Penn Manor Game Ends with a Twist (See VIDEO highlights at Bottom of Page)

Penn Manor football coach Todd Mealy brought his team to Warwick High School on Friday night with the sting of last week’s first league loss still lingering in his player’s minds.

“I think we were most concerned about how we’d be able to bounce back after last week,” Mealy said of their 35-28 loss to Manheim Township. “That was a tough one last week.”

When the Comet’s cleats touched down on Grosh Field turf, their focus shifted to winning at least two more games. A pair of Penn Manor victories would make the current senior class the all-time most winning class in Comet history.

Warwick, on the other hand, just wanted to win one game.

After suffering three losses in a row at the hands of McCaskey, Conestoga Valley, and Manheim Township, the Warriors were hoping their Homecoming game would have a happier ending.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

The Warriors lost 31-13 to the Comets (4-1 in L-L, 6-2 overall). Quarterback Colin Gibble (4-of-15, 59 yards, 1 INT) left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury. Warwick (1-4 in L-L, 2-6 overall) just can’t seem to get a break.

 

Gibble rushed for 94 yards before he was sidelined.

“At the end of the first half he was on a roll running the ball,” said Locker.

The Comets coach concurred.

“He ran the ball pretty well tonight,” said Mealy. “He broke some runs, he’d pick up huge chunks of yards on a play, and then we were able to hold.”

Once Gibble was out of the game, Penn Manor structured their defense based on the offensive preferences of Warwick’s two quarterbacks, Tyler Trimarchi (6-of-9, 79 yards, 1 TD) and Taylor Lentz (Taylor Lentz 1-of-2, 7 yards).

“One was a runner, and one was a thrower,” Mealy said.

“It’s an entirely different offense because we use (Gibble) as a runner and a passer,” said Locker. “I will say this, I thought that Trimarchi, and even Lentz a little bit, for being sophomores did a pretty decent job coming in.”

Warwick kicker Kobi Biemesderfer got the Warriors on the board first with a 28-yard field goal that cleared the uprights with 8:50 left in the first quarter, and the Warriors went up 3-0.

The Comets then scored on the ground when Tyler Spangler ran for a two-yard touchdown. Manor kicker James Busano got the PAT, his first of four for the night, and Manor pulled into the lead 7-3.

In the second quarter, Spangler struck again, this time with a 21-yard TD carry that stopped the clock with 10:48 left in the third quarter, with the Comets leading 14-3 after the PAT cleared.

Warwick’s Biemesderfer kicked a 26-yard field goal with 3:18 left in the half, bringing the score to 14-6. With only 13 seconds left, Busano kicked a 29-yard field goal, and it was Penn Manor 17, Warwick 6 going into halftime.

During halftime Warwick crowned Deanna Preziosi the 2014 Homecoming Queen. (see related story “Warwick Picks Homecoming Queen”)

Carter Kinser scored for Penn Manor on a 4-yard run with 7:40 left in the third, and Busano’s extra kick was good, stretching the Comet’s lead to 24- 6.

On a fourth-and-4, Comet quarterback Tanner Erisman (6-of-14, 101 yards, 2 INT) kept the ball and ran for the first down before he was tackled by Adam Wagaman.

Manor’s Jamal McCaskell scored on a 5-yard run with only 12.2 seconds left in the third quarter. Busano’s kick cleared, and Warwick’s hopes waned. Coach Bob Locker encouraged his team to not give up.

“Umph, fellas, umph,” called Locker from the sidelines. Just over a minute later, Chris Borg caught a fourth-and-2 pass from Tyler Trimarchi and sprinted for the goal line. His touchdown came with 7:41 left in the game. Biemesderfer’s PAT split the uprights and Warwick trailed 31-13.

“Nice! Don’t quit! Don’t quit!” Locker said as his team returned to the sidelines after the TD. The rest of the game was scoreless.

After the game, players from Penn Manor invited the entire Warwick team to pray with them on the field for injured Warrior quarterback Colin Gibble. (See related story and VIDEO-“Teams Pray for Injured QB”).

Lynn Rebuck covers sports for LititzDailyNews.com. She welcomes your comments and questions by email to [email protected].

 

    Penn Manor 31, Warwick 13

                                  1          2          3          4

Penn Manor               7          10        14          0

Warwick                      3           3           0         7

1st Quarter

  • W-FG Kobi Biemesderfer 28, 8:50
  • PM-Tyler Spangler 2 run (James Busano kick), 3:30

2nd Quarter

  • PM-Spangler 21 run (Busano kick), 10:48
  • W-FG Biemesderfer 26, 3:18
  • PM-FG Busano 29, 0:13

3rd Quarter

  • PM-Carter Kinser 4 run (Busano kick), 7:40
  • PM-Jamal McCaskell 5 run (Busano kick), 0:12

4th Quarter

W-Chris Borg 24 pass from Tyler Trimarchi (Biemesderfer kick), 7:41

                           PM           W

First Downs          21            14
Rushes-Yds.        250           155
Passing Yds.       101          145
Passes            6-14-2      26-11-1
Punts – Avg.          44            34.3
Fumbles- Lost        0              0
Penalties – Yards   15            15
RUSHING: PM –Tyler Spangler 11-85, Jamal McCaskell 14-83 Ashton Leschke 6-50, Carter Kinser 2-12, Tanner Erisman 9-10, David Brown 3-10. W- Colin Gibble 9-95, David Weaver 8-37, Isaac Rissinger 8-9, Tyler Trimarchi 3-6, Chris Borg 2-4, Mason Eshleman 2-4
PASSING: PM – Tanner Erisman 6-14 101. W- Tyler Trimarchi 6-9 79, Colin Gibble 4-15 59, Taylor Lentz 1-2 7.
RECEIVING: PM- Gerrin McKinnie 3-48, Ashton Leschke 2-30, Seve Johnson 1-23. W- Chris Borg 5-61, Keegan Flahive 3-49, Alex Dagen 1-21, Jordan Cipalla 2-14.

This story was updated at 4:44 p.m. and 6:24 p.m. on 10-19-14.