You could say Penn Manor's Alex Quinn has a real nose for the football.
The Comet junior recovered three fumbles and Penn Manor took advantage of six Dallastown turnovers en route to a 23-0 shutout of the Wildcats Friday night in Millersville.
"I was at the right place at the right time," said Quinn. "We had a great defense tonight."
Dallastown (1-2) fumbled four times and quarterback Andrew Henry was picked off twice. Four of the six miscues happened within the Wildcat 35.
The first, a fumble on Dallastown's second drive of the game, was returned 21 yards for a touchdown by Mike Bucek.
Later in the quarter, Daulton Parmer intercepted a tipped pass, which set up the Comets at the Dallastown 23. Five plays later, he scored from three yards out and it was a 14-0 game.
"It's the mistakes, period," said Dallastown coach Kevin Myers when asked about his team's troubles. "We've been saying for weeks now that we're close, but we just have to finish. That's what it comes down to."
The Wildcats, who were blanked (20-0) in Week Two by Red Land, have not scored in nine quarters, going back to a field goal in the third quarter of their season-opening win over Warwick.
Dallastown has scored only 10 points and gained 469 total yards through three weeks. This night, the Comet defense limited the Wildcats to 174 yards and the goose egg on the scoreboard.
"It's difficult to shut anyone out at any level of football," said Penn Manor coach Todd Mealy. "There are so many things that happen in a game. Defensively, we're very proud of our effort."
In the third quarter, Dallastown had it first-and-goal at the Penn Manor 8, but Henry fumbled again.
The Comets made it 16-0 midway through the fourth when Dallastown, at its own 1, snapped the ball out of the end zone on a botched shotgun play.
Brandon Stone closed the scoring with a 30-yard TD run.
"We had a chip on our shoulder coming into this game," said Quinn. "We came angry and hungry. Last season, Dallastown put a whooping on us (35-20) so we had something to prove. We came out and proved it."