Squires Roll Past Zebras In TRC Matchup
September 12, 2020 at 4:35 a.m.
Squires Roll Past Zebras In TRC Matchup
By Ryan Villanueva-
Against the Rochester Zebras, a team about to play only their second game of the season, the Squires made the absolute most of it.
Behind junior halfback Braxton Ream’s four-touchdown and more than 300 rushing yards performance, the Squires took care of business and rolled over the Zebras 41-14 Friday night in North Manchester.
“It really is a result of kids playing really, really hard. They knew that last week, we maybe did not play quite as well as we would have wanted,” said Manchester head football coach Alyx Brandewie. “It has been a pretty concerted effort from our guys from Saturday morning in film, to Monday in practice and on, that we have got to work to get better. That is entirely a credit to our kids and my coaching staff to get us right.”
Sophomore quarterback Brock Casper also tossed two touchdown passes, to junior wideouts Seth Gaerte and Dylan Stroud for the Squires (2-2 overall, 2-1 TRC).
On defense, Stroud had a fumble recovery, while freshmen tandem defensive backs Coleman Sulkey and Tanner Cooley each recorded an interception.
“It’s cool that you get freshmen in the game, and you just hope that they are confident enough to just play,” said Brandewie. “Just play football, you will be alright, just do what you are taught, and tonight those kids both did.”
In the loss for the Zebras (0-2 overall, 0-2 TRC), sophomore Aaron Swango and freshman Colton Ferverda accounted for a rushing touchdown each.
Next week, Rochester faces Tippecanoe Valley in the annual Battle for The Bell. Manchester will take on Northfield, a team still trying to find their identity after a 1-3 start to their season. By no means are they a slouch, so Brandewie and his players realize that they have a tough task ahead of them.
“I have got a ton of respect for coach [Brandon] Baker and the program he runs over there,” said Brandewie. “We know that next Friday night is a big challenge, and we talked about it in our post-game huddle tonight. We told them that if they think that if they are going to not show up for anything than a street fight, that they are mistaken. We have just got to get right, and we have got to be ready and we have to embrace the level of physicality that it is going to take.”
MANCHESTER 41, ROCHESTER 0
RO — 0 7 0 7 - 14
MA — 13 14 14 0 - 41
1Q
MA - Braxton Ream 64 run (11:41); A.J. Fortman extra point
MA - Braxton Ream 35 run (0:03); extra point blocked
2Q
RO - Aaron Swango 11 run (8:58); Kaleb Shaffer extra point
MA - Brock Casper 53 pass to Seth Gaerte (7:01); Fortman extra point
MA - Brock Casper 15 pass to Dylan Stroud (4:22); Fortman extra point
3Q
MA - Braxton Ream 60 run (7:57); Fortman extra point
MA - Braxton Ream 15 run (4:14); Fortman extra point
4Q
RO - Colton Ferverda 63 run (6:34); Shaffer extra point
Against the Rochester Zebras, a team about to play only their second game of the season, the Squires made the absolute most of it.
Behind junior halfback Braxton Ream’s four-touchdown and more than 300 rushing yards performance, the Squires took care of business and rolled over the Zebras 41-14 Friday night in North Manchester.
“It really is a result of kids playing really, really hard. They knew that last week, we maybe did not play quite as well as we would have wanted,” said Manchester head football coach Alyx Brandewie. “It has been a pretty concerted effort from our guys from Saturday morning in film, to Monday in practice and on, that we have got to work to get better. That is entirely a credit to our kids and my coaching staff to get us right.”
Sophomore quarterback Brock Casper also tossed two touchdown passes, to junior wideouts Seth Gaerte and Dylan Stroud for the Squires (2-2 overall, 2-1 TRC).
On defense, Stroud had a fumble recovery, while freshmen tandem defensive backs Coleman Sulkey and Tanner Cooley each recorded an interception.
“It’s cool that you get freshmen in the game, and you just hope that they are confident enough to just play,” said Brandewie. “Just play football, you will be alright, just do what you are taught, and tonight those kids both did.”
In the loss for the Zebras (0-2 overall, 0-2 TRC), sophomore Aaron Swango and freshman Colton Ferverda accounted for a rushing touchdown each.
Next week, Rochester faces Tippecanoe Valley in the annual Battle for The Bell. Manchester will take on Northfield, a team still trying to find their identity after a 1-3 start to their season. By no means are they a slouch, so Brandewie and his players realize that they have a tough task ahead of them.
“I have got a ton of respect for coach [Brandon] Baker and the program he runs over there,” said Brandewie. “We know that next Friday night is a big challenge, and we talked about it in our post-game huddle tonight. We told them that if they think that if they are going to not show up for anything than a street fight, that they are mistaken. We have just got to get right, and we have got to be ready and we have to embrace the level of physicality that it is going to take.”
MANCHESTER 41, ROCHESTER 0
RO — 0 7 0 7 - 14
MA — 13 14 14 0 - 41
1Q
MA - Braxton Ream 64 run (11:41); A.J. Fortman extra point
MA - Braxton Ream 35 run (0:03); extra point blocked
2Q
RO - Aaron Swango 11 run (8:58); Kaleb Shaffer extra point
MA - Brock Casper 53 pass to Seth Gaerte (7:01); Fortman extra point
MA - Brock Casper 15 pass to Dylan Stroud (4:22); Fortman extra point
3Q
MA - Braxton Ream 60 run (7:57); Fortman extra point
MA - Braxton Ream 15 run (4:14); Fortman extra point
4Q
RO - Colton Ferverda 63 run (6:34); Shaffer extra point
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