Manchester Avenges Loss To Madison-Grant
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH MANCHESTER - Early on it looked as if the 1-8 Madison-Grant Argylls would give the Manchester Squires, 8-1 and No. 7 in 2A, a challenge.
The two teams do have a bit of history between them. Last year, the Argylls came into Carl Burt Memorial field at N. Manchester and beat the Squires 20-7 in the first-round sectional game.
That was last year. This year, led by the feet of state rushing leader David Barrett, the Squires thumped Madison-Grant 34-0.
After Madison-Grant went three and out on their first series, Manchester took over looking to strike quickly.
Instead Barrett coughed up the ball after a tough six yard run giving the Argylls the ball on Manchester's 30-yard line.
As they would do all night, the Squires defense stood firm and blocked Stefan Ross' 36- yard field goal attempt.
Dodging an early bullet, Manchester quickly capitalized as they marched down the field in seven plays covering 80 yards. The drive ended when Barrett plunged from two yards out with 4:22 left in the first quarter giving his Squires the early 7-0 lead.
Madison-Grant looked to have an answer to Manchester's early score. The Argylls controlled the ball for the rest of the first quarter and well into the second quarter. The 16-play drive stalled when Madison Grant was called for holding on a 20- yard pass play.
So instead of having a first and 10 inside the Squires' 20-yard line, the Argylls were faced with a second and 27 on the Manchester 47.
Four plays later on Manchester's first play of the second quarter, Barrett steamrolled through the Argyll defensive line and into the secondary. 74 yards later, Barrett had scored the second touchdown of the night putting Manchester up 14-0.
After quarterback Jason Dickey connected with running back Clint Jump for 31 yards, the Squires were called for a personal foul after the play, and Madison-Grant moved 15 yards closer to the goal line. The Argylls would drive down to the Manchester 11-yard line.
Faced with a 4th and short, Madison Grant sent running back Brock Ricks up the middle. Again the Squire defense dominated in the red zone as they stood Ricks up for no gain and halted another Argyll drive.
With the ball deep in their own end, Manchester gave the ball to senior fullback Greg Groombridge who moved the ball out enough to give the Squires breathing room.
That's where Barrett took over, rushing three of the next five plays.
A holding call on Manchester would leave them with a third and long.
Instead of going to Barrett or Groombridge, Squire quarterback Rex Reimer went to the air for only the second time all night, connecting with Annon Gaerte on a 38-yard pass play. Two plays later, the combination of Reimer and Gaerte struck again, this time from 16 yards out to give Manchester a 21-0 lead with 18 seconds left in the half.
Hoping to get some points on the board before the first half ended, Madison-Grant went to the air on first down. Dickey's pass was picked off by his quarterback counterpart Reimer, who returned the ball nearly 40 yards for a touchdown.
Being down by three touchdowns with their offense struggling to get yards the Argylls resorted to trick plays. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Madison-Grant attempted an onside kick and looked to recover. After the smoke had cleared and the pile was lifted, Manchester had the ball, and Madison-Grant was in trouble.
True to form, the Squires took advantage of Madison-Grant's mistakes. After the failed onside kick, Manchester had the ball on its own 40. Six plays later, Reimer once again connected with Gaerte, this time from 37 yards out, to put the Squires up 28-0 and take the game out of reach for Madison-Grant.
Despite beating the Argylls handily, Manchester did make a lot of mistakes. The Squires fumbled the ball six times, losing four of them, and committed six penalties for 54 yards.
"Our kids played really well but they were a little excited and they made mistakes," said Manchester coach Al Bailey. "They were a little keyed up because of winning the conference title."
It was the first conference title in school history for Manchester.
The Squires, now 9-1 with conference title in hand, look to move closer to the dome as they travel to Oak Hill Friday.
MANCHESTER 34
MADISON-GRANT 0
Manchester 7 14 7 6-34
Madison-Grant 0 0 0 0- 0
M MG
First downs 11 10
Rushes-yards 36-269 41-134
Passing yards 152 90
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-9-0 8-17-2
Total offense 421 224
Fumbles-lost 6-4 3-1
Punts-avg. 1-30 2-32
Penalties-yds. 6-54 2-25
First Quarter
M - David Barrett 2 run (Greg Groombridge kick) 4:22 7-0 M
Second Quarter
M - Barrett 74 run (Groombridge kick) 7:57 14-0
M - Annon Gaerte 16 pass from Rex Reimer (Groombridge kick) :18 21-0 M
Third Quarter
M - Gaerte 37 pass from Reimer (Groombridge kick) 8:09 28-0 M
Fourth Quarter
M - Barrett 3 run (kick failed) 10:51 34-0 M
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Manchester: Barrett 19-162, Groombridge 13-76, Reimer 3-23, John Sommer 1-6. Madison Grant: Jason Hiatt 15-85, Brock Ricks 13-33, Clint Jump 4-4, Jason Dickey 2-3.
Receiving - Manchester: Aanon Gaerte 3-91, Kedric Miller 1-61. Madison Grant: Ricks 3-24, Jump 2-41, Hiatt 2-17, Kyle Feller 1-8.
Passing - Manchester: Reimer 4-9-0 152. Madison Grant: Dickey 8-17-2 90. [[In-content Ad]]
NORTH MANCHESTER - Early on it looked as if the 1-8 Madison-Grant Argylls would give the Manchester Squires, 8-1 and No. 7 in 2A, a challenge.
The two teams do have a bit of history between them. Last year, the Argylls came into Carl Burt Memorial field at N. Manchester and beat the Squires 20-7 in the first-round sectional game.
That was last year. This year, led by the feet of state rushing leader David Barrett, the Squires thumped Madison-Grant 34-0.
After Madison-Grant went three and out on their first series, Manchester took over looking to strike quickly.
Instead Barrett coughed up the ball after a tough six yard run giving the Argylls the ball on Manchester's 30-yard line.
As they would do all night, the Squires defense stood firm and blocked Stefan Ross' 36- yard field goal attempt.
Dodging an early bullet, Manchester quickly capitalized as they marched down the field in seven plays covering 80 yards. The drive ended when Barrett plunged from two yards out with 4:22 left in the first quarter giving his Squires the early 7-0 lead.
Madison-Grant looked to have an answer to Manchester's early score. The Argylls controlled the ball for the rest of the first quarter and well into the second quarter. The 16-play drive stalled when Madison Grant was called for holding on a 20- yard pass play.
So instead of having a first and 10 inside the Squires' 20-yard line, the Argylls were faced with a second and 27 on the Manchester 47.
Four plays later on Manchester's first play of the second quarter, Barrett steamrolled through the Argyll defensive line and into the secondary. 74 yards later, Barrett had scored the second touchdown of the night putting Manchester up 14-0.
After quarterback Jason Dickey connected with running back Clint Jump for 31 yards, the Squires were called for a personal foul after the play, and Madison-Grant moved 15 yards closer to the goal line. The Argylls would drive down to the Manchester 11-yard line.
Faced with a 4th and short, Madison Grant sent running back Brock Ricks up the middle. Again the Squire defense dominated in the red zone as they stood Ricks up for no gain and halted another Argyll drive.
With the ball deep in their own end, Manchester gave the ball to senior fullback Greg Groombridge who moved the ball out enough to give the Squires breathing room.
That's where Barrett took over, rushing three of the next five plays.
A holding call on Manchester would leave them with a third and long.
Instead of going to Barrett or Groombridge, Squire quarterback Rex Reimer went to the air for only the second time all night, connecting with Annon Gaerte on a 38-yard pass play. Two plays later, the combination of Reimer and Gaerte struck again, this time from 16 yards out to give Manchester a 21-0 lead with 18 seconds left in the half.
Hoping to get some points on the board before the first half ended, Madison-Grant went to the air on first down. Dickey's pass was picked off by his quarterback counterpart Reimer, who returned the ball nearly 40 yards for a touchdown.
Being down by three touchdowns with their offense struggling to get yards the Argylls resorted to trick plays. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Madison-Grant attempted an onside kick and looked to recover. After the smoke had cleared and the pile was lifted, Manchester had the ball, and Madison-Grant was in trouble.
True to form, the Squires took advantage of Madison-Grant's mistakes. After the failed onside kick, Manchester had the ball on its own 40. Six plays later, Reimer once again connected with Gaerte, this time from 37 yards out, to put the Squires up 28-0 and take the game out of reach for Madison-Grant.
Despite beating the Argylls handily, Manchester did make a lot of mistakes. The Squires fumbled the ball six times, losing four of them, and committed six penalties for 54 yards.
"Our kids played really well but they were a little excited and they made mistakes," said Manchester coach Al Bailey. "They were a little keyed up because of winning the conference title."
It was the first conference title in school history for Manchester.
The Squires, now 9-1 with conference title in hand, look to move closer to the dome as they travel to Oak Hill Friday.
MANCHESTER 34
MADISON-GRANT 0
Manchester 7 14 7 6-34
Madison-Grant 0 0 0 0- 0
M MG
First downs 11 10
Rushes-yards 36-269 41-134
Passing yards 152 90
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-9-0 8-17-2
Total offense 421 224
Fumbles-lost 6-4 3-1
Punts-avg. 1-30 2-32
Penalties-yds. 6-54 2-25
First Quarter
M - David Barrett 2 run (Greg Groombridge kick) 4:22 7-0 M
Second Quarter
M - Barrett 74 run (Groombridge kick) 7:57 14-0
M - Annon Gaerte 16 pass from Rex Reimer (Groombridge kick) :18 21-0 M
Third Quarter
M - Gaerte 37 pass from Reimer (Groombridge kick) 8:09 28-0 M
Fourth Quarter
M - Barrett 3 run (kick failed) 10:51 34-0 M
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Manchester: Barrett 19-162, Groombridge 13-76, Reimer 3-23, John Sommer 1-6. Madison Grant: Jason Hiatt 15-85, Brock Ricks 13-33, Clint Jump 4-4, Jason Dickey 2-3.
Receiving - Manchester: Aanon Gaerte 3-91, Kedric Miller 1-61. Madison Grant: Ricks 3-24, Jump 2-41, Hiatt 2-17, Kyle Feller 1-8.
Passing - Manchester: Reimer 4-9-0 152. Madison Grant: Dickey 8-17-2 90. [[In-content Ad]]