Stopping Syster: Comets’ Perfect Season Continues with 23-8 Defensive Victory
Tagged under: pfn
Luke Rainey | September 26, 2020
A perfect season remains intact for another week, and the same is true for a winless one.
The Penns Manor Comets continued their successful start to the 2020 campaign against the winless Purchase Line Red Dragons, holding a 3-0 record for the first time since achieving a perfect regular season in 2015.
Along with Homer-Center, Marion Center, and Northern Cambria, the Comets remain as one of the four undefeated teams in the Heritage Conference.
The 23-8 victory expressed a sharp turnaround from their performance against Purchase Line in 2019, when they surrendered five touchdowns to running back Josh Syster. However, after gaining only seven yards in the opening quarter, the Comets immediately made it clear that Syster’s night would be far less successful. He totaled for 112 yards on 21 carries, earning 52 of them on a single touchdown run in the third quarter.
“The ‘D’ just stepped it up tonight,” Packer said. “Any time you hold Syster to scoring one time, that’s a nice job. The kids stepped up and played physical.”
The Red Dragons received the opening kickoff, starting from the 38 yard-line. The drive marked the first of a trio of three-and-outs suffered in the first quarter.
Although the Comets entered Purchase Line’s territory two times, both drives were unsuccessful. They were first positioned to attempt a fourth-and-3 conversion from the 45-yard line, but a penalty forced them into a punt. Three plays into their next possession, the Red Dragons forced a fumble by Ashton Courvina and recovered the ball at midfield. The scoreless quarter ended with both teams combining for 40 all-purpose yards and four punts.
The Red Dragons began the second quarter with another punt to the Comets. A 15-yard completion to Dimitri Lieb moved Penns Manor inside the 40-yard line. They reached the Red Dragons’ 25-yard line before facing another fourth down. Sophomore quarterback Max Hill scrambled out of the pocket and threw to Lieb in the end zone, who made the touchdown-scoring catch while facing tight defensive coverage. Lieb’s reception on the 2-point attempt gave the Comets an 8-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Beginning on the next drive, Purchase Line presented a different offensive look. Junior quarterback Jayce Brooks moved into a receiver position, while Josh Syster became the quarterback.
At the time of the change, Brooks had only thrown two passes, both for incompletions.
The adjustment initially showed promising signs when Purchase Line encountered third down, as Syster ran with a direct snap for a 28-yard gain. Despite the play, they eventually punted back to the Comets after failing to continue their forward push inside opposing territory.
Penns Manor began their late-second quarter drive with a 20-yard completion to Lieb, followed by an additional 27 rushing yards by Courvina on the following two plays. The drive came to an end after an intended deep pass to Lieb fell incomplete. Time expired during Purchase Line’s possession, and the Comets’ 8-0 lead remained in place at halftime.
The Comets punted away their first possession of the third quarter. The Red Dragons started from midfield, but Syster would have his biggest play of the night on third-and-3. Taking the ball from the 48-yard line, Syster ran to the sideline and outraced the Comets’ defense to score a 52-yard touchdown. He also scored the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 8-8.
After both teams exchanged punts, the Comets started their next drive from their 45-yard line. Facing third-and-4, Courvina met a blockade of Red Dragons behind the line of scrimmage, but somehow escaped and gained enough yardage to keep the possession alive. After seven consecutive runs moved Penns Manor to the 20-yard line, Hill was forced out of bounds by Syster for a loss of 11 yards, setting up a fourth-and-13 situation.
With the score tied, Hill was quickly met by heavy defensive pressure. He scrambled to buy himself time and threw to his older brother Austin Hill, who completed the pass and ran untouched into the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown. Justin Marshall’s successful extra point attempt moved the Comets to a 15-8 advantage at the start of the fourth quarter.
Penns Manor center Parker Clayton discussed the events on the lead-changing touchdown.
“We knew we had to make a play,” he said. “I think we made a good pocket for (Max). He pulled out to the right, he just made an awesome throw, and Austin made an awesome catch.”
An already-urgent situation for the Red Dragons became disastrous on the second play of their series. Syster’s pass to running back Mello Sanchez on second-and-9 from the 21-yard line was completed, but linebacker Cole Cunningham stripped the ball, and Jae Karlinsey made the recovery. The turnover initiated a 6-play drive for the Comets, with Courvina scoring on a 7-yard run.
Hill was temporarily sidelined with an injury during the drive, but returned to the game on the Comets’ next possession several minutes later.
With seven minutes remaining, Purchase Line’s chance to engineer a comeback quickly hung in the balance on fourth-and-7. Isaac Huey became the quarterback for the play, but his pass went too high above the intended receiver and incomplete from the 31-yard line. The Comets’ final drive of offensive production ended in a punt, with Hill completing his night with 10 completions for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Purchase Line then punted for the seventh time prior to three kneel-downs by Penns Manor, continuing the Comets’ perfect start to the 2020 season.
Comets’ Head Coach Bill Packer spoke about the improvements of his defensive line and its’ role in orchestrating another win.
“We have a lot more speed this year,” Packer spoke. “And with that speed, we’re getting in the backfield and stopping them from getting anything going. I just thought that we did a great job on Syster, and you know he’ll get his yards, but just a great overall defensive effort.”
Still searching for a victory, Red Dragons’ Head Coach Matt Falisec explained the cause of Purchase Line’s offensive failures.
“Right now, we’re a one-trick pony. We need a couple guys to step up and help us out,” Falisec said. “We’re struggling to find our way on offense.”
The Comets will visit the 2-0 Homer-Center Wildcats, whose scheduled game against the Marion Center Stingers was postponed to an undetermined date.
Purchase Line will seek their first victory against the 1-2 Saltsburg Trojans, who defeated the Bobcats 32-6.
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