Penn Manor was coming off back-to-back losses, with an offense that head coach Todd Mealy said was "struggling."
The Comets remedied both situations Friday at Chryst Field in Millersville with a 39-7 romp over Cedar Crest that featured 437 yards on the ground and 519 total yards.
"We just wanted to come back to the basics tonight, and that's all we did," Mealy said. "Our game plan was to keep it simple, and hopefully we could move the football, which is something we couldn't do the past two weeks."
The Comets finished the regular season with an 8-2 overall mark, including seven wins to start the season. They tied Hempfield for second in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One at 5-2.
Penn Manor will continue its season next week in the District Three Class AAAA playoffs against an opponent to be determined. Penn Manor entered the night as the No. 7 team in the latest district rankings.
Cedar Crest closed its season at 2-8, 1-6.
Junior quarterback P.J. Rehm spearheaded the Comet offense, rushing for 114 yards and three TDs on just nine carries.
"We just wanted to come out and have fun," Rehm said. "Whatever they give us, we'll take it."
Senior halfback Sean Noll added 148 yards and a score on 12 carries and Mike Treier needed just four carries to accumulate 88 yards and two touchdowns.
If there was any residual effect of last week's 42-0 pasting by Wilson and a 27-7 loss to Warwick two weeks ago, it lasted only briefly. Penn Manor went three-and-out on its first series, resulting in its only punt of the night.
But the Comets also forced Cedar Crest to punt after three plays, and went on to score seven times.
Rehm got into the end zone on the ensuing possession, going 46 yards on his first carry of the night. Josh Bitner kicked the PAT at the 5:55 mark of the first half.
Penn Manor added three more scores in the second quarter on touchdown runs of 18 yards by Rehm, 6 by Treier and 36 by Noll.
Meanwhile, the Penn Manor defense was shutting down Cedar Crest. The Falcons didn't get their initial first down until about 10 minutes left in the second quarter and had just 5 yards of offense at that point.
The Falcons, who trailed 26-0 at halftime, came out with some fire to start the second half and drove for their only score. Junior quarterback Gary Gristick, who passed for 202 yards, hit Joe Groff for a 12-yard score at the 5:58 mark of the third quarter, capping an 11-play 67-yard drive.
After nearly losing an onside kick following the score, Penn Manor got that touchdown back on the next play with Treier streaking up the middle for a 49-yard TD.
Rehm, who was an economical 5-for-8 passing for 82 yards, added the last score, a 23-yard run with 8:11 left in the game.
Junior halfback Charles Kyeremeh Jr. led Cedar Crest with 66 of the team's 77 yards rushing.
"Penn Manor came out and they played aggressively, and beat us up front," Falcon coach Mike Robinson said.
E-mail: pglatfelter@lnpnews.com