The Comets took a commanding 21-12 lead after three quarters on visiting Lampeter-Strasburg, only to surrender 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and succumb 34-21.

The fatigued Comets (1-1) were playing their second game in four days and seemed to lose a step on both offense and defense in the second half.

Lampeter-Strasburg quarterback Brett Graeff excelled in his first real chance to test his arm, completing 16 of 25 passes for 204 yards, while bouncing back unfazed from an early interception. He was forced to take to the air when the Comet defense completely shut down the L-S ground attack, holding it to 70 yards on 23 carries.

“We had them on the ropes. We did not put them away,’’ Comet head coach Bob Forgrave said. “We made a lot of mental mistakes at the end and these seem to happen when you are tired, but there is a reason you only play one football game a week.”

Lampeter-Strasburg (2-0) head coach John Manion said Penn Manor’s defensive plan gave him a chance to see what Graeff could do.

“Penn Manor came in with a plan of shutting down the run. We knew we could pass if given a chance,” Manion said. “I thought we did a great job using all of the field, the quarterback and all our weapons.

“Brett Graeff is a good quarterback. He never gets too excited, he makes good decisions, and he brought his best game even when he made a mistake or threw an interception.”

Pioneers linebacker Michael Good returned the opening kickoff 73 yards for a touchdown. The extra point failed after a low snap. Penn Manor’s first drive ended when quarterback Michael Treier’s initial pass of the game was intercepted by Rob Zimmerman. The Pioneers failed to capitalize, though, as Penn Manor came back with an interception of its own on the very next play.

The Comets took the lead for the home crowd late in the quarter on a short run up the middle by Geoff Hess.

Treier only completed two more passes the entire game, but both went for long touchdowns. The first covered 56 yards to Hess, who caught the ball at the 40 and outran the secondary. Treier’s next completion came with Penn Manor leading 14-12, as he found Bryan Brill for a 55-yard TD.

“We saw how they were playing their secondary, so we threw long and it worked,” Forgrave said.

The second half started well for the Comets, who threatened after a 45-yard run by Treier. They stalled on fourth and seven, though, and turned the ball over to the Pioneers.

Graeff found his rhythm, throwing for 100 yards in the fourth quarter, including three catches and a touchdown by Justin Taylor, and even showing off his legs, escaping heavy pressure to run for a 14-yard gain, the longest of the day on the ground for L-S. The Pioneer defense also stepped up its play, keeping the three-pronged running attack of the Comets in check.

“It is nice to know we have something to fall back on if part of our offense is being shut down,” Manion said. “Our defense battled back from some big plays. We tackled better in the second half and we don’t give up. Once the momentum came back, we were able to play a little bit harder.”