BLUE DEVIL DISPATCH 12-28-11

The final push before the Christmas break saw Greencastle-Antrim athletic teams have some ups and some downs.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

The Blue Devils continued to sail with two more wins to stay unscathed at 6-0 that includes a 3-0 mark at the start of the Mid-Penn Conference Colonial Division season. Last week the Devils knocked off non-divisional Susquenita 73-54 and bypassed divisional foe Shippensburg by a 72-36 margin.

G-A dominated Shippensburg on both sides of the court with the Hounds committing 23 turnovers and the Devils putting four players in double figures on the scoreboard. Holding Ship to just 12 first-half points, the Devils took a 26-point advantage into the lockerroom and just poured it on more in the third quarter with a 26-13 margin. Corey Meyers led the scoring with 15 points and Zach Faulkner put in 13. Denton Cordell made it a dozen and Denver Cordell deposited 10 and had eight rebounds. Denton was all over the court with seven steals and five rebounds.

The Blue Devils again set the tone early against Susquenita, staging a 24-8 first quarter and went comfortably to the break with an 18-point advantage. G-A put 10 players in the scoring column to turn the 19-point victory. Denver Cordell led the way with 21 points. Faulkner put in a dozen and Meyers tallied 10.

The G-A junior varsity has composed a 3-1 season so far with a win and a loss last week. The Devils doubled up on Susquenita, 60-30, and dropped a 46-53 verdict to Shippensburg.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

It took the Blue Devils (4-3, 2-1 MPC-Colonial Division) a quarter to get going after the long ride to Cove against Susquenita. But after dominating the Blackhawks in the final three stanzas, G-A came up a point short in a 37-36 non-divisional loss. The Devils scored just two points in the opening frame and trailed by 13 at the half. G-A outdid Susquenita 24-12 in the second half with a lift by the defense of Cassey Cordell. The Devils forged a three-point lead, but couldn’t hold it and the game-winner was only to come up just short. Chloe Hoover was the lone Devil to reach double figures with 11. Rachel Kline added nine points and had nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

G-A stayed on the road and hit a dry spell in the shooting department to take a 47-28 punch from Shippensburg. The Blue Devils hit just four of 30 shots in the first half to fall behind the Hounds 28-13 at the half. G-A couldn’t turn it around in the second half and ended up with a 19-point setback. Tache Smothers put in 14 points to lead the Devils.

The Blue Devil junior varsity ran its record to 3-1. Wins have come over Biglerville (52-27), Northern (33-22) and James Buchanan (54-31), while Chambersburg was trouble to the tune of a 34-18 loss.

WRESTLING

The Blue Devils yielded too many bonus points as neighboring Waynesboro came to town for a Mid-Penn Conference Colonial Division match. G-A gave up four bouts by forfeit and gained six team points by collecting one forfeit. On the mat just junior Cody Carbaugh picked up a win and six Devils were pinned to leave the home team on the short end of a 59-10 final.

Jake Heuer collected the one forfeit at 132 pounds where the match began, but the Indians ran the next eight bouts for the commanding lead. Carbaugh kept his undefeated season on track with a 9-1 major decision at 106. G-A did give up four pins, however Aaron Grossman (126), Mirzosang Mirzobahodurov (113) and Dexter Miller (182) extended their bouts to decisions.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Wrestling

In the middle school match held prior to the high school tilt, again forfeits hurt the Blue Devils in a 56-33 setback. G-A won just as many bouts on the mat as the Tribe, but gave up 36 points by forfeit. Thomas Richmond had an early pin for the Devils at 85 pounds and G-A put together a solid run midway through the match with back-to-back-to-back wins from Colin Runshaw (4-2 decision), Wyatt Binkley (8-1 decision) and Eugene Byers (8-6 decision) from 110 to 122. The Devils also produced a good punch at the end with pins from Jared Starliper (210) and Kurtis Kline (250), but the forfeits had already taken their toll.

Basketball

The freshman boys’ team is 1-2 on the season with a 42-32 win over Northern before identical scored 42-38 setbacks to James Buchanan and Shippensburg. In eighth-grade action, the team is 2-1 after posting wins over James Buchanan (47-25) and Shippensburg (39-32) and a loss to Faust (36-24). The seventh-graders are 1-2 with a 41-31 win over James Buchanan and losses to Faust (26-36) and Shippensburg 38-32.

G-A’s girls’ freshman team has a 43-33 win over Shippensburg under its belt. The eighth-grade squad has dropped three, Faust (32-8), James Buchanan (21-14) and Shippensburg (33-29). And in seventh-grade action, G-A most recently defeated Shippensburg 41-28 following losses to Faust (21-15) and James Buchanan (28-26).