Comets pull away from McCaskey

Two weeks ago, Penn Manor's season was at a crossroads. The Comets had squandered a late lead to Hempfield and lost their second one-score game of the season.

A lesser team may have folded. Penn Manor didn't.

The Comets won their second-straight game Friday with a 48-14 win over McCaskey.

"This really gives us confidence," said PM coach Todd Mealy, whose team faces Section One front-runners Manheim Township and Wilson in the next three weeks. "Two weeks ago we could have folded after two close losses. The way we've bounced back the past two weeks will give us a boost in the second half of this season."

Both teams traded touchdowns in the opening quarter. The Comets (2-1 L-L League, 4-2 overall) took the early lead on a Brandon Stone (16 carries, 106 yards) 12-yard run to lead 7-0. McCaskey (0-3, 0-6) answered with a 28-yard scoring strike from John Hulyo to Diante Cherry. The two-point run attempt failed, keeping the Comets ahead 7-6 with 2:47 left in the first quarter.

Penn Manor pulled away quickly with 21 unanswered points to end the half ahead, 28-6.

Adam Sahd (8 carries, 78 yards) had a hand in all three of Manor's scores, starting with a 30-yard touchdown run. He followed that with a 16-yard scoring toss to Joe Bucek before sprinting in from 23 yards out.

"Adam has really polished his quarterback play," Mealy said. "It's because of coaching and because of his resilience. He watched more film than anyone and wants his team to win so bad."

Penn Manor matched its second-quarter output with three straight scores to start the second half.

Alex Quinn's interception set up a Stone's four-yard touchdown run. Sahd  (10 of 14, 104 yards) found Daulton Parmer (5 receptions, 53 yards) on a 30-yard scoring pass to give the Comets a 41-6 lead with 5:35 left in the third.

"We're just not where we need to be to compete at this level," said McCaskey coach Rob Monzon. "On every big play we either have someone not aligned right or playing the wrong technique."

The Red Tornado missed a scoring opportunity when Cherry (7 catches, 149 yards) fumbled the ball in the end zone to end the third quarter.

Adam Hess put Penn Manor ahead 48-6 when he picked off Collins Gantz (8 of 14, 144 yards), who came in for Hulyo (6 of 16, 73 yards), and raced 53 yards to the end zone. McCaskey tacked on a late score when Josh Ransing sprinted in from 12 yards.

mblymier@lnpnews.com