Carlisle Runs Through Penn Manor As Young Thundering Herd Look The Part, Dampen Comets’ Senior Night Plans By Scoring Third Win Of The Season
Written by: Andy Herr on January 31, 2026
Penn Manor Team Photo At 2025 L-L League Media Day
First, the bad news. 7-29. For those would be the combined records that both of these two 6A programs brought with them into this Friday night nonconference affair against one another. The good news then you may ask? The fact that even though we can now count the number of regular season games left remaining on just one hand, the opportunity was nonetheless ripe for Penn Manor, 5-13 overall, or Carlisle, 2-16 record next to their name, a chance to begin the process of winding down their respective seasons with a bit of optimism for whomever would be able to come away with a much-needed victory here while also perhaps having it serve as a springboard into next season as well.
And if that were the case, man, consider that to be mission accomplished for the Thundering Herd on this night. So much so that you might feel the need to put it in all capital letters.
Somehow, for a team that only twice finished a pair of outings in which they ended up scoring more points than the opposition so far this season, that almost seemed inconceivable given the way in which Carlisle operated against Penn Manor on this, the Comets’ Senior Night.
Sure enough, following a pair of silky-smooth triples knocked down by way of Thundering Herd junior guard, Cayson Johnson, Carlisle’s leading scorer on the year found averaging just a tick above 12 per game, the visitors from Cumberland County had already raced out to an early 8-3 advantage a mere 2:20 into the contest.
From there, the Herd lead would double-up the opposition once another impressive piece in the Carlisle rotation, Sean Smith, tallied one of his what seemed to be limitless offensive rebounds and stick-backs all throughout Friday night as the 6’4 freshman forward made it a 12-6 Carlisle cushion with now over half of the opening frame having been expired by that juncture.
And while Penn Manor, knocked back on their heels right from the outset, would counter back and eventually trim the difference down to the slimmest of margins at 14-13 following a 3-ball sunk by Comets’ senior guard, Kyle Knutsen, that would be all the closer the hosts would get when it came to playing with the lead all game long as it turned out.
Specifically, the first tangible bit of separation following this most recent Penn Manor outburst came via the efforts of another impressive Carlisle underclassman, Isaiah Robinson, the eventual game-high scorer by virtue of his 14-point performance, forward proceeded to tally the final seven points of the opening frame all by his lonesome, highlighted by a triple stuck right at the first quarter horn, as the Carlisle sophomore did his part in helping his troops sail into the second act with the added benefit of the 21-13 lead pushing behind them.
Yet the hole only continued to grow steeper for the Comets to try and dig out of once the second quarter got rolling along.
In terms of going down by double digits, that would following another pair of hard-earned buckets inside courtesy of Smith, an 11-point scorer on the night for the Herd which saw the freshman finish second for the team-high honors, making it a 27-16 Herd lead with Penn Manor being forced into calling a timeout with 5:20 still left in the opening half.
From there, nothing much seemed to change when it came to Carlisle being able to keep Penn Manor at an arm’s length all the way up until the game’s recess.
Yes, while it was true that an old-fashioned three-point play finished off by way of Comets’ junior guard, Tristan Ronan, made it a ten-point gap at 29-19 with 3:10 remaining, the Thundering Herd would yet again retaliate and build their lead back up to size before a late three-point salvo offered up by another Penn Manor junior, Chase Shepos, put the punctuation mark on what would become a 33-22 lead enjoyed by Carlisle upon entering the halftime break.
But for as impressive as Carlisle had appeared to be throughout the initial 16 minutes, the truth of the matter was that the Thundering Herd were only just then getting started.
In terms of the first haymaker landed to start the second half, that would on the heels of a pair of triples knocked down within seconds of one another via the combined efforts of Drake Kelly and the lone senior in the Herd’s primary rotation, Masyn McMeekin, a 6-point swing in Carlisle’s favor by the pair respectively which saw the cushion balloon out to a 43-25 margin with the Comets prompted into burning yet another timeout, this one coming just 1:14 into the third frame.
Problem was, nothing seemed to stop this ongoing Herd avalanche.
Certainly not when McMeekin would promptly dial up another triple on the ensuing Carlisle offensive possession following said stoppage no less, a bucket which put the gap over twenty at 46-25, but certainly not when Isaiah Reem, a 6’2 sophomore forward, proceeded to knock down a pullup jumper which had then made it a 50-25 ballgame with 4:30 still left outstanding on the third quarter clock at that point.
Unfortunately, for anyone who had arrived onto the school’s campus on this night while donning their navy blue and gold colors, seeing the mercy-rule be triggered into effect almost seemed to be unavoidable for the Comets’ partisans given the ease at which the Thundering Herd seemed to be operating at the time.
Sure enough, that would indeed become an unfortunate reality within the game for the Comets once Carlisle’s Paxton Foreman, yet another Thundering Herd underclassman, knocked down another of what would crystalize into nine triples sunk by the entire Carlisle cast on the evening, as the sophomore’s trey here brought the running clock into motion given the 55-25 score.
However, even with the eventual outcome essentially decided, even with the 60-29 that the visitors happened to possess prior to entering what figured to be a rapidly moving final eight minutes of play, Carlisle just kept pounding with relentless aggression.
For that bit of evidence, look no further than a three-point play finished off by Sean Smith to start the fourth quarter proceedings which concluded Carlisle’s first offensive trip, an exchange that then made it a 34-point difference.
But to their credit, even though they had to work against the clock and this incredibly ardent foe, Penn Manor did offer up some nice flashes with time winding down on Friday night all the same.
Chief among them, a senior, Peyton Englert, playing with reckless abandon and sticktoitiveness that helped him finish as the Comets’ leading scorer after tossing in a 12-point showing, but especially with his pair of buckets from close range inside the final period in particular which ultimately helped close the gap back down to 30, 63-33.
Lastly, in terms of those slated to return back into the fray come next season for Penn Manor, Zac King would primarily be responsible for owning those honors with his solid play down the final stretch as the Comets’ junior guard first finished off a steal and coast-to-coast layup before then knocking down a smooth pullup jumper not long afterwards, a four-point swing in his favor which had made the scoreboard read 66-39 in the Herd’s favor.
All that said, there was little doubt – almost right from the opening tap – as to how this one figured to play itself out.
Aside from completing what would become a wire-to-wire victory away from home for what would (again, almost unbelievably) be just their third win experienced this entire winter, Carlisle more than looked the part against Penn Manor on this night, winning in a most emphatic fashion considering the 70-39 final margin once the clock hit zeroes in Millersville Friday night. And as the Comets found out first-hand, while they may be young, this certainly looks to be a Carlisle program that won’t be staying down in the Mid-Penn pecking order for any considerable length of time. This performance throughout all 32 minutes on Friday night certainly lent credence to that.
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