Barrett Runs Roughshod Over Wildcats
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH MANCHESTER - There are many adjectives that can be used to describe Manchester running back David Barrett.
Durable. Explosive. Powerful.
Perhaps the best word to characterize Barrett is unstopable.
Barrett carried the football 39 times Friday as he rumbled for an astounding 289 yards. Barrett totaled more yards than the entire Whitko team as his Squires rolled past their TRC rivals 35-14.
On Manchester's first drive, Barrett carried the ball eight times for 73 yards and capped it off with a run from 10 yards out.
Despite Barrett's heroics, Whitko wouldn't back down. The Wildcats quickly answered back, mounting a 10-play, 72- yard drive of their own. Because a sore knee limited Whitko leading rusher Josh Gonzalez to 10 carries, coach Bryan Sprunger needed a spark in the backfield.
He found that spark in junior halfback Seth Slater.
Slater was able to run Whitko's numerous misdirection plays to perfection. He and fullback Joe Potts were able to confuse Manchester's defense early on.
Another wrinkle Sprunger threw into his offense was a passing game. While the Wildcats threw the ball just 6 times, it was a vast difference from last week's game where Whitko failed to attempt a single pass in a 53-20 drubbing at the hands of Southwood.
With that loss as a backdrop, the Wildcats regrouped against a solid Manchester squad and played to a surprising 7-7 tie at the end of the first quarter.
But the David Barrett show would not be upstaged on this night.
After Slater coughed up the ball deep in his own end, Barrett wasted no time, capitalizing with a 25-yard touchdown scamper. After another Wildcat drive stalled, Barrett culminated another drive, this time from four yards out.
Whitko went into halftime down two touchdowns and seemed to lose the momentum it had early in the contest.
As Whitko received the kickoff to start the second half, this appeared to be the case as Gonzalez bobbled the kick and fell on it at his own 18-yard line. Slater quickly snatched that momentum back as he ran 82 yards and drew the Wildcats within a touchdown at 21-14.
Whitko's defense then limited Barrett and the rest of the Squire offense to 38 yards for the rest of the third quarter.
The Wildcats could contain Manchester only for a short time, however. Squire quarterback Rex Reimer kept an early fourth quarter drive going when on third down he connected with wide receiver J.D. Miller for a 12-yard completion.
That's where Barrett took over, scoring from 25 yards out again, pushing the Squire lead 28-14.
Barrett scored his fifth touchdown of the night by barrelling in from six yards out.
Despite giving up 35 points, Sprunger, whose team has giving up 50 or more points on two occasions, is seeing his defense mature.
"We will get better," he said. "We've improved immensely on defense and we're coming. It's going to take some time but we'll get there."
While the night belonged to Barrett, Manchester coach Al Bailey was also impressed with his offensive line.
"Our center (Jeff) Daugherty played well," he said. "Our guards, Brady Burgess and Jarred Kopkey, then our left tackle Kory Rupley ... our whole offensive line played well."
But it's Barrett who has to do the running. After just four games, Barrett has rushed 127 times for 923 yards.
His 289-yard effort followed a 38-carry, 294-yard effort the previous Friday in a 54-28 win at Tippecanoe Valley.
Barrett entered the night fourth in the state in rushing, trailing only Clarksville's Tito Mayfield, South Vermillion's Jason Hoke and Heritage's Brandon Robinson.
He hopes to add to those totals as the Squires (3-1, 2-0) travel to North Miami Friday.
Whitko (1-3, 0-2) hosts Oak Hill.
MANCHESTER 35 WHITKO 14
Manchester 7 14 0 14 - 35
Whitko 7 0 7 0 - 14
M W
First downs 14 9
Rushes-yards 49-318 38-238
Passing yards 32 31
Comp.-Att.-Int. 3-7-0 3-6-0
Total offense 350 269
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1
Punts-avg. 2-36.5 2-27.5
Penalties-yds. 6-60 6-60
First Quarter
M - David Barrett 10 run (Greg Groombridge kick) 7-0 MAN
W - Josh Gonzalez 3 run (Jeff Martin kick) 7-7
Second Quarter
M - Barrett 25 run (Groombridge kick) 14-7 MAN
M - Barrett 4 run (Groombridge kick) 21-7 MAN
Third Quarter
W -ÊSeth Slater 82 run (Martin kick) 21-14 MAN
Fourth Quarter
M - Barrett 25 run (Groombridge kick) 28-14 MAN
M - Barrett 6 run (Groombridge kick) 35-14 MAN
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Manchester: Barrett 39-289, Groombridge 7-22, Rex Reimer 4-7. Whitko: Slater 19-168, Gonzalez 10-36, Joe Potts 4-22, Josh Keel 2-12.
Receiving - Manchester: J.D Miller 1-12, Tom Hardy 1-11, Kedric Miller 1-9. Whitko: Martin 1-19, Potts 1-9, Slater 1-3.
Passing - Manchester: Reimer 3-7-0 32. Whitko: Ben Mohr 3-6-0 31. [[In-content Ad]]
NORTH MANCHESTER - There are many adjectives that can be used to describe Manchester running back David Barrett.
Durable. Explosive. Powerful.
Perhaps the best word to characterize Barrett is unstopable.
Barrett carried the football 39 times Friday as he rumbled for an astounding 289 yards. Barrett totaled more yards than the entire Whitko team as his Squires rolled past their TRC rivals 35-14.
On Manchester's first drive, Barrett carried the ball eight times for 73 yards and capped it off with a run from 10 yards out.
Despite Barrett's heroics, Whitko wouldn't back down. The Wildcats quickly answered back, mounting a 10-play, 72- yard drive of their own. Because a sore knee limited Whitko leading rusher Josh Gonzalez to 10 carries, coach Bryan Sprunger needed a spark in the backfield.
He found that spark in junior halfback Seth Slater.
Slater was able to run Whitko's numerous misdirection plays to perfection. He and fullback Joe Potts were able to confuse Manchester's defense early on.
Another wrinkle Sprunger threw into his offense was a passing game. While the Wildcats threw the ball just 6 times, it was a vast difference from last week's game where Whitko failed to attempt a single pass in a 53-20 drubbing at the hands of Southwood.
With that loss as a backdrop, the Wildcats regrouped against a solid Manchester squad and played to a surprising 7-7 tie at the end of the first quarter.
But the David Barrett show would not be upstaged on this night.
After Slater coughed up the ball deep in his own end, Barrett wasted no time, capitalizing with a 25-yard touchdown scamper. After another Wildcat drive stalled, Barrett culminated another drive, this time from four yards out.
Whitko went into halftime down two touchdowns and seemed to lose the momentum it had early in the contest.
As Whitko received the kickoff to start the second half, this appeared to be the case as Gonzalez bobbled the kick and fell on it at his own 18-yard line. Slater quickly snatched that momentum back as he ran 82 yards and drew the Wildcats within a touchdown at 21-14.
Whitko's defense then limited Barrett and the rest of the Squire offense to 38 yards for the rest of the third quarter.
The Wildcats could contain Manchester only for a short time, however. Squire quarterback Rex Reimer kept an early fourth quarter drive going when on third down he connected with wide receiver J.D. Miller for a 12-yard completion.
That's where Barrett took over, scoring from 25 yards out again, pushing the Squire lead 28-14.
Barrett scored his fifth touchdown of the night by barrelling in from six yards out.
Despite giving up 35 points, Sprunger, whose team has giving up 50 or more points on two occasions, is seeing his defense mature.
"We will get better," he said. "We've improved immensely on defense and we're coming. It's going to take some time but we'll get there."
While the night belonged to Barrett, Manchester coach Al Bailey was also impressed with his offensive line.
"Our center (Jeff) Daugherty played well," he said. "Our guards, Brady Burgess and Jarred Kopkey, then our left tackle Kory Rupley ... our whole offensive line played well."
But it's Barrett who has to do the running. After just four games, Barrett has rushed 127 times for 923 yards.
His 289-yard effort followed a 38-carry, 294-yard effort the previous Friday in a 54-28 win at Tippecanoe Valley.
Barrett entered the night fourth in the state in rushing, trailing only Clarksville's Tito Mayfield, South Vermillion's Jason Hoke and Heritage's Brandon Robinson.
He hopes to add to those totals as the Squires (3-1, 2-0) travel to North Miami Friday.
Whitko (1-3, 0-2) hosts Oak Hill.
MANCHESTER 35 WHITKO 14
Manchester 7 14 0 14 - 35
Whitko 7 0 7 0 - 14
M W
First downs 14 9
Rushes-yards 49-318 38-238
Passing yards 32 31
Comp.-Att.-Int. 3-7-0 3-6-0
Total offense 350 269
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1
Punts-avg. 2-36.5 2-27.5
Penalties-yds. 6-60 6-60
First Quarter
M - David Barrett 10 run (Greg Groombridge kick) 7-0 MAN
W - Josh Gonzalez 3 run (Jeff Martin kick) 7-7
Second Quarter
M - Barrett 25 run (Groombridge kick) 14-7 MAN
M - Barrett 4 run (Groombridge kick) 21-7 MAN
Third Quarter
W -ÊSeth Slater 82 run (Martin kick) 21-14 MAN
Fourth Quarter
M - Barrett 25 run (Groombridge kick) 28-14 MAN
M - Barrett 6 run (Groombridge kick) 35-14 MAN
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Manchester: Barrett 39-289, Groombridge 7-22, Rex Reimer 4-7. Whitko: Slater 19-168, Gonzalez 10-36, Joe Potts 4-22, Josh Keel 2-12.
Receiving - Manchester: J.D Miller 1-12, Tom Hardy 1-11, Kedric Miller 1-9. Whitko: Martin 1-19, Potts 1-9, Slater 1-3.
Passing - Manchester: Reimer 3-7-0 32. Whitko: Ben Mohr 3-6-0 31. [[In-content Ad]]