The Hempfield trio of Jarvis Cummings, Eric Macik and Manny Mendez may not put fear into defenses like the 1990's Dallas Cowboys triplets of Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin or Troy Aikman.

And they will not be confused anytime soon with the Indianapolis Colts trio of Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison in the early 2000s.

But when they click, they can put points on the board like the pros.

The Black Knights got three touchdowns each from Macik and Mendez, and Cummings rushed for 178 yards in Hempfield's 54-14 thrashing of Cedar Crest Friday night.

After a disappointing 45-13 setback to undefeated Wilson last week, Hempfield got back on the winning track behind a dominant offense that ran all over the Falcon defense — totaling 387 yards on the ground.

"We went back to some of the things we did on offense (earlier in the season," Hempfield head coach Bob Forgrave said. "We went back to getting Jarvis under center, and I think that helped us. We had been talking about it for a couple of weeks."

With Cummings under center, Hempfield opened the scoring on its second possession. Beginning on the Knights' 3, Cummings burst up the middle for a 46-yard gain and gave the Knights some room to work. Seven plays later, Macik slipped into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 Hempfield lead.

On the Falcons' ensuing possession, after the Hempfield defense forced a three-and-out, defensive tackle Jason Dougherty broke through the line and blocked the punt by the Falcons' Gary Gristick. The Black Knights recovered and were in business on the Crest' 7-yard line. Hempfield ran a toss left to Mendez and he scampered in for the touchdown and 14-0 lead.

"Manny gives you a whole different dimension when you get him the ball. There wasn't a better athlete on the field tonight," Forgrave said.

Mendez added two more touchdowns on the night. The second came with 1:01 left in the second quarter.

Mendez made a single cut back to avoid a Falcon defender and took Cummings pass for a 61-yard touchdown. Mendez later added a 29-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Macik would add two more touchdowns in the first half — a 1-yard run and a 2-yard run. The second gave Hempfield a 30-6 lead with 4:12 to go in the second quarter. He finished with 117 yards on 16 carries.

E-mail: wwelliver@lnpnews.com