Hempfield football coach Bob Forgrave returned to Chryst Field Friday night, but this time he was on the visitors' side of the field as the coach of the Black Knights, and his return was successful as the Knights (2-1 Section One, 3-3 overall) rolled over Penn Manor, 28-0.

"We had to win to stay in contention," said Forgrave. "Who knows if (Manheim) Township is going to win out, so every game is important."

Forgrave's counterpart, Todd Mealy, saw his Comets fall to 0-3 in Section One and 1-5 overall.

In the early going neither Hempfield nor Penn Manor could muster much offense, but finally early in the second quarter the Knights found a flaw in the Comet defense. And the star of the game, Hempfield quarterback Jarvis Cummings, began his personal assault on the Comets.

Cummings finished the contest with 271 total yards. The junior ran for 196 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 carries, and threw for 75 yards and a third TD.

"We were hurting ourselves in the first quarter with penalties (13 for 85 yards), but I noticed that (Penn Manor's) safety was coming up, so we were able to exploit that and put some points on the board," said Cummings.

With 5:33 left in the first half, Hempfield took over at its 21. Four plays later Cummings faked a handoff and started right, but the lane closed quickly, and he cut back to the middle and outraced the Comet defenders for a 65-yard touchdown.

The Knights defense held on the next Penn Manor possession and took over at its own 32. This time they only took one play to score, as Cummings hooked up with Manny Mendez on a 68-yard pass to put Hempfield up 14-0 at the break.

The second half started as the first half ended with Hempfield scoring on its first two offensive possessions.

First the Knights received the second-half kickoff and started at their 30, and on their fourth play, it was Cummings with a 43-yard run for the touchdown.

Erik Macik, Section One's third leading rusher, finished the scoring with a 10-yard run with 2:08 left in the third quarter.

"I hate talking too much about it, but our defense hasn't been scored on in three games, that's 12 quarters," said Forgrave.

Section One's leading rusher, Carl Christmas led the Comets with 62 yards on 18 carries, and quarterback Patrick Rehm tossed for 68 yards by completing six passes.

"I am hoping to find something to build confidence up for next year," said Mealy. "It has been difficult, we're banged up. Christmas is still nursing a sore ankle, and tonight we lost two of our best offensive linemen."

Next week will be a test for both teams as Hempfield hosts Wilson and the Comets host McCaskey.