By Harold Zeigler
Published Oct 14, 2006 13:53
It might be time to print another version.
Facing what appeared to be an almost certain loss Friday night at McCaskey, down 33-32 with 1:07 left and staring at a fourth-and-15, sophomore quarterback Eric Rintz hooked up with Geoff Hess on a 79-yard touchdown pass to rally the Comets to a 40-33 win at Barney Ewell Sports Complex.
The touchdown came about four minutes after Hess had scored on a 57-yard touchdown run to pull Penn Manor to within a point.
Two big plays in the final five minutes for a comeback win. Those so-called experts who don’t think Penn Manor has that ability ...
“They’ve got another thing coming,’’ said Hess, the 5-11, 205-pound senior running back. “If we haven’t opened some eyes yet, we’re not going to.
“We play old-fashioned football — except when we need a big play.’’
This was a game in which both teams’ Section 1 title hopes were on the line, and they played like it.
The lead changed hands four times. Penn Manor trailed by eight, 14-6, early in the second quarter. McCaskey trailed by six, 26-20, late in the third.
Hess was a bull, rushing 23 times for 203 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw a halfback-option pass for a score, and, of course, caught the game-winning TD pass.
McCaskey had a hero of its own.
Tailback Jerome LaRue, a 5-10, 185-pound junior, cut and juked his way to 159 yards rushing on 16 carries, with two touchdowns. He was a literal escape artist, breaking tackles, faking one way, going the other, and leaving defenders reaching for air.
“That kid is phenomenal ... a phenomenal running back,’’ said Hess, speaking of LaRue. “Outstanding. I’ve never seen a running back like him before. He’s a big-time player.
“I’d like to see him play at Penn State. It was an honor playing on the same field as him.’’
It was a game that neither team deserved to lose, but somebody had to win. Penn Manor did and improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
The Comets stayed one game behind section leaders Wilson and Manheim Township, with both upcoming. They host Wilson Friday night, travel to Warwick Oct. 27, then host Township on Nov. 3.
McCaskey, which lost to Wilson last week, is now 4-3 overall, 2-2 in Section 1. Its section title hopes are on life support.
“We’re out of it,’’ McCaskey coach Scott Feldman said. “Hopefully we’ll make the (district) playoffs and win a playoff game.’’
If this game was on ESPN last night, it would be shown today on ESPN Classic. It was that entertaining.
Penn Manor took a 6-0 lead on a 2-yard run by fullback Michael Stover (22 carries, 74 yards). It capped a 9-play, 47-yard drive, all on the ground.
McCaskey went up 7-6 on a 41-yard run by LaRue and Joe Bunting’s PAT. The Tornado made it 14-6 on a 5-yard run by LaRue, set up when Daniel Pena blocked a punt.
Then Manor came back with a 16-play, 72-yard drive that Rintz capped with a 20-yard TD pass to Ryan Crider on fourth-and-6.
Crider made a diving, finger-tip catch in the corner of the end zone, cutting McCaskey’s lead to 14-12.
An 8-yard pass from Hess to Crider, and a two-point conversion pass from Rintz to Pitt recruit Jordan Gibbs, gave Penn Manor a 20-14 lead.
But a 5-yard TD pass from Jared Johns to Damar LaRue enabled McCaskey to tie it 20-20 at halftime.
Another long Penn Manor drive, 13 plays covering 62 yards, was capped by Hess’ 10-yard TD run and put the Comets up 26-20.
McCaskey came back and scored on Jerome LaRue’s 41-yard TD run. Bunting’s PAT put the Tornado up 27-26.
McCaskey scored again on a 58-yard pass from Johns to Damar LaRue to go up 33-26 with 5:50 left.
Hess’ 57-yard TD run pulled Penn Manor to within one, 33-32, setting the stage for the Rintz-to-Hess miracle TD pass.
“Rintz called it,’’ Penn Manor coach Bob Forgrave said. “The quarterback checked to it. He saw the middle open.’’
Hess, lined up in the left slot, went about 7 yards over the middle, caught it wide open, and was off to the races untouched.
“I saw that they walked their linebackers up, and I remember Coach drilling it into me that we have a play for that,’’ Rintz said. “Geoff just got wide open.’’
“Blown coverage,’’ Feldman said. “We doubled the two outside guys, and they caught us.
“We blew it. Bottom line is we blew it. We couldn’t finish.
“We made enough plays to win the game, but we made enough mistakes to lose the game. And that’s on the coaching staff. It’s on me. I’ve got to live with it.’’
