"I saw them walk their linebackers up (toward the line)," said Rintz, Penn Manor’s sophomore quarterback, "and I remember Coach (Bob Forgrave) drilling it into me that we have a play for that."

"We call it ‘United’," said Comets back Geoff Hess, who had a hand in four scores and totaled 293 yards of offense. "Everybody goes downfield on ‘streaks.’ It’s the first time we’ve used it all season."

Facing fourth-and-16 from the Penn Manor 20 and trailing the Red Tornado 33-32 with 1:07 left in their L-L Section One matchup at McCaskey Stadium, Rintz audibled out of fade patterns to his wideouts and into a streak pattern in which he had the option of four receivers. Seeing Hess sprinting free from the left slot, Rintz lofted a short pass over the middle. Hess hauled it in and raced untouched to his third score of the night.

Hess’ 80-yard touchdown silenced McCaskey’s Homecoming crowd, and his two-point conversion run completed a stunning 40-33 win in a classic game that featured four lead changes and 27 fourth-quarter points.

"One of the officials told me he had never seen a game like this, he said it was unbelievable," said Scott Feldman, whose Tornado produced numerous big plays of their own via the efforts of Jerome LaRue, Damar LaRue and Jared Johns.

"From a fans’ standpoint it was a helluva game," Feldman added. "From a coaching standpoint, losing it is a nightmare."

In a game that determined which team would remain in the Section One race, Penn Manor (3-1 Section One, 5-2 overall) stayed within striking distance of Wilson and Manheim Township, both of whom are 4-0 in the league and 6-1 overall.

"This is our biggest win since I’ve been here," said Forgrave, who in his first season at Penn Manor last year oversaw a similarly thrilling 41-40 win over McCaskey.

Hess’ game-winning TD followed his 57-yard scoring run that trimmed the Tornado lead to 33-32 with 4:54 left.

Entering the game as the third leading rusher in the L-L, Hess ground out 205 yards on 23 carries. He also added an 80-yard TD reception and threw an 8-yard scoring pass to tight end Ryan Crider.

Crider had two catches for TDs, including a diving, 19-yard end zone grab in the second quarter that cut the Comets’ deficit to 14-12.

Rintz completed two passes in the game and both went for scores.

"I don’t know what I can say about him," Forgrave said. "He’s a 4.0 student, and even when I get on him he keeps coming back."

Rintz has been the Comets’ QB since starter Michael Treier went down three weeks ago with an injured foot.

Rintz began the night with one TD pass to his credit and 132 passing yards. By game’s end he had doubled his touchdown total and almost equaled his season passing total.

"This is my fourth game, and I have a lot of team support," Rintz said. "I know I don’t have to carry the load alone."

Jerome LaRue matched Hess in big-play production. Carrying Comet defenders several yards after each hit and eluding others in the open field, LaRue rushed 15 times for 151 yards and scored on runs of 41, 5 and 41 yards. The latter put the Tornado (2-2, 4-2) up 27-26 in the third.

"He’s phenomenal, an unbelievable athlete," Hess said. "He has moves I’ve never seen."

Johns and Damar LaRue connected for two scores. The first was a 5-yard TD that tied the game 20-20 at halftime; the second covered 59 yards and gave McCaskey a 33-26 lead with 5:50 left.

Big plays abounded on both sides. Dan Pena’s block of a Penn Manor punt and Tykee Ashton’s recovery set up Jerome LaRue’s 5-yard TD run. Penn Manor’s Chas Alecxih blocked an extra-point attempt and a punt, the latter leading to Hess’ TD pass to Crider.

The Comets also went 6-for-7 in fourth-down conversions, including Rintz’ game-winning TD pass to Hess.

"We had them backed up," said Feldman, whose focus now turns to the district playoffs. "I thought they would try for a post (pattern). But (Hess) got open down the middle and that was that."