FREDERICKSBURG – Annville-Cleona has been in cruise control ever since the Columbia loss, winning four of its last five. This stretch also included Friday night’s 42-36 victory over Northern Lebanon, in the opening round of the Vikings’ annual Christmas tournament.
On the other hand, the Vikings’ trend of losing close games continued, as three of their six defeats have come by two possessions.
With the result, the Little Dutchmen advanced to Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. tournament championship game, opposite Littlestown. Prior to that, at 6 p.m., the Vikings will meet Tulpehocken in the consolation game of the event.
“We just have to keep pounding the rock and fight through the shooting slumps,” said Northern Lebanon head coach, Chris George. “We have to stay aggressive because you don’t get out of slumps by feeling sorry for yourself.”
As for the game itself, both teams had trouble finding their flow through the first three quarters and the score was tied at 21 in the fourth. Out of nowhere, Annville-Cleona senior forward, Josh Speraw, recorded a pair of lay-ups before accounting for six of the Dutchmen’s eight unanswered points to open the period.
Speraw finished with eight points, all of which came during the final quarter, and his offensive spark enabled Annville-Cleona to pull away from the Vikings. What truly made the difference for the Dutchmen was their shot selection, an area that head coach, Jason Coletti, preached following the Columbia encounter.
“They did very well and responded very well to what I told them,” stated Coletti. “Something like that, they take to heart, but they did well and did what was asked of them tonight.”
Senior guard, Andrew Long, lived up to his status as Annville-Cleona’s top scorer after inking a game-high 17 points. Most of Long’s scoring came from the foul line, where he connected on five of his nine attempts. Andrew also added a pair of threes to his stat line, while Adam Long chipped in with six points of his own.
“Those two have a feel for one another,” Coletti said. “Andrew scores more, but Adam makes the most of his chances whenever he has the ball in his hands. He doesn’t get a ton of credit, but he gets the job done.”
The Vikings got most of their scoring from sophomore, Peyton Wolfe, and junior, Owen Treadway. Wolfe sunk a pair of treys before finishing with nine points while Treadway added seven himself.
Both sides combined for 38 points in the fourth quarter and Coach George was impressed with his team’s effort despite the loss.
“I thought a lot of players, especially the guys we had on the bench, showed good signs,” stated George. “The starters were showing support, but if we don’t start hitting shots, we’re going to be in trouble. We just have to stay positive, knock those shots down and stay the course.”
George and the Vikings look to stay the course, especially when they face the Lancaster Catholic Crusaders in their next league contest, which takes place on January 3rd. Meanwhile, Annville-Cleona’s next league game takes place on January 2nd, when they face the Beavers of Lebanon Catholic High School.
| Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
| 12/06 6:30 pm | Northern Lebanon Dover at Bermudian Springs | 55 51 | Nonleague |
| 12/07 TBD | Northern Lebanon Camp Hill at Bermudian Springs | 40 89 | Nonleague |
| 12/10 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Williams Valley | 48 50 | Nonleague |
| 12/13 7:30 pm | Lampeter-Strasburg at Northern Lebanon | 67 34 | League |
| 12/16 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Cocalico | 38 55 | League |
| 12/18 7:30 pm | Garden Spot at Northern Lebanon | 52 46 | League |
| 12/20 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Solanco | 29 27 | League |
| 12/27 TBD | Annville-Cleona Northern Lebanon at Northern Lebanon | Nonleague | |
| 12/28 TBD | TBA Northern Lebanon at Northern Lebanon | Nonleague | |
| 1/03 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Lancaster Catholic | League | |
| 1/07 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Pine Grove | Nonleague | |
| 1/10 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Elco | League | |
| 1/14 7:30 pm | Octorara at Northern Lebanon | League | |
| 1/17 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Donegal | League | |
| 1/18 5:00 pm | Conrad Weiser at Northern Lebanon | Nonleague | |
| 1/21 7:30 pm | Lancaster Catholic at Northern Lebanon | League | |
| 1/23 7:30 pm | Manheim Central at Northern Lebanon | League | |
| 1/25 6:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Annville-Cleona | Nonleague | |
| 1/28 7:30 pm | Elco at Northern Lebanon | League | |
| 1/31 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Octorara | League | |
| 2/01 7:00 pm | Palmyra at Northern Lebanon | Nonleague | |
| 2/04 7:30 pm | Donegal at Northern Lebanon | League |
| Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
| 12/06 7:00 pm | Annville-Cleona Brandywine Heights at Hamburg | 34 52 | Nonleague |
| 12/07 TBD | Annville-Cleona Northern Lehigh at Hamburg | 53 50 | Nonleague |
| 12/10 7:30 pm | Annville-Cleona at Elco | 49 70 | Nonleague |
| 12/13 7:30 pm | Columbia at Annville-Cleona | 59 50 | League |
| 12/17 6:00 pm | Annville-Cleona at Pequea Valley | 45 42 | League |
| 12/18 7:30 pm | Annville-Cleona at Lancaster Country Day | 59 52 | League |
| 12/20 7:30 pm | Annville-Cleona at Lancaster Mennonite | 51 54 | League |
| 12/21 3:00 pm | Annville-Cleona at Hanover | 67 56 | Nonleague |
| 12/27 TBD | Annville-Cleona Northern Lebanon at Northern Lebanon | Nonleague | |
| 12/28 TBD | Annville-Cleona TBA at Northern Lebanon | Nonleague | |
| 1/02 7:30 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Annville-Cleona | League | |
| 1/07 7:30 pm | Annville-Cleona at Columbia | League | |
| 1/11 1:30 pm | Northern York Annville-Cleona at Manheim Central | Nonleague | |
| 1/15 7:30 pm | Palmyra at Annville-Cleona | Nonleague | |
| 1/17 7:30 pm | Annville-Cleona at Pequea Valley | League | |
| 1/21 7:30 pm | Lancaster Country Day at Annville-Cleona | League | |
| 1/25 6:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Annville-Cleona | Nonleague | |
| 1/30 7:30 pm | Lancaster Mennonite at Annville-Cleona | League | |
| 2/01 12:00 pm | Oley Valley at Annville-Cleona | Nonleague | |
| 2/03 7:30 pm | Annville-Cleona at Kennard-Dale | Nonleague | |
| 2/04 7:30 pm | Annville-Cleona at Lebanon Catholic | League | |
| 2/06 7:30 pm | Middletown at Annville-Cleona | Nonleague |
| League | Overall | |||||||
| W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | |
| Lancaster Catholic | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 6 | 1 | 0.857 | 381 | 294 |
| Elco | 3 | 1 | 0.750 | 5 | 2 | 0.714 | 427 | 374 |
| Octorara | 2 | 2 | 0.500 | 4 | 3 | 0.571 | 392 | 363 |
| Northern Lebanon | 1 | 3 | 0.250 | 2 | 5 | 0.286 | 290 | 391 |
| Donegal | 0 | 4 | 0.000 | 0 | 7 | 0.000 | 272 | 404 |
| League | Overall | |||||||
| W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | |
| Lancaster Mennonite | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 | 479 | 455 |
| Columbia | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 | 501 | 415 |
| Annville-Cleona | 2 | 2 | 0.500 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 | 408 | 435 |
| Pequea Valley | 1 | 3 | 0.250 | 2 | 5 | 0.286 | 338 | 414 |
| Lebanon Catholic | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 | 364 | 440 |
| Lancaster Country Day | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 | 459 | 358 |
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