Penns Manor tops Cambria Heights, claims Heritage crown

Oct. 15—CLYMER — Jarrod Lewis exhorted his players with vehemence following his Cambria Heights High School football team's 42-33 setback at Penns Manor.

"The last time we lost a game, we won six in a row. If we do that again, we're right where we want to be," Lewis said.

"Nobody should hang their heads."

It was the biggest consolation as Penns Manor quarterback Max Hill took over in the second half to lift the homestanding and undefeated Comets on Friday night at Pat Corrigan Field, denying Lewis and the Highlanders a shot at their second Heritage Conference championship in as many years.

"It's tough," Cambria Heights senior running back-defensive back Tanner Trybus said. "We came in here, played our hearts out and gave it all we had."

Trybus had a spectacular game, running for a 42-yard touchdown, throwing a 39-yard touchdown and catching a 75-yard touchdown from Ty Stockley in the third quarter that had the Highlanders (6-2) up 27-21. He had 254 yards combined rushing, passing and receiving, and Cambria Heights amassed 418, one fewer than Penns Manor in the fireworks show.

However, it wasn't enough to overcome Hill. The Penns Manor quarterback ran for 197 yards and touchdowns of 37, 65, 50 and 8 yards in the second half after passing for two scores before halftime.

Hill finished with 246 yards on 24 carries.

"They started making plays. We didn't tackle as well in the second half as we did in the first half," Lewis said. "It is what it is. Our goal was to keep him off the field.

We did that in the first half. In the second half, not so much. The more he touches the ball, the more potential he has to make a big play."

Hill's 50-yard scored 56 seconds into the fourth quarter tied the game at 27 and Colton Shield's extra point gave Penns Manor its first lead of the night, 34-33. Cambria Heights led by 14 late in the second quarter despite an injury to standout quarterback Ty Stockley earlier in the frame. Stockley tried to come back and play, but eventually gave way to sophomore Isaac Weiland.

Stockley was coming off a 243-yard rushing game and ran for 76 yards in the first quarter this week. He only had one carry in the second half.

"He's our best player on both sides of the ball. He's our leader," Lewis said.

"You know, the kids came in and battled, though. We battled to the end."

The win clinched the Heritage Conference for the Comets, who improved to 8-0. They won just four times last season.

"The kids just knew they just had to play hard and they had the ability to beat this team," Penns Manor coach Bill Packer said. "If someone would have told me (entering the year) we'd be 8-0 right now, I wouldn't have believed it."

Cambria Heights had a chance to regain the lead. Marshall Eckenrode's 10-yard touchdown run got the Highlanders within 34-33, and a penalty had the Comets backed inside their own 5 after the ensuing kickoff.

Cambria Heights regained possession at the Comets' 30, but, after an illegal procedure penalty, a shotgun snap got by Weiland and Penns Manor's Carter Smith recovered near midfield. Hill drove the Comets the rest of the way, scoring his last touchdown and tacking on the two-point conversion to clinch it with 3:34 left.

Ashton Courvina's 10-yard touchdown reception on fourth-and-8 in the final minute of the second quarter pulled Penns Manor to within 21-14 at the half. Before that, the teams exchanged trick-play scores: Marshall put Penns Manor on the board on a 45-yard pass from Hill that went to Courvina and then was lateraled, but Cambria Heights answered with one of their own, Trybus getting the pitch and throwing an option pass to a wide-open Stephen Nelen for a 39-yard TD.

The difference at half was a play on which Hill broke through a big hole and appeared to be heading to paydirt before a jarring hit by Trybus at the Cambria Heights 1 forced a fumble that the Highlanders recovered.

Cambria Heights had a 13-0 lead before Penns Manor had a first down. The Highlanders took the initial drive 67 yards, 58 of it covered by three Stockley runs. One went 28 yards deep into Comets territory, which was followed by a 25-yard scoring scamper in which the Cambria Heights quarterback seemed hemmed in but managed to slip through and burst down the sideline.

Four plays after the Highlanders got the ball back following a three-and-out, Trybus found a crease over the right side and sprinted 42 yards to the end zone.

Cambria Heights outgained Penns Manor 145-8 in the first quarter. Stockley had 76 yards rushing in the opening frame before an ankle injury took him out of action.

If Cambria Heights is able to get on another streak at the end of the regular season and into the District 6 Class 1A playoffs, it might get another shot at Penns Manor down the road.

"We're going to bounce back," Trybus said.