominant first quarter with a big hit on the sideline that forced a turnover, leading to Bowen’s second goal.

McCracken helped preserve the lead with two big saves, one off his right shoulder, and one with a quick right-foot kick save.

Wilson, however, answered in the second quarter scoring twice in the first minute-and-a-half to cut the Township lead to 4-3.

But midway through the second quarter, Parmer finally got free from the Wilson defense and tucked a shot in from an impossible angle.

Wilson put in two more second quarter goals by Rettinger and Carter Brensinger to tie the game at 5-5 going into the half.