JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
COACH – Todd Mealy (Just completed his 2nd season; 10-12 overall).
SECTION 1 RECORD – 5-2.
OVERALL RECORD – 9-3 (Lost to Cumberland Valley in the District 3 Quad-A quarterfinals).
RESULTS – @ Solanco (W 14-13), Lampeter-Strasburg (W 17-0), @ Exeter (W 31-3), @ Hempfield (W 31-14), Reading (W 9-6), McCaskey (W 23-0), Manheim Township (W 20-19), @ Warwick (L 27-7), Wilson (L 42-0), Cedar Crest (W 39-7), Dallastown (W 42-7), @ Cumberland Valley (L 42-7).
SIGNATURE WIN – Definitely a few to choose from here, but the one that sticks out to me was the 31-14 triumph over Hempfield in the Section 1 opener. Both teams came in 3-0, and the Black Knights were sailing along, showing off their spiffy new spread O – which Penn Manor more than took care of. The Comets recovered five fumbles that night, letting the rest of Section 1 know that their D was for real, and that they were going to be in the race for keeps.
POINTS FOR – 243 (20.3 per game).
POINTS AGAINST – 180 (15.0 per game).
SCORING MARGIN – Plus-63.
FUMBLES LOST – 8.
INTERCEPTIONS – 12.
FUMBLES RECOVERED – 11.
INTERCEPTIONS FOR – 3.
TURNOVER RATIO – Minus-6.
PENALTIES – 53 for 410.
PUNTS – 41 for 32.5 average.
FIRST DOWNS – 165.
RUSHING YARDS – 2,228.
PASSING YARDS – 1,005.
TOTAL TEAM OFFENSE – 269.4 yards per game.
RUSHING YARDS AGAINST – 1,675.
PASSING YARDS AGAINST – 1,179.
TOTAL TEAM DEFENSE – 237.8 yards per game.
LEADING RUSHER – Sean Noll (156 carries for 951 yards, 6.1 avg., 9 TD).
LEADING PASSER – P.J. Rehm (69-of-149 for 952 yards, 7 TD, 9 picks, 103.4 QB rating).
LEADING RECEIVER – Cody Booth (23 catches for 300 yards, 13.0 avg., 1 TD).
FUN STAT – Penn Manor started the season 7-0 for the first time since 1986.
MVP – Senior Cody Booth did a ton of damage on both sides of the ball, and he was quite the two-way weapon for the Comets, who had their best (and easily most memorable) season in years. The blitz-happy end (he led Section 1 in sacks during the regular season) fronted Penn Manor’s stingy D, which finished fourth in the league, giving up just 237.8 yards per game. And he was a big target on O with a team-high 23 catches. When you played Penn Manor, you had to know where Booth was – on both sides of the ball – or you were in big, big trouble. Fabulous season by these cats, who won nine games for the first time ever.
