Category: Sports

By Travis Wells –

Despite the lack of rain the Comets still seemed to have a slippery ball.

“We missed a lot of opportunities to win the game,” said running back Brandon Stone.

It started out rough for Penn Manor when they just couldn’t seem to get a feel for the ball and Hempfield scored after two fourth down conversations. The quarter ended with the Knights leading 7-0.

But the Comets came raging back in the second quarter when Adam Sahd, quarterback for the Comets, rushed 20 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.

After a loss to Hempfield last year the Comets were hoping that the home turf advantage would help lead them to victory, but it just wasn’t enough.

“We really just started to play better as the game went on and played a hard game,” said linebacker Joziah Rodriguez. “But in the end we just didn’t do good enough.”

It was a constant battle in the second half with the Comets and the  Knights. Both teams clashed helmets causing injuries on both sides and after an interception thrown by Penn Manor’s quarterback, Hempfield got a slight advantage in the third quarter leading by seven points.

Sahd had to make up for his mistakes and he did, early in the fourth after  a fake handoff to running back Adam Hess, Sahd rushed 30 more yards for another TD. But he wasn’t satisfied with the tie, he wanted more. With four minutes left in the game Sahd rushed for another 30 yard TD, giving the Comets a lead of 21- 14 over the Knights.

The Comets seemed to have it in the bag after safety, Daulton Parmer, intercepted a ball thrown by Hempfield’s quarterback. With only seconds left on the clock, Sahd became confused during the next play which caused him to fumble the ball. Hempfield quickly recovered the ball and ran back for a touch down.

Penn Manor then called on Brian Sloss with 2.3 second left on the clock to try and save the game from overtime with an attempted 47 yard field goal. Unfortunately the ball bent to the left and was no good.

In overtime, the Comets tried to hold off Hempfield but the quarterback rushed for yet another touchdown. Penn Manor hustled until the end while the Knight’s defense stood strong, and wouldn’t allow the Comets to score. The game ended with Penn Manor 21, Hempfield 28.

“In the end this is just a huge learning experience for us, we know what not to do now,” said Adam Hess. “We’re just going to come back next week and try to play a better game.”

By Corey Fry –

Penn Manor’s Girl’s Field Hockey team returned this season with  renewed determination.

In Thursday’s game against second-place Hempfield, Eryn McCoy scored all three goals, shutting out the Black Knights 3-0.

The team is feeling especially competitive after a heart-breaking loss in states last year. They started this season off strong and currently have a record of  six wins and no losses in Section One play and 9-1 overall.

The long time coach of the team, Matt Soto, expects the upcoming season to be a challenging but satisfying one.

“There are a lot of good teams out there,” he said, “But our program is one of the best.”

The team, under Soto, has had much success in the past.

Last year, the team went undefeated in the regular season.  They also won their league and section championships, and made it to quarter finals in the state championship but lost to future champions, Emmaus.

Team captain Kayla Bixler believes the team’s strong sense of unity will contribute to their success this year.

“The team is very close” she said “We work well together.”

They hope to have continued success this year.

Sam Valentin contributed to this article.

By Alex Kirk –

The walk from the pavilion to the starting line was the only time Tuesday that Comet cross-country runners Harrison Shetler and Greta Lindsley weren’t leading the pack.

Penn Manor’s course, located in the Millersville Borough Park, is anything but easy.  With steep hills and sharp turns, it challenged runners from schools all over the county.  Despite this, the Comets had great success at their home turf.

“Our running was pristine this afternoon,” said senior co-captain Harry Manning. “Being at home played to be a nice advantage on our side.”

The Comets’ Greta Lindsley, who as a freshman last season won the LL League Championship, came in first place among all the girl runners, with a time of 19:08.  She won the race by a large margin of 57 seconds.

Comets superstar runner Harrison Shetler, a junior at Penn Manor, also placed first among all male runners with a time of 16:57.  Shetler passed the race leader on the final lap to take the gold.

Shetler recalled his come-from-behind victory.

“Going into the last lap, I was behind by about 10 seconds for the majority of the lap until we got to the base of the hill where I passed him and once we got to the top of the hill, he packed it in. He was done,” said Shetler.

Athletic Director Jeff Roth was cheering on his Comets at the park Tuesday. Roth said he was very proud to have both the guys and girls individual winners.

“It was excellent,” said Roth.  “Two individual winners to knock off our first meet in the Borough Park, which is outstanding against two very strong teams, Manheim Township and Cedar Crest. Harrison and Greta ran both extremely well today,” said Roth.

The girls and boys teams share a record of 9-3 so far this season. and plan to continue to win and compete for the remainder of their season and come to the league competition with high hopes for first.

David Burch contributed to this article.

By Matt Hatch –

The Comets soccer team struggled to finish off McCaskey in a close game under the lights Monday.

The Penn Manor soccer team came into this game 3-3 with a close loss in their last contest against Hempfield. They needed  the “W” to set their record past .500 with 4 wins and 3 losses.

And they did.  By finding weaknesses in the Tornado defense, the Comets got a final chip shot over the goalie to end the game 3 to 1.

The game started off quickly for Penn Manor who pressured McCaskey’s defense to the breaking point. A rebound shot by Andrew Herr, three minutes into the game, gave the Comets their first goal.  It looked  like Penn Manor was going to dominate.

Penn Manor kept possession of the ball and Stephen Guidos was able to finish a play with another goal only 11 minutes after the first one to take a two- goal lead.

“I thought we were going to blow them out,” said Kevin Reinhart, a Penn Manor soccer player after the Comets led by a score of 2-0.

Late in the first half McCaskey began to turn up the speed and were able to get some shots off at Penn Manor goalie Taylor Skelly. McCaskey was able to get a goal right before the half, turning the contest into a real game.

In the second half the teams were going back and forth trying to find a weak spot in the defense but no one had any success until finally a goal was scored in the final minute by Herr  with a chip shot over the goalie from the for the Comets to finish of McCaskey with a score of 3-1.

“Andrew Herr knows what to do and is always able to finish a shot,” said Juan Cubano, another Penn Manor soccer player.

Herr, scored two goals in the game and 12 goals this season, leading the Comets this season. The Penn Manor soccer team is now 3-3 and looking for another win Wednesday against Cedar Crest at home.

By Brandon Schuman and Eric Schlotzhauer –

Dallastown let Friday night’s football game slip through their hands, literally.

Proving turnovers can change the tempo of the game, the Wildcats erred  six times Friday night in Millersville and the Comets took advantage of the mistakes by walloping Dallastown 23-0 in front of a raucous home crowd.

The Wildcats fumbled it four times and tossed two interceptions in the contest.  Alex Quinn picked up three fumbles alone in the beating that was laid on the Wildcats.  Penn Manor senior Michael Bucek returned the first turnover, a fumble for a touchdown.

With a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, Daulton Parmer intercepted a tipped pass which allowed for the second Comet touchdown.

“It’s the mistakes, period,” said Dallastown coach Kevin Myers said about his team’s struggles during an interview with Lancaster newspapers.  “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 first half was not the end of the Wildcat’s turnover nightmare.   In the third quarter, quarterback Andrew Henry fumbled the Dallastown ball and threw away the potential to avoid the shutout.

The Comets later forced the Wildcats into a safety setting the score at 16-0 after a botched snap.

Penn Manor’s Brandon Stone put the “icing on the cake” running a 30-yard touchdown to seal the deal at 23-0.

“It’s difficult to shut anyone out at any level of football,” said Penn Manor coach Todd Mealy during an interview with Lancaster Newspapers.  “There are so many things that happen in a game.  Defensively, we’re very proud of our effort.”

By Travis Wells –

Maybe it was all the rain that cut into practice this week.  Or the day off school that interrupted the regular schedule.

Whatever the reason, a Comet late-game rally was not enough to hold off the Lampeter-Strasburg Pioneers on the gridiron during a postponed game that ended up with a 15-9 loss for Penn Manor Saturday evening.

It started off a little rough for the Penn Manor squad when L-S scored within the first three minutes of the game and went haywire from there as the Comets just couldn’t seem to find a connection with the ball.  The first quarter ended with the Pioneers on top 6-0.

“We had a lot of mistakes and just couldn’t seem to get anything started,” said Penn Manor quarterback Adam Sahd.

The second quarter gave the Comets an opportunity to get down to play and they made two fourth-down conversions in a drive that saw Brandon Stones score allowing Penn Manor to take a slight 7-6 lead.

But L-S came back in the second quarter to score again, Pioneers up 12-7.

“The lack of practices this week could have been the reason we weren’t very active,” said Penn Manor player Adam Hess.  “We were all together pretty sloppy.”

After a season opening win against Solanco, the Comets were hoping to improve their record.  But a steady downpour of rain from Tropical Storm Lee flooded bridges and roads and caused the district to cancel school Thursday. The game had been scheduled for Friday but was moved back a day to let the field dry out.

The second half saw a different Comet team.  An onside kick by Comet’s Brian Sloss ended up in an L-S fumble and the ball was recovered by the Comets.

The next play, often called “The Berlin Wall” allowed the Comets to go in for a score which would have tightened the score in the end but the touchdown was called back because of a holding call.

On the Pioneers next possession, they were able to score a field goal, ended the third quarter with L-S up 15-7.

“We need a stop,” Comets assistant coach Gordie Eck yelled to his players. “It’s now or never.”

The Comets did just that.  Hess sacked the L-S quarterback in their end zone forcing a fumble that ended in a safety.

The Comets got the ball back and drove to score in vain before time ran out.  The final score was 15-9, L-S.

“We just need to shake this loss off and put it in the past, learn from our mistakes and get ready for our game next week,” said Hess.

 

By Sam Valentin-

Penn Manor boys soccer looks to succeed with a new coach at the helm.

Steve McCabe was named the new coach of boys soccer in February, raising hopes for better league play after the Comets missed the playoffs last year. He said he will use his experiences as a professional player and college coach to make this year a successful one.

McCabe hails from the southwest coast of Scotland where he came up through a youth system and later played two years professionally in the Scottish premier league. He came to the United States in 2003 and worked as a director of sports camps.

He started his coaching career at his alma mater, Eastern University, in 2007 as assistant coach. While there he also served  as Director of Soccer Operations, Recruiting Coordinator and Goal Keeper Specialist.

This year he decided to start his high school coaching career at Penn Manor. In February he was named the head coach of Penn Manor boys soccer.  And the players are excited about their new coach.

“He is freaking amazing. He has a lot of experience which is what Penn Manor has needed in the past,” said Ryan Martzall, a senior captain on this year’s squad.

Both the players and their new coach looked forward to the season after spending time together during training camp and really taking time to to adjust to the new skills McCabe brought with him including a new playing formation and an emphasis on life-oriented factors such as conduct not only on the field but off as well.

Under their new coach the squad split its two scrimmages picking up a win against Middletown and losing to Exeter.

Although the boys did win for their new coach in the first official game of the season beating Manheim Township in overtime 3-2, in their next game they lost a questionable game to Warwick which is always a tough team, according to McCabe.

Watch the Comets try to push for the playoffs under their new Scottish leader.

By Jay Jackson –

With all of the rain this this week, the fields are a mess and most of Penn Manor’s sports events have been bumped back.

“Well E-town didn’t have school so we aren’t allowed to play. It is school policy,” said Jeff Roth the athletic director for Penn Manor.

Games got moved back to Saturday and Monday on an unusual schedule.

Saturday:

Girl Varsity Field hockey vs. Wilson at Comet Field 10am/ 11:30am, Girls Varsity Field Hockey vs. E-town at Comet Field 4pm/5:30 pm, Penn Manor Football vs. LS at 7:00 p.m.

Monday:

Freshman Soccer vs. E-town 4:00pm at E-town, JV Football @LS 4pm, Varsity/JV Soccer at LS at 4:00pm, Tennis vs. Ephrata at PM at 4:00pm, Varsity/JV Field Hockey at Leighton at 4:15/5:30pm

“Most of the game postponements were due to school cancellations but the field conditions also come into play,” said Roth.