Squires Beat Rival, Former Coach
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Ryan Villanueva-
The game also marked the first meeting against former Manchester head coach Brandon Baker, who now leads the Northfield Norsemen.
Despite facing their former head coach, current Manchester coach Greg Miller did not want to change his approach for his players going into the game.
“We take it as another game,” Miller said. “I think a lot of people on the outside put more hype on the game than our kids did. Our kids just wanted to come out and play.”
Casper carried the ball 24 times for 197 yards and two scores to lead the offense in their final game of the Wabash County round-robin. Junior quarterback Schilling carried the ball 16 times for 126 yards and a score.
It took a while for both teams to get their offenses going, as both defenses held each other to a stalemate for the most part in the first half.
Both Manchester and Northfield’s opening drives resulted in punts, but the following drives proved more efficient.
The Norse were the first to draw blood, capitalizing the 12-play drive with a 7-yard touchdown run by Alec Wells. Wells followed up with a two-point conversion run to open up with a 8-0 lead late in the first quarter.
On Manchester’s third possession, it was able to push the ball all the way down to the 2-yard line before the Norse was able to force the Squires to turn the ball over on downs.
Manchester’s defense stood its ground on the ensuing drive, getting one last chance to get on the board before the half after a couple nice runs from Schilling and Casper led to a 33-yard field goal by Ross Messer before halftime.
The Squires were resurgent coming out of the half, with Casper carrying the ball five times for 75 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run to claim their first lead of the game at 10-8.
“These last couple weeks, you’ve seen a different team coming out at halftime,” Miller said. “We coach our rear ends off going into the half. If we need to rip, we’ll rip, but we’ll also coach them up and we talked to them about what Northfield is doing and how we need to adjust to attack that.”
Northfield responded with a clock-killing eight-minute drive to reclaim a 14-10 lead on a 1-yard run by quarterback Carter Frieden.
But just before the end of the third quarter, Casper had a 28-yard burst and Schilling followed with a 30-yard touchdown run to jump out in front again at 16-14 as time expired in the quarter.
On the Squires’ next possession, the roles were reversed for the QB-RB tandem.
Schilling found an opening and rushed for 33 yards, followed by 21-yard Casper touchdown run, increasing the Manchester lead to 23-14.
Frieden and the Norse were not about to go quietly and still looked to play spoilers on Senior Night.
Frieden connected with Marcus Kroh on pass plays of 22 and 21 yards before keeping it himself for a 9-yard touchdown run with 6:07 left the play, cutting the Squires’ lead to 23-20.
With minutes to go in the game, all the Squires needed was to get a few first downs and chew away some clock to put it away, but a turnover on downs, gave the Norse their shot at a come-from-behind victory.
However, the Squires’ defense had the last say as they were able to pressure Frieden into consecutive incompletions and secure the win.
“I am proud of our seniors and thank them for all their hard work,” Miller said. “And we’re not building for next year, we are building for now and they’re a big part of this program and I want to thank them for their hard work and belief in what we are trying to do and being an integral part of that.”
Miller understands that they will have a challenge waiting for them in Bremen next week in the opening round of the IHSAA Class 2A Sectional 34, but says he will have his players ready for the Lions.
“I told them that there’s a crazy thing called ‘momentum’ and let’s take this momentum to Bremen, because I’m not so sure [Bremen] thinks they have much of a challenge at hand, and we are going to show them different,” he said.
MANCHESTER 23, NORTHFIELD 20
N 8 0 6 6 – 20
M 0 3 13 7 – 23
First Quarter
N — Alec Wells 9 run (Wells conversion run) 0:52, 8-0
Second Quarter
M — Ross Messer 33 field goal 0:07, 8-3
Third Quarter
M — Jacob Casper 2 run (Messer kick) 8:38, 10-8
N — Carter Frieden 1 run (kick failed) 0:30, 14-10
M — Lucas Schilling 30 run (kick failed) 0:00, 16-14
Fourth Quarter
M — Casper 21 run (Messer kick) 6:52, 23-14
N — Frieden 9 run (kick failed) 6:07, 23-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Manchester, Casper 24-197, Schilling 16-126, Evan Milam 4-14, Phoenix Goad 3-5.
Passing — Manchester, Schilling 1-6, 5 yds.
Receiving — Manchester, Daniel Griese 1-5.[[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
The game also marked the first meeting against former Manchester head coach Brandon Baker, who now leads the Northfield Norsemen.
Despite facing their former head coach, current Manchester coach Greg Miller did not want to change his approach for his players going into the game.
“We take it as another game,” Miller said. “I think a lot of people on the outside put more hype on the game than our kids did. Our kids just wanted to come out and play.”
Casper carried the ball 24 times for 197 yards and two scores to lead the offense in their final game of the Wabash County round-robin. Junior quarterback Schilling carried the ball 16 times for 126 yards and a score.
It took a while for both teams to get their offenses going, as both defenses held each other to a stalemate for the most part in the first half.
Both Manchester and Northfield’s opening drives resulted in punts, but the following drives proved more efficient.
The Norse were the first to draw blood, capitalizing the 12-play drive with a 7-yard touchdown run by Alec Wells. Wells followed up with a two-point conversion run to open up with a 8-0 lead late in the first quarter.
On Manchester’s third possession, it was able to push the ball all the way down to the 2-yard line before the Norse was able to force the Squires to turn the ball over on downs.
Manchester’s defense stood its ground on the ensuing drive, getting one last chance to get on the board before the half after a couple nice runs from Schilling and Casper led to a 33-yard field goal by Ross Messer before halftime.
The Squires were resurgent coming out of the half, with Casper carrying the ball five times for 75 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run to claim their first lead of the game at 10-8.
“These last couple weeks, you’ve seen a different team coming out at halftime,” Miller said. “We coach our rear ends off going into the half. If we need to rip, we’ll rip, but we’ll also coach them up and we talked to them about what Northfield is doing and how we need to adjust to attack that.”
Northfield responded with a clock-killing eight-minute drive to reclaim a 14-10 lead on a 1-yard run by quarterback Carter Frieden.
But just before the end of the third quarter, Casper had a 28-yard burst and Schilling followed with a 30-yard touchdown run to jump out in front again at 16-14 as time expired in the quarter.
On the Squires’ next possession, the roles were reversed for the QB-RB tandem.
Schilling found an opening and rushed for 33 yards, followed by 21-yard Casper touchdown run, increasing the Manchester lead to 23-14.
Frieden and the Norse were not about to go quietly and still looked to play spoilers on Senior Night.
Frieden connected with Marcus Kroh on pass plays of 22 and 21 yards before keeping it himself for a 9-yard touchdown run with 6:07 left the play, cutting the Squires’ lead to 23-20.
With minutes to go in the game, all the Squires needed was to get a few first downs and chew away some clock to put it away, but a turnover on downs, gave the Norse their shot at a come-from-behind victory.
However, the Squires’ defense had the last say as they were able to pressure Frieden into consecutive incompletions and secure the win.
“I am proud of our seniors and thank them for all their hard work,” Miller said. “And we’re not building for next year, we are building for now and they’re a big part of this program and I want to thank them for their hard work and belief in what we are trying to do and being an integral part of that.”
Miller understands that they will have a challenge waiting for them in Bremen next week in the opening round of the IHSAA Class 2A Sectional 34, but says he will have his players ready for the Lions.
“I told them that there’s a crazy thing called ‘momentum’ and let’s take this momentum to Bremen, because I’m not so sure [Bremen] thinks they have much of a challenge at hand, and we are going to show them different,” he said.
MANCHESTER 23, NORTHFIELD 20
N 8 0 6 6 – 20
M 0 3 13 7 – 23
First Quarter
N — Alec Wells 9 run (Wells conversion run) 0:52, 8-0
Second Quarter
M — Ross Messer 33 field goal 0:07, 8-3
Third Quarter
M — Jacob Casper 2 run (Messer kick) 8:38, 10-8
N — Carter Frieden 1 run (kick failed) 0:30, 14-10
M — Lucas Schilling 30 run (kick failed) 0:00, 16-14
Fourth Quarter
M — Casper 21 run (Messer kick) 6:52, 23-14
N — Frieden 9 run (kick failed) 6:07, 23-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Manchester, Casper 24-197, Schilling 16-126, Evan Milam 4-14, Phoenix Goad 3-5.
Passing — Manchester, Schilling 1-6, 5 yds.
Receiving — Manchester, Daniel Griese 1-5.[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092