Cedar Crest stops Penn Manor, 14-9

(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)

By Dave Byrne — LNP/Lancasteronline

Dhamir Wesley may have a future working for Allstate, ’cause he’s got good hands.

Penn Manor’s junior tight end/defensive end caught three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown Friday night as Penn Manor defeated Cedar Crest, 14-9 at Millersville’s Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One opener for both squads.

More important were the four passes he didn’t catch — four passes by Cedar Crest’s Jay Huber that Wesley batted down at the line of scrimmage, none bigger than the third-and-11 pass from the Comets’ 25 with 10 seconds left that all but sealed the victory.

DeShawn Stanley’s fourth-down interception at the 2 — the third pick of the game for the Comets (1-0 L-L, 2-2 overall) — did indeed seal the win.

“He’s got some good hands,” said Comets coach John Brubaker, who went on to add, “it’s a fantastic win for us. … We’ve been so close a couple of games, credit these kids. They keep grinding away and have faith in what we’re doing.”

So much faith, they talked Brubaker into a nearly fatal decision with 1:47 to play. Quarterback Eli Warfel (7-for-15, 135 yards passing with a touchdown; 15-57 rushing with a TD) picked up 5 yards to the Comets’ 35, bringing up a fourth-and-2. Cedar Crest called its final timeout of the game.

Out of the timeout, the Comets went for it, Warfel trying to hit Wesley on a short out. The pass fell incomplete and the Falcons (0-1, 2-2) took over 35 yards — and 102 seconds — from winning the game.

“I’m not quite sure what I was thinking,” Brubaker said sheepishly. “The kids said, ‘We got this.’ They were pressuring our punter and I didn’t want to risk a blocked punt.

“The defense came through when we needed it to.”

In fact, the defense came up big all game for the Comets, who held the Falcons to 85 yards on 24 rushes. While Huber distributed 15 completions to nine different receivers for 187 yards, it came in 35 attempts, along with the three interceptions.

One the offensive side of the ball, the Comets put up 210 yards total offense. In addition to Warfel’s 135 yards through the air, the Comets rushed for 110 yards, a subtotal affected by a 25-yard loss on a second-half punt attempt.

Denied on a 10-play, 54-yard drive in the second quarter, the Comets came back to put together a 10-play, 84 yard drive late in the quarter with Wesley pulling in a 21-yard post route, shedding tacklers at the 10 for the first touchdown of the game.

“I just had to go straight, look back for the ball and catch it,” Wesley said.

While the Falcons had some success moving the ball, they never seemed to put it together. Executing the two-minute offense, Huber moved the Falcons six plays to midfield before Sebastian Rivera’s sack at midfield ended the half.

The high punt snap on the Comets’ first possession of the second half led to Nolan Groff tackling Skiadis in the end zone for a safety.

On the ensuing free kick, Alex Abreu bobbled the ball, Jonathan Osman recovering on the Crest 37. Warfel passed 32 yards to Clark Wagstaff, but on the next play, at the end of a 4-yard run, Osman fumbled, Crest recovering at the 1.

After an exchange of punts, Osman intercepted Huber at the Crest 37. Warfel passed 15 yards to Wesley and 9 yards to Kyle Furnier before outracing the defense to the right pylon from the 5 for the winning score.

Crest made it uncomfortable for Penn Manor fans as Huber connected with Izaiah Gonzalez on a 65-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 3:49 to play. With hearts in throats on both sides of the field, the final minutes elapsed with lots of excitement, but no further scoring.

“We know who we are, we know where we’re going,” Brubaker said. “We’re one-and-oh in the section, so we’re happy about that.”