The Home of Pennsylvania High School Sports!
https://www.bleachercoaches.com/
LIGONIER — There were no tiebreakers needed this season, and there was no waiting around to see who the Heritage Conference champion would be.
There was also no clear favorite.
There were just two good teams, going head-to-head with the title on the line Friday night.
Penns Manor’s ground game was as good as it’s ever been, and the Comets ran away with the conference championship in a 19-12 victory over Ligonier Valley in front of a packed house at Weller Field.
Both teams entered the game unbeaten, but Penns Manor came out on top to win its third Heritage Conference title in six seasons.
“It means everything to these kids,” Penns Manor coach Bill Packer said. “They work so hard. They’ve gone through a lot of pressure. I’m just so proud of them, and they deserve it.”
A ton of buzz surrounded the showdown because of the rich rivalry between the two teams, and with just one conference game remaining, one team would take the crown in Week 8.
“As a fan of the game, I’m glad we had a championship won on the field when two teams were battling it out and the winner gets to take the plaque,” Ligonier Valley coach Roger Beitel said. “You didn’t have to wait for some tiebreaker in Week 9, and this is how it should be.”
The Comets (8-0) rolled up 311 rushing yards and allowed just one touchdown in their first real test this season. Penns Manor, ranked No. 8 in the state, scored on two of its first three possessions to take a 12-0 lead and held on against the resilient Rams. Ligonier Valley (7-1) entered the week atop the District 6 Class AA rankings.
“This was a big game for us to be in,” Packer said, “just to see where we’re at, and we know when we get in the playoffs, we’re going to be in games like this. I saw the heart from the kids and the hard work this week, so I’m really proud of them.”
Bailey Mumau rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Comets, who average 323.3 of their 416.5 total yards on the ground.
“That’s what we’ve been doing all year,” Packer said. “We’ve been running the ball well. I thought we did a really nice job running. That third quarter, we ran the clock most of the third quarter, but we didn’t finish the drive off. That happened a couple times; we had a nice long drive and didn’t finish it off. I’m proud of these kids for the way they did move the ball and for the heart they had toward the end. They just came out and played hard. They knew what they had to do.”
Ligonier Valley played much of the game without standout quarterback Collin Smith, who left with an injury early in the second quarter and never returned. Smith was 0-for-4 passing and had just 11 rushing yards when he exited the game. He entered the game as the area leader in total offense at more than 1,700 yards per game.
Backup Jackson Daugherty scored the Rams’ only touchdown on a 65-yard run in the third quarter.
“Jackson is a really good athlete, and he battled, and our kids battled,” Beitel said. “We faced some adversity, but we battled them for 48 minutes. This was a fantastic game. Congratulations to them.”
Penns Manor forced a three-and-out after the Rams took the opening kickoff, and then Mumau scored on the Comets’ first drive for a 6-0 lead.
Nathan Dumm rushed for 79 yards, Clayton Stupic added 54 and Beck Branton finished with 41.
“We had good contact up front: line vs. line,” Dumm said. “Their linebackers flowed pretty well, so the edge wasn’t really there. So we tried to cut it back, and at 5 yards a clip, it was working for us.”
Penns Manor went up 12-0 when Branton scored from the 1-yard line with 7:37 remaining in the second quarter.
Ligonier Valley answered with a long drive capped by Kobe Short’s 25-yard field goal with five minutes left before halftime.
Daugherty scored at the 3:09 mark in the third quarter as the Rams pulled within three, 12-9.
“I knew I had to run my butt off to get in the end zone,” Daugherty said. “We needed it. I just followed my blockers and they led me in. It felt great.”
“I was extremely proud of the effort,” Beitel said. “Forty-eight minutes of relentless effort by our kids. We just came up on the short side. Penns Manor was big and physical and they were able to run the ball effectively on us all night long.”
Mumau scored on an 11-yard run on the next possession to give the Comets some breathing room and a 19-9 lead.
Daugherty was then intercepted by Penns Manor lineman Christian Marshall to give the Comets the ball at the Ligonier Valley 36-yard line. After three short runs, Penns Manor was forced to punt.
Daugherty was back to receive the kick and muffed the punt. The ball rolled behind him and across the goal line, sending players from both teams chasing it into the end zone. Penns Manor thought it had a touchdown or, at least, a safety while Ligonier Valley players hung their heads in disappointment.
No call was made right away, and after officials conferred, the play was ruled a touchback, which caused a few minutes of confusion. According to high school football rules, the ball is ruled dead when it crosses the goal line on any kicking play and is ruled a touchback.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was assessed to the Comets on the play, giving the Rams the ball at their own 35-yard line and a big momentum lift. They marched down the field and Short made his second 25-yard field goal with 2:40 left in the game, tightening the score to seven points at 19-12.
“It was huge for us because (we were down) two possessions at that point,” Beitel said. “We decided that we were either going to try to get in the end zone for the touchdown or we were going to kick the field goal and try to get the onside kick. … He drilled it for us, and Kobe’s been doing that for us all year long, and he can definitely hit it.”
Down just one score with time running out, Ligonier Valley opted for the onside kick, but the Comets easily recovered it and ran out the clock.
“We practice that all the time,” Packer said. “We had our hands team in there. We knew they were going to onside kick it. It came to Gavin Grimaldi, a kid with good hands, and he made a nice play on it.”
“Anytime these two teams play, crazy things happen,” Beitel said. “I thought maybe it was our turn to have some sort of magic and get maybe an onside kick and get some magical moment that everyone will remember. But it wasn’t meant to be, and then they finished the game out with the ball, and that’s how you want to win a championship, I’m sure.”
Penns Manor limited the area’s second-ranked offense to 205 total yards and just 62 passing yards. Ligonier Valley entered the game averaging 374.0 yards per game.
“They’re extremely physical,” Beitel said. “They ran the ball very well. Defensively, they closed on the backs. Their front is as good as advertised.”
The Comets were predicted by the conference coaches in the preseason to win the league title, and until Friday night, they had won every conference game by mercy rule.
“It definitely helps to play a hard game like this because it gets us ready for the playoffs,” Mumau said.
Penns Manor wraps up its regular season against Purchase Line and Keystone before making its ninth straight appearance in the district playoffs.
Ligonier Valley faces Homer-Center before playing host to Central, which entered the weekend second to the Rams in the district rankings. Beitel said Smith was hit in the head and will be re-evaluated, and his team is prepared to “move forward.”
The Rams missed out on the playoffs last season but guaranteed themselves a spot this year. They will continue on with their successful season despite missing out on the conference championship.
“When you’re in a high-profile game, someone’s going to win and someone’s going to lose,” he said.
“It’s always hard to lose, especially for the conference championship,” Daugherty said. “It should give us motivation, and next, we’re going for districts.”
Do you think Beitel will begin a Marshawn Lynch type impersonation. You are right. The media and everyone on here are clearly against him. People can never see both sides. They only see what they want to see. Knowing Roger though, I think he enjoys the attention so much that this is one of his ploys to actually get more publicity for Ligonier... I hope it works, because they def deserve the attention. If Smith is healthy in the playoffs the field better watch out for the Rams!!!LVluverMikeT wrote:I do not blame him for doing this. All radio stations are biased against LV. All LV does is win, win, win and the radio stations seem to have something against them. LV can't help who they play, at least they schedule some tough out of conference games like central and Huntington. Radio stations have always been against them and will continue to be. It's ashame but that is the truth. Rams don't need broadcast on the radio to continue to do well.
Winning your conference means everything. It means you are the best amongst your rivals. A D6 championship is nice but what does it mean if you don't win the state championship? Who cares if you are the best team with between 120 and 178 boys located within five full counties and parts of three others? Big deal!12HankQB wrote:Well I don't think you can get bent out of shape over a Heritage title anyhow. This means nothing. D6 playoffs are more important. So if none of the other teams will see LV in D6, not a big deal then
"Aim low, that way you'll never be disappointed."knowitall wrote:Winning your conference means everything. It means you are the best amongst your rivals. A D6 championship is nice but what does it mean if you don't win the state championship? Who cares if you are the best team with between 120 and 178 boys located within five full counties and parts of three others? Big deal!12HankQB wrote:Well I don't think you can get bent out of shape over a Heritage title anyhow. This means nothing. D6 playoffs are more important. So if none of the other teams will see LV in D6, not a big deal then
Lol. Are you Coach Beitel or a Parent from LV? The ball is about to be over for CinderellaChrisKentRam wrote:Do you think Beitel will begin a Marshawn Lynch type impersonation. You are right. The media and everyone on here are clearly against him. People can never see both sides. They only see what they want to see. Knowing Roger though, I think he enjoys the attention so much that this is one of his ploys to actually get more publicity for Ligonier... I hope it works, because they def deserve the attention. If Smith is healthy in the playoffs the field better watch out for the Rams!!!LVluverMikeT wrote:I do not blame him for doing this. All radio stations are biased against LV. All LV does is win, win, win and the radio stations seem to have something against them. LV can't help who they play, at least they schedule some tough out of conference games like central and Huntington. Radio stations have always been against them and will continue to be. It's ashame but that is the truth. Rams don't need broadcast on the radio to continue to do well.