Squires Take Route 66 In Rout
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH MANCHESTER - The last game of the regular season is a time when teams want to finish strong to carry momentum into the postseason.
The Manchester Squires entered Friday night's football matchup against the Northfield Norsemen looking to gain another win on this last Three Rivers Conference game.
They did it in a big way, blasting Northfield 66-0.
With the shutout of the Norsemen, Manchester improved to 5-2 in the TRC, earning the Squires third place.
Josh Peden and John Sommer each gained more yards on the ground than Northfield did in total offense.
"Peden and Sommer both are good backs, good blockers and, most of all, good runners, and they have been like that all year for us," Manchester head coach Al Bailey said. "They did a great job carrying the ball tonight."
Manchester outplayed their opponent in virtually every aspect of the game. The Squires tallied 636 total offensive yards, while their defense held the Norsemen to 73.
"Our defensive line played exceptionally well for being as banged up as they were," Bailey said. "The seniors, consisting of Josh Bradley, Tom Hardy and Klint Rupley, really stood out on the defensive line."
Perhaps the down side to the Squires' play was the yardage and missed opportunities caused by penalties. Manchester had eight penalties totaling 80 yards. The Squires had three touchdowns called back due to holding penalties.
"We've got to get our concentration back to avoid so many penalties for next week," Bailey said.
Northfield looked to start the game off strong, stopping the Squires on their first possession. The Norsemen took over possession of the ball on downs to begin their first offensive attack.
After being forced to punt the ball, Northfield handed Manchester good field position.
The Squires capitalized when Josh Peden scored on a 10-yard run. Tom Hardy, substituting for injured kicker Kory Rupley, failed to kick the extra point. He did, although, kick four extra points.
On Northfield's next possession, the Norsemen were forced to punt again. Manchester's defense blocked the punt, as Klint Rupley picked up the football and ran it 15 yards for the Squires' second score.
Hardy booted and recovered two onside kicks on the night. Both recoveries led to Peden touchdown runs, one of which was a 20-yard blast and the other a 30-yard cruise to the end zone.
"Looking ahead, we've got to keep doing the things we do well, better, including throwing, running, blocking, and everything else that makes a team perform well, Bailey said.
Manchester (6-3, 5-2 TRC) hosts Harding in the first game of sectional action.
MANCHESTER 66
NORTHFIELD 0
Manchester 14 26 20 6 - 66
Northfield 0 0 0 0 - 0
M N
First downs 28 5
Rushing yards 53-458 10-14
Passing yards 178 59
Comp.-Att.-Int. 9-18-0 7-28-3
Total offense 636 73
Fumbles lost 0-0 3-0
Punts/avg. 0-0 5-21
Penalties/yards 8-80 7-37
First Quarter
M -ÊJosh Peden 10 run (kick failed), 2:58, 6-0
M - Klint Rupley 15 punt return (Sommer from Rupley good), 1:57, 14-0
Second Quarterl
M -ÊAnnon Gaerte 63 pass from Klay Bechtold (Tom Hardy kick good), 11:30, 21-0
M - Josh Peden 20 run (kick failed), 8:12, 27-0
M - John Sommer 1 run (run failed), 5:59, 33-0
M -ÊSommer 28 run (kick good), 1:39, 40-0
Third Quarter
M - Peden 30 run (kick good), 11:14, 47-0
M -ÊPeden 5 run (kick failed), 8:11, 53-0
M -ÊKedric Miller 3 pass from Bechtold (kick good), 1:22, 60-0
Fourth Quarter
M - Derek Brown 22 run (kick failed), 11:19, 66-0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Manchester: Peden 25-278, Sommer 14-106, Brown 8-62. Northfield: Shawn Smith 4-21.
Passing -ÊManchester: Bechtold 9-18-0 178. Northfield: Smith 7-28-3 59.
Receiving -ÊManchester: Gaerte 4-133, Miller 2-23. Northfield: Tyler Niccum 2-20. [[In-content Ad]]
NORTH MANCHESTER - The last game of the regular season is a time when teams want to finish strong to carry momentum into the postseason.
The Manchester Squires entered Friday night's football matchup against the Northfield Norsemen looking to gain another win on this last Three Rivers Conference game.
They did it in a big way, blasting Northfield 66-0.
With the shutout of the Norsemen, Manchester improved to 5-2 in the TRC, earning the Squires third place.
Josh Peden and John Sommer each gained more yards on the ground than Northfield did in total offense.
"Peden and Sommer both are good backs, good blockers and, most of all, good runners, and they have been like that all year for us," Manchester head coach Al Bailey said. "They did a great job carrying the ball tonight."
Manchester outplayed their opponent in virtually every aspect of the game. The Squires tallied 636 total offensive yards, while their defense held the Norsemen to 73.
"Our defensive line played exceptionally well for being as banged up as they were," Bailey said. "The seniors, consisting of Josh Bradley, Tom Hardy and Klint Rupley, really stood out on the defensive line."
Perhaps the down side to the Squires' play was the yardage and missed opportunities caused by penalties. Manchester had eight penalties totaling 80 yards. The Squires had three touchdowns called back due to holding penalties.
"We've got to get our concentration back to avoid so many penalties for next week," Bailey said.
Northfield looked to start the game off strong, stopping the Squires on their first possession. The Norsemen took over possession of the ball on downs to begin their first offensive attack.
After being forced to punt the ball, Northfield handed Manchester good field position.
The Squires capitalized when Josh Peden scored on a 10-yard run. Tom Hardy, substituting for injured kicker Kory Rupley, failed to kick the extra point. He did, although, kick four extra points.
On Northfield's next possession, the Norsemen were forced to punt again. Manchester's defense blocked the punt, as Klint Rupley picked up the football and ran it 15 yards for the Squires' second score.
Hardy booted and recovered two onside kicks on the night. Both recoveries led to Peden touchdown runs, one of which was a 20-yard blast and the other a 30-yard cruise to the end zone.
"Looking ahead, we've got to keep doing the things we do well, better, including throwing, running, blocking, and everything else that makes a team perform well, Bailey said.
Manchester (6-3, 5-2 TRC) hosts Harding in the first game of sectional action.
MANCHESTER 66
NORTHFIELD 0
Manchester 14 26 20 6 - 66
Northfield 0 0 0 0 - 0
M N
First downs 28 5
Rushing yards 53-458 10-14
Passing yards 178 59
Comp.-Att.-Int. 9-18-0 7-28-3
Total offense 636 73
Fumbles lost 0-0 3-0
Punts/avg. 0-0 5-21
Penalties/yards 8-80 7-37
First Quarter
M -ÊJosh Peden 10 run (kick failed), 2:58, 6-0
M - Klint Rupley 15 punt return (Sommer from Rupley good), 1:57, 14-0
Second Quarterl
M -ÊAnnon Gaerte 63 pass from Klay Bechtold (Tom Hardy kick good), 11:30, 21-0
M - Josh Peden 20 run (kick failed), 8:12, 27-0
M - John Sommer 1 run (run failed), 5:59, 33-0
M -ÊSommer 28 run (kick good), 1:39, 40-0
Third Quarter
M - Peden 30 run (kick good), 11:14, 47-0
M -ÊPeden 5 run (kick failed), 8:11, 53-0
M -ÊKedric Miller 3 pass from Bechtold (kick good), 1:22, 60-0
Fourth Quarter
M - Derek Brown 22 run (kick failed), 11:19, 66-0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Manchester: Peden 25-278, Sommer 14-106, Brown 8-62. Northfield: Shawn Smith 4-21.
Passing -ÊManchester: Bechtold 9-18-0 178. Northfield: Smith 7-28-3 59.
Receiving -ÊManchester: Gaerte 4-133, Miller 2-23. Northfield: Tyler Niccum 2-20. [[In-content Ad]]