READING — By all accounts, this looked like a mismatch.

One team was still undefeated. The other was still recovering from a 44-point shellacking the previous week.

How could anyone have reasonably expected Reading to knock off Penn Manor?

That's what happened Friday night.

Yamil Echavarria's 29-yard touchdown reception with 25 seconds remaining lifted the Red Knights to a stunning 32-27 victory in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One football game played at Albright College.

"We didn't expect this," Penn Manor coach Todd Mealy said. "The kids believe they're better than this. But tonight they weren't. Tonight, Reading was the better team."

On the game-winning play, quarterback Freddy Pena threw a quick screen to Echavarria, who was facing man coverage. Penn Manor's corner whiffed on the tackle and Echavarria sprinted untouched into the end zone.

That catch-and-run capped a 75-yard drive that began with 1:44 left.

"We've been waiting for Yamil," Reading coach Preston McKnight said. "Tonight, he got one for us. It was a great play for him. Our program needed it. Our kids needed it. We're just very happy about it."

Reading entered the season as a bit of a wildcard because of its athletic skill players and deep roster. The Red Knights' reputation as a dangerous opponent took a serious hit when they lost to Manheim Township 50-6 in Week 4.

It was an embarrassing setback for a school with a lot of tradition, but it turned into a watershed moment.

"They've got to look themselves in the mirror," said McKnight, whose team is 2-3 overall and 1-1 in league play. "I told them, 'It's on you.' For the first time in a long time, we just challenged them personally to compete. They didn't compete against Township. "

The passing game and the running game clicked into place Friday.

Pena connected on 15 of 17 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Jason Stewart rushed 16 times for 191 yards and three scores. His 75-yard burst on the first play from scrimmage in the second half gave Reading a 26-7 lead.

It was as if all of the Red Knights' potential was realized in one sweeping performance.

"They're extremely athletic," Mealy said. "We thought the Stewart kid was the best running back we've seen thus far. He showed that tonight. He ran hard and is a nice athlete."

Penn Manor (4-1, 1-1) recovered from the 19-point deficit to regain the lead.

Garrett Young had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter before Jared Shearer's 28-yard TD burst with 10:28 remaining in the fourth put the Comets in front, 27-26.

Penn Manor had a chance to seal the victory on its final possession. On a fourth-and-2 play from Reading's 26-yard line, quarterback P.J. Rehm was stopped about 18 inches short of the first down. That gave Reading the ball and one last shot.

With only one timeout at his disposal, Pena calmly guided Reading down the field. He rushed for 19 yards and completed all four of his pass attempts for 56 yards on the game-winning drive.

One week after walloping Hempfield 34-6, the Comets came crashing to earth.

"The one positive we'll take from this is we were able to rally back and make a ballgame out of it," Mealy said. "Now it's a test of character. We'll see how we respond."