LS News

Sometimes, a team simply has more talent than the other. It was one of those cases Friday night in Lampeter, as the Pioneers ran all over the Big Spring Bulldogs, bringing an end to the best season in Big Spring program history. Dual-threat QB Berkeley Wagner tallied 316 yards of total offense, while backfield-duo Payton Cunningham and Giovanni Malatesta combined for 159 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns.  While the game was close throughout most of the first half, the Pioneers railed off 42 unanswered points en route to a 62-13 victory. Coach Ridenour had high praise for his team following the game, “Our defense played a great game, Berkeley made some great plays. That kid has just been phenomenal all year.” Wagner is the leading passer and rusher for the Pioneers, with 1355 yards in the air and 754 more on the ground.  Wagner himself was quick to give credit to the big guys upfront. “It’s the offensive line just like every game we’ve had. It just starts upfront and when they go, we go.”

On Tuesday night, the football team, marching band, and cheerleaders hosted their annual senior night. Here are several photos from the event. Photos by Cam Reynolds, LS News Photographer

On Wednesday morning, six Pioneer student-athletes officially committed their academic and athletic future to post-secondary institutions. More athletes will sign in the coming windows. Giovanni Malatesta, Washington College (Baseball) Giovanni will play baseball at Washington College. The Shoremen compete at the Division III level in the Centennial Conference, and finished with a record of 16-9 last season. He will join 2021 L-S graduate Jake Long on the team. Malatesta hit .273 last season for the Pioneers, stealing 13 bases and knocking in 16 runs.  Keiva Middleton, Lock Haven University (Softball) Keiva will play softball at Lock Haven University. The Bald Eagles compete at the Division II level in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and finished with a record of 10-22. She will join 2020 L-S graduate Summer Peters on the team. Middleton was a first-team all-state pitcher last season, leading the Pioneers to the 4A state title.  Emaly Garrett, Eastern Michigan University (La

Some fans were still finding their seats when birthday-boy Payton Cunningham trotted into the endzone for a kickoff-return touchdown. In regards to the return, Cunningham stated “We’re always one block away. We finally did it tonight”. Berkeley Wagner in Game vs Penn Manor (Logan Thompson) Only fifty-some fans were in attendance due to the pouring rain and freezing temperatures. Those who were in attendance (shoutout to the inflatable dinosaur in the student section) were in for a treat. The Pioneers lit up the scoreboard with 68 points in the first half, adding 6 more in the second half. The defense also held strong, recording a shutout and three interceptions (all in the first quarter). The final score of the game was 74-0, the most points scored in program history. GAME STATS The Section 3 crown is staying in Lampeter. The Pioneers go into the District playoffs as the 2nd seed, earning a first-round bye. They will then host the winner of Conrad Weiser and Big Spring the following Fr

Saturday afternoon at Big Spring High School, both the boys and girls cross country team participated in the District III championship meet. The boys were overwhelming favorites going into the meet, projected to win by 21 points. Start of Race at Lancaster Mennonite (Logan Thompson) It was a little closer than projected, but the boys won the meet by 14 points, bringing home the first District III title in school history. Colin Whitaker placed 2nd individually, improving on his 3rd place finish from last year. Ben Devine and Parker Stoner also placed in the top 15. The boys will compete for the PIAA gold at the state meet next weekend in Hershey.  The girls placed 7th as a team, with Aubrey Magagna being the top individual finisher at 17th. Magagna has qualified for the state meet individually, and will also run in Hershey next weekend. The boys haven’t lost a meet in almost three years, they’ve won the last three Section 2 titles, and they now have a very legitimate chance at the state

On Thursday, October 28, Strasburg Lions Club held its annual Halloween Parade. The parade began at 7 p.m. at the Strasburg Jaycee Park and proceed east on Miller, West Main, and East Main Streets to the Shenk Avenue intersection. Here are some photos from the event. Plus some video the Lampeter-Strasburg High School Marching Band's performance at the parade.: 2021 Halloween Parade performance By Cam Reynolds, LS News Photographer

On Thursday night, the Pioneer volleyball team traveled to Wyomissing for the first round of the District III playoffs. The Pioneers entered the playoffs with a record of 8-8, earning the 14th seed. The Saints were dominant in the regular season, finishing with a record of 17-1 and sweeping nearly every opponent.  Emily Mullin in Game vs Solanco (Logan Thompson) The first set was non-competitive, with the Saints maintaining momentum throughout the set while the Pioneers were unable to tally more than one point at a time. The Saints ran away with the set, 25-8. The second set was back-and-forth, with neither team able to grab the lead early on in the set. The turning point in the set was a four-point serving run by Kate Barbon. The Saints never looked back, winning the set 13-25.  The third set was somewhat competitive, but the Pioneers never had enough firepower to compete with the Saints. Berks Catholic won the set 13-25 and won the match 3-0. Emily Mullin and Chloe Nolt each had thre

Old-fashioned smash-mouth football. Nine minutes into a huge Section 3 matchup against the Ephrata Mountaineers, the Pioneers were up 35-0. Four of the Pioneer scores came from the running game, with Berkeley Wagner and Gio Malatesta taking turns punching it into the endzone. The other came immediately after the latter Malatesta touchdown, with Jackson Heeter recovering a fumble on the kickoff in the Mountaineer endzone.  Many high-school football games are won in the trenches. This was certainly one of them. “It was all about the offensive line. The offensive line came out strong, we were really well prepared for this game” said lead back Gio Malatesta following the game. Malatesta finished with 3 touchdowns and 67 yards on 10 carries.  Ten different Pioneers carried the ball for a total of 365 yards and seven touchdowns. Andre Weidman tallied the only score for the Mounts late in the second quarter. The Pioneers won the game 63-7. The Pioneers host Lebanon next week for their final r