P.J. Rehm is 16 starts into his career as Penn Manor's quarterback, and he sees things now. Things he might not have seen when he opened nine games for the Comets last year. Things he definitely didn't see when he started four as a sophomore.

What he saw Friday night in Millersville, more than anything else, was receivers running free behind Exeter's secondary. Rehm as a result threw four touchdown passes -- and was a couple backward strides away from throwing a fifth -- as Manor drubbed the Eagles, 49-14.

Two of the scoring strikes went to Demetrius Dixon (one of them an 80-yarder), the other two to Aaron Frederick. Rehm, who went 11-for-17 through the air for 263 yards, also ran for a TD in leading the Comets to their third victory in as many non-league games.

"We consider this Part One of our season," coach Todd Mealy said. "We have two parts, and hopefully three -- out-of-league, section play and hopefully we'll be good enough to make the playoffs. We're happy, but we're not satisfied, because we know it gets tougher, starting next week with Hempfield."

The Comets, who host the Knights in that Section One opener next Friday, have to date shown a potent running game with Laronn Lee and Jared Shearer.

Their defense was ranked sixth in the league heading into Friday's game, and they limited the Eagles (1-2) to 139 yards.

And Rehm has been doing his part. He had only attempted 18 passes in Manor's first two games, but in this one he put it up early and often.

"With the way their corners were bumping our receivers," he said, "we figured we could throw on them all night."

And as Mealy said, "We're confident enough to take shots (downfield)."

Especially given Rehm's experience.

"He's a competitor, and a tough kid," Mealy said. "In fact, he's one of the toughest kids on the team. And he's focused. The mistakes a quarterback makes, he's already made."

Rehm's biggest strides, according to his coach, are in "reading down the field." Understanding what a defense is doing, and then making the appropriate countermove.

"My sophomore year I couldn't see much," Rehm said. "Now I see it and react right away."

He opened the scoring with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Frederick. And after defensive lineman Bryan Weaver returned a fumble 49 yards for a score, Rehm led five straight TD marches, ending with, respectively, a 28-yard pass to Dixon, a 10-yard keeper, the 80-yarder to Dixon and, with four seconds left in the first half, a 24-yarder to Frederick.

The mercy rule was triggered when Lee took a pitch from Rehm with 9:44 left in the third quarter - a play that was supposed to be a pass, but one that saw Lee (6-96 rushing) gather in the ball in the right flat, a yard or two behind his QB - and went 33 yards for a score, making it 46-7.