It seemed entirely fitting late Friday night that the game ball be found in the hands of Penn Manor's P.J. Rehm.

The junior quarterback had once again proved himself a capable hand at the wheel of a Comet offense that contributed its share to a shockingly one-sided 31-14 win over Hempfield in an L-L League Section One opener.

The victory, coming before a capacity crowd in Landisville drawn to a showdown of unbeaten teams, allows Penn Manor (4-0) to stay tied with Wilson for the section lead.

Small wonder that Comets coach Todd Mealy called his first-ever section victory a "signature win" for a program he inherited two years ago from current Black Knights boss Bob Forgrave.

Rehm called it something else.

"Amazing," he said. "It's a huge win."

Zach Fisher, who started at center and linebacker, said the Comets were confident going in.

"They were definitely beatable," he said of the Knights (3-1). "We knew we could beat them if things went our way."

Everything went the Comets' way. Penn Manor used its quickness up front to dominate both lines of scrimmage. Fisher served as the linchpin of a unit that helped the Comets claim sizable advantages in offensive plays (37-12) and time of possession (19:30-4:30) en route to a 10-7 lead at halftime.

"Football is a game of matchups and we liked the matchups up front," Mealy said. "We thought we were quicker."

By the end of the third, Penn Manor led 17-7 and had run 58 plays to the Knights' 15. The Comets continued to dominate the clock, hogging the ball for 9:33 of the third.

"You can't play defense the whole game and win," Forgrave said. "We gave up big plays when we needed to make plays."

Hempfield also gave up the ball. The Knights fumbled six times and five were covered by the Comets. Penn Manor's league-leading defense limited Hempfield to 205 yards, 160 fewer than its average.

Rehm, who stepped in for injured starter Mike Treier (broken foot) in Week Two, completed 18-of-28 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown. He also carried 16 times for 56 yards, discounting a kneel down in the final minute.

"There was a little bit of pressure when I stepped in (for Treier)," said Rehm, who started five games last year when Treier was injured. "But I know what I'm doing."

Indeed. Rehm ran the mid-line option offense expertly. He accounted for two TDs, including a 6-yard sprint off the left side late in the third to cap a marathon 17-play, 7-minute march that made it 17-7. He highlighted the drive with a pass to back Sean Noll that carried the Comets from their own 1-yard line to the Penn Manor 27.

Late in the second quarter, Rehm put Penn Manor ahead to stay when he found wideout Aaron Frederick for a game-turning 20-yard score for a 10-7 lead at the break.

Rehm began the game as the L-L's top-rated passer, but Treier played in nickel situations on defense and also took the final snap on offense. Mealy would not disclose who would start at QB for the Comets next week.

Back Jared Shearer added scoring runs of 1 and 36 yards and Josh Bitner booted a 36-yard field goal for the Comets.

Black Knights QB Jarvis Cummings countered with TD runs of 48 yards and 1 yard. Despite idling on the sidelines for long stretches as Penn Manor controlled the ball, the L-L's second-leading rusher ran for 100 yards and passed for 110 while proving to be an electrifying escape artist.

But the night belonged to Rehm and Co.

"We weren't really surprised (by the final score)," Rehm said. "We knew we could come out and do good."

E-mail: egruver@lnpnews.com