Penns Manor stays unbeaten with triumph at Portage
Oct. 8—PORTAGE — Penns Manor and Portage were locked in a tightly contested Heritage Conference battle early in the third quarter Friday night after the Mustangs scored on the opening drive of the second half to cut what was a 19-point deficit down to five.
However, the unbeaten Comets answered that challenge with three consecutive touchdowns aided by a pair of Portage turnovers to break the game open and pull away for a 55-28 triumph.
A dynamic offense led by quarterback Max Hill generated 510 total yards for the Comets (7-0). Hill rushed for 176 of Penns Manor's 437 total yards on the ground on 18 carries and scored three touchdowns, and the senior signal caller also completed 3 of 6 passes for 73 yards and three more scores.
Although the Mustangs (4-3) put up 271 rushing yards and 392 yards overall, Penns Manor came up with four takeaways, all of which were converted into touchdowns by the Comets.
"You can't give a team with an explosive offense like that extra opportunities," said Portage coach Marty Slanoc. "They have a lot of team speed and a lot of good athletes. I'm proud of how our kids played hard and fought, but they were the better team tonight."
The game started off with fireworks from both sides, with two scores in the first 22 seconds. Hill took it the distance on a 55-yard keeper on the Comets' initial play from scrimmage, and Portage came right back when Andrew Miko rolled out after taking his first snap and hit Bode Layo on a tight end screen that went for a 65-yard touchdown.
Hill sprinted for a 29-yard gain on the ensuing series and later scored on a 6-yard run, with Justin Marshall's extra point putting the Comets up 14-7.
Marshall then recovered a Portage fumble at the Mustang 41 on the next possession, and four plays later Hill fired a 19-yard touchdown strike to Ashton Courvina in the back of the end zone.
Eric Baum picked off Miko to open Portage's ensuing series, and a 26-yard run by Courvina highlighted a 10-play drive that was capped off by Hill's 3-yard touchdown run that made it 26-7 early in the second quarter.
The Mustangs later capitalized on a Comet turnover, as a fumble recovery at the Penns Manor 35 was followed three plays later by Brendan Smithro's 9-yard touchdown with 4:48 left in the half.
Portage had a chance to pull even closer before the break. A second consecutive Comets fumble was recovered at the Penns Manor 45, and a 16-yard toss from Miko to Mason Kargo followed by an 11-yard run by Isaac Willinsky put the Mustangs in the red zone. However, Portage was stopped short of the sticks at the Comets 10 with just over a minute left in the half.
The Mustangs took the second-half kickoff and capped off a 58-yard drive when Miko found Layo for his second touchdown pass of the game, a 40-yarder that closed the gap to 26-21.
Hill hit Carter Smith over the middle for a 41-yard score .
Later in the third quarter, Baum came up with his second interception of the game, and the Comets then moved 65 yards in 10 plays. A 20-yard dash by Courvina set up Smith's diving catch on a 13-yard Hill touchdown pass that made it 42-21 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
Portage's fourth turnover, a fumble with just over seven minutes left in the game, was followed on the next play by Mark Bagley's 57-yard touchdown run.
Isaac Jubina, who led Portage with 111 yards on 17 carries, added a 6-yard touchdown for the Mustangs, and another long run by Bagley from 58 yards out completed the scoring. Bagley netted 133 yards on seven carries.
The Mustangs will travel to West Shamokin on Friday, while the Comets will host Cambria Heights.
