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Peck, which shares the NCTL lead, at 3-0, with North Huron, had all it could handle from the Tigers (1-2, 1-3) in the first half, leading just 14-6.

After the Tigers failed to capitalize on Justin Taylor's 42 yard kick return to the Pirate 38 to start the second half, Peck fullback Nathan Kreiner busted a 42 yard run to the Tiger 25 yard line. A few plays later, Mann scored on a one yard run for a 20-6 lead.

The Tigers, who had some success moving the ball against the Pirate defense in the first half, came back to drive to the Peck 26 before being stopped on downs.

Moments later, sophomore Donell Hamilton broke free on the left side, cut back to the right and raced 77 yards for a back-breaking Pirate TD.

"Donell has great open field speed," said Peck coach Rob Pouch. "He's a big play threat when we need it and teams are keying on Mann."

Pouch added that the play of Kreiner, with some strong blocking up front, was also a huge factor. "That's our inside trapping game, and Nate had some big plays. He hits the hole hard."

Peck went on to score three times in the fourth quarter - the first on a three yard run by Mann, the next on a 25 yard pass play from Zac Overstreet to Bryan Carrier and the last on a seven yard run from reserve back Jordan Alexander.

In the first half, Peck took a 14-0 lead behind Mann's runs from nine yards away in the first quarter and from a yard out in the second quarter. The last score was set up on 42 yard scamper by Hamilton.

The Tigers were still showing resiliency, marching 64 yards to score on a three yard pass play from Todd Albrecht to James Lusher as time ran out in the half. The same two connected on a key 15 yard, first down pass to the Peck six to keep the drive alive.

Mann, who set a single-game rushing record for Peck last week, still finished with 212 yards on 24 carries, but they were not all easy yards.

"There's no secret what they're going to do," said CPS coach Eric Frank, who had his defense geared to slow down Mann. "I thought we played very well in the first half."

On the other side, Pouch wasn't elated about his squad's early play.

"We shot ourselves in the foot. We made a lot of mental errors," said Pouch. "Thankfully, we rebounded in the second half and played our style." Pouch then explained, "We demand (our team) to play to the whistle every play and fly to the ball. We were coming up short on that in the first half."

The Pirates finished with 434 yards rushing as Hamilton carried seven times for 147 and Kreiner added 66 on five tries.

CPS had 116 rushing, led by Pat Buiting's 67 yards on 14 totes, and 56 passing.

Senior Jesse Germain led Peck's defense with 10 tackles and 14 assists, including a sack and two tackles for a loss. Brian Jozlin was in on 15 tackles.

A potential league championship showdown is still looming in three weeks when North Huron comes into Peck on Sat., Oct. 6 for the Pirates' homecoming. However, the Pirates are more concerned about their first home game of the season this Friday against Kingston (1-2, 1-3). They also have to play at Memphis, a tri-champion in the NCTL last year with Kingston and North Huron, on Sept. 28.

First, though, Peck will try to adapt to being on their home field this Friday night.

"We had a brutal stretch on the road, but we made it through, and were healthy," said Pouch. "It'll be a little weird playing at home, but we'll get into that home routine and be ready."

CPS, meanwhile, must ttravel to North Huron this Friday night.