By Jeffrey Reinhart
Published Sep 05, 2006 13:42
Man, were they thrown for a loop when the Golden Mules got the ball for the first time.
Using a spread offense with senior quarterback Dustin Musselman working primarily out of the shotgun and his receivers crisscrossing in motion the entire game, Solanco gouged out 386 yards of total offense.
While Penn Manor’s defense bent, in the end it didn’t break. And with three players rushing for more than 100 yards, the Comets put up some gaudy offensive numbers as well.
It all added up to a 34-7 non-league victory for Penn Manor Monday night in a game postponed by last Friday’s tropical storm.
“We went with the spread Wing-T,” Solanco coach Joe Pearson said. “Penn Manor has a lot of size, and we knew what we were going up against. So we needed a little something in our hip pocket.”
And for the most part it worked, as Solanco moved the ball up and down the field at will. The Mules just had a hard time punching it in the end zone.
Musselman had a big game spreading the ball around. He completed 13-of-30 passes for 147 yards, and he rushed for 188 yards on 22 keepers, including a 56-yard touchdown sprint that tied the game at 7-7 with 5:01 to go in the second quarter.
But Penn Manor won the game in the trenches. Running back Geoff Hess was the main beneficiary, carrying 15 times for 164 yards and three touchdowns, including a 43-yard burst that put the Comets in front for good.
He also returned an interception 36 yards for another score with 3:16 left in the game.
Senior fullback Mike Stover also had a big night on the ground, rushing for 118 yards on 16 attempts, while sophomore quarterback Mike Treier called his own number 11 times for 124 yards, including a 43-yard TD run that opened the scoring on the final play of the first quarter.
“Treier is a playmaker, and he’s only a sophomore,” Penn Manor coach Bob Forgrave said. “This will help with his confidence.”
The Mules were confident they could stop Penn Manor’s smash-mouth attack, but the three-pronged backfield attack did too much damage.
Penn Manor rushed for 437 yards and had 473 yards of total offense and 21 first downs.
“It’s tough because our kids knew what was coming ... dive, dive, pitch,” Pearson said. “And our kids were right in there. But they’d still get five or six yards on every play. So that got a little frustrating.”
