The Upset: Red Dragons Shatter Comets’ Perfect Season, Advance in Playoffs With 22-14 Victory
Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News
Luke Rainey | October 31, 2020
Without managing the threat Josh Syster poses, it is impossible to defeat the Red Dragons.
The Penns Manor Comets have learned this lesson the hard way before, when they surrendered five touchdowns to Syster and lost to the Red Dragons 36-14 in 2019.
Holding Syster to less than 120 yards in week 3, Penns Manor defeated Purchase Line 23-8, but they failed to replicate their previous performance in their first–and only–postseason game. As he did in 2019, Syster accounted for all of Purchase Line’s offensive points against the Comets with three touchdowns and 239 rushing yards.
It was more than enough to serve the Comets their first loss of the 2020 season after starting 6-0, dethroning the highest seed in the PIAA District 6 Class 1A playoffs.
“You know what’s coming (with the Comets), but you’ve got to stop it.” Red Dragons’ Head Coach Matt Falisec commented after the game. “I was worried about our offense getting going because last time we played them, they shut us down big time. But they played physical, which I think turned the tide.”
The game did not start in such fashion for Purchase Line. They immediately gave a supreme scoring opportunity to Penns Manor upon a fumble by Dyllan Overman on the opening kickoff. Starting from the 8-yard line, the Comets scored first with a 1-yard run by quarterback Max Hill on third-and-goal.
Penns Manor delivered the next punch early in the second quarter. After catching a high pass near the line of scrimmage, Dimitri Lieb dashed for a 69-yard score.
Hill’s 7th passing touchdown accounted for nearly half of his passing yards throughout the contest, finishing with 151 yards and 10 completions.
As a fumble deep inside Red Dragon territory kickstarted the Comets’ offense, Penns Manor would commit the same mistake and allow Purchase Line to cut into the 14-0 deficit. The Comets fumbled from their 10-yard line, and the Red Dragons recovered. After three plays, Syster cashed in for a 10-yard rushing touchdown.
He then broke loose for his longest run of the night on Purchase Line’s next drive. On third-and-1, Syster ran for a 53-yard carry before he was chased down at the Comets’ 20-yard line. He supplemented it with a 16-yard touchdown, and a successful run on the 2-point conversion attempt evened the score at 14.
As Syster’s rushing yardage steadily increased, Penns Manor was struggling to keep up. The Comets suffered four three-and-outs inside the first half with less than 25 rushing yards. Lieb and Conner Keith were the only rushers for the Comets with positive yardage at the start of the third quarter.
Sophomore halfback Ashton Courvina had -4 rushing yards before he was injured in the second quarter.
“Losing Courvina was a big loss for us,” Penns Manor Head Coach Bill Packer said. “The other guys were getting nicked up too, and it’s tough with a school our size to have to put other kids in.”
Aside from his 69-yard passing touchdown in the second quarter, Hill threw just one completion in six passes, going for 7 yards to tight end Reese Hays.
The Comets started the second half with a three-and-out. On their next possession, a 17-yard reception by Austin Hill moved the Comets to their 40-yard line, but Max Hill was sacked for a 14-yard loss by linebacker Clayton Patrick on the following play. This set up an opportunity for Mello Sanchez to intercept Hill’s deep throw on third-and-24, putting the Red Dragons at the 36-yard line.
Though Lieb was offensively struggling with only 24 rushing yards, two big plays by the senior halfback spared the Comets from disaster.
After the turnover, Syster netted another monstrous gain for 51 yards. He was on the brink of scoring the lead-changing touchdown, but Lieb caught up to him just before he could score, tackling him at the 7-yard line. In goal-to-go territory, Syster committed the Red Dragons’ second turnover when he fumbled at the 5-yard line to keep the score tied.
Sanchez was on the verge of securing his second interception of the third quarter inside Comet territory. However, as he jumped at the 40-yard line, Lieb’s hit forced the ball loose and kept Penns Manor’s offense on the field.
The Comets lost another position player on the next play when a severe hit against Keith ended his night. Defensively, Cole Cunningham and Nathan Raffelle also suffered injuries.
In a 12-play drive, Purchase Line’s offense slowly gained yardage against the Comets. They converted fourth down in two instances, the first conversion on a 4-yard scramble by freshman quarterback John Elick.
Elick finished the night with three completions on seven attempts, totaling for 42 passing yards.
Their next fourth-down conversion would come inside the Comets’ 20-yard line. With a penalty for defensive pass interference, the Red Dragons retained possession and Syster subsequently scored a 1-yard touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter. The Red Dragons moved to a 20-14 lead after they were unsuccessful on the 2-point conversion attempt.
Trailing by 6, Reese Hays helped put the Comets’ offense into motion. He completed 2 passes from Hill for 22 yards at the start of the drive, but a 10-yard penalty against Penns Manor on a fresh set of downs killed their possession. They punted to Purchase Line with 7 minutes remaining.
Syster was the only player who had the ball throughout the Red Dragons’ possession. As they stayed on the ground for every play, Purchase Line chewed away nearly 5 minutes of time and gained multiple first downs. A 10-yard loss on a fumble helped the Comets force a punt. Penns Manor had 2 minutes to score a touchdown and keep their season alive.
Dimitri Lieb began the possession with a 10-yard reception, moving the ball to the Comets’ 28 yard line. Consecutive incomplete passes forced Penns Manor into third-and-10. Hill was sacked on the play, but an overriding 15-yard penalty and a loss of down against the Comets triggered fourth-and-25. The fate of both teams’ seasons hung in the balance, as Penns Manor did not have enough time to begin another possession.
Hill was immediately under fire from the Red Dragons’ defensive line. He scrambled to his right to evade pressure, but was spun to the ground in his own end zone as he released the ball. Ruled an intentional grounding, Purchase Line scored a safety to take a 22-14 advantage.
Purchase Line recovered Justin Marshall’s short kick at the 35-yard line, solidifying an upset victory for the #9 seed Red Dragons.
“When we scored our 14th point with a couple minutes left in the second quarter, you felt it going (our direction),” Coach Falisec said regarding the momentum shift when they rebounded from a 14-0 deficit. “They were ready to play, and I never saw our team more pumped up and more emotionally and physically ready to win than they were tonight.”
Coach Packer discussed moving into the 2021 season after facing elimination from the playoffs in their only postseason game.
“We didn’t know if we were going to even play one game this year,” Packer acknowledged. “I just told them to keep their heads up and for the younger kids to learn from the senior group. Hopefully, they learned something this year, and we can get back in the weight room and have a successful season next year.”
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