Seneca Valley threw punches in bunches Tuesday, and Hempfield could only hang on the ropes for so long.
The Knights played catch-up five times in a PIAA boys' lacrosse playoff opener in Millersville before the Raiders officially said "so long" to their season in a 12-9 loss at Penn Manor's Comet Field.
"There are only so many lives you can live playing like that," Hempfield coach Doug Bailey said afterwards. "We lived our last one today."
Raiders Will Koontz and Jake McAndrew combined to scored the game's final three goals — in 75 seconds, breaking a 9-9 tie for the win.
It was in that fashion Valley scored many of its goals. They piled it on in quick flurries, and Hempfield exerted too much energy battling back, according to Bailey.
"That wore us out a little bit," he said. "Simply put, they were the better team. They came all the way to Lancaster and beat us. So, that says a lot about them."
Scoring in bunches has sort of been the shtick all year long for Valley (19-2) —District Seven's third-place team.
"We have our good moments, and our bad moments," Raiders' boss Peter Hoffman said. "We had more good ones today."
Bailey acknowledged SV as a "formidable team" that deserved the win that caused his team to pack up its gear after a 23-2 season.
The Raiders, making their first state playoff appearance, were barely out of the parking lot when they hit Hempfield in the mouth for three quick goals.
Jordan Kelly, Andy Hickman and Rob Fyock each scored — all on spin moves for open shots — in less than two minutes.
"To travel all this way, and jump out of the bus and pop them was big," Hoffman said.
Hempfield overcame the deficit to take a 4-3 lead, but burned a lot of fuel doing so under a scorching sun at Penn Manor's Comet Field.
Valley scored twice in nine seconds for a 5-4 lead, each time beating Hempfield with rushes to the net. Hempfield appeared to be the bigger team, but Valley countered with speed.
Still, the Knights managed to keep it within one until Valley's three-goal surge in the final minutes.
Hempfield senior Derek Kline scored a trio of equalizers in the second half, tying it at seven, eight, and nine. He used brute force for two of those, fighting off double- and triple-teams to get shots.
With the score 9-9 and just under three minutes to go, Hempfield fell a man short on Michael Ondrusek's penalty. Valley capitalized when Koontz ripped a low shot from the right wing that skidded under goalie Charlie Pease. McAndrew made it 11-9, taking Fyock's pass on an odd-man rush. Koontz got an easy one for the final goal, scoring up close with a hand from McAndrew.
Manheim Township 11, Garnet Valley 4: Tied 3-3 at the half, the Blue Streaks (21-4) exploded with five straight goals in the third quarter.
Township jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, with scores from Kevin Estabrook and Quint Miller, before GV (17-6) responded with scores by Mike Montella, Rick Lehaman and Joe Tautane.
Chase Miller tied the game with two seconds left in the second and pumped in two straight to begin the third. Rob Wertz scored twice in the third quarter and Mark Stratton once, to give MT an 8-4 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Quint Miller scored twice in the fourth, and Stratton once, as the Streaks blanked the Jaguars in the final quarter.
Anchored by Devin O'Grady's 11 saves, Township's defense allowed just one goal in the second half.
Franklin Regional 7, Elizabethtown 6: Trailing 4-2 at halftime, the Bears (15-9) battled back to score four goals in the second half. Kyle Heisey tied the game at 1:28 left in regulation to force the overtime.
E-town goalie Giordano Pugliese blocked the first Panther shot in overtime but Franklin Regional (10-11) collected the rebound and scored to cap the win.