Wildcats Pull Away From Rival Squires
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
With the Manchester Squires (1-3, 0-2 TRC) trailing the visiting Whitko Wildcats (3-1, 2-0 TRC) by a count of 14-7, Whitko senior linebacker Benjamin Bryan picked off a Logan Brunn pass with 10:21 left to play. From there, Whitko scored on two of its final three possessions, helping the 27-7 final score look a bit more lopsided than it may have been.[[In-content Ad]]"We lost composure," Manchester coach Brandon Baker said. "We still had plenty of time to get something going, but we panicked, just like we have in the past. That's what's so frustrating. If we just keep our composure, we still had plenty of time to move the ball down the field."
Instead of letting the Squires regain their composure, Whitko's sophomore quarterback Alex Stoddard capped a four-play, 38-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior Scott Skiles after the Bryan interception.
After the offense put points on the board, the defense stepped up, forcing a three-and-out on the Squires' ensuing possession.
However, after getting the ball back, the Whitko offense fumbled the ball to Manchester on its first play, setting the Squires up at the Whitko 45-yard line.
No big deal though, as Whitko then forced Manchester to turn the ball over on downs.
"We've been proud of our defense all year long," Whitko coach Wayne Swender said. "The defense, all season long, other than the Columbia City game (a 30-0 loss), has responded."
Against the Squires, the Wildcats defense gave up 143 rushing yards, but the passing defense responded as Brunn completed just 2 of 17 passes for 44 yards.
"The effort is there," Baker said. "They played hard, and I really think they did. It's just, we haven't figured out how to execute every play. It's one play here, one play there, but that one play gets us in a big down situation. It may be third-and-long, then all of a sudden, they know what we're going to do. It's just little things that are killing us right now."
Brunn may have struggled, but Stoddard certainly did not.
On Whitko's opening drive, Stoddard went 5 of 5 for 50 yards, finishing the game completing 6 of 8 passes for 105 yards and the score.
On Stoddard's impressive opening drive, 40 of his passing yards went to senior Derek Snep.
Gouging the Squires defense with repeated slant patterns, Snep finished the game catching four passes for 81 yards.
"Snep's a good athlete and he responds well," Swender said. "The line gave Alex some time to throw tonight, so it goes to them too."
Snep may have accounted for 40 of 80 yards on the drive, but it was senior Dakota Harmon who finished the drive off with a 2-yard touchdown plunge.
Manchester responded to the score with a 1-yard touchdown score by Brunn in the second quarter, but that would be the last time Manchester would put a point on the board.
Whitko took the lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by senior DJ Fouce with 3:06 left in the first half, and the Wildcats didn't look back as sophomore Connor Stouder put an end to the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run with 2:49 left in the game.
In the loss, Manchester did get its best offensive player and defensive player for the game, as running back Preston Penrod returned after suffering a concussion in Week 2 and Brubaker served a suspension.
"They're good football players, but if we don't execute, it's not going to matter," Baker said. "You could get Barry Sanders to be the running back, but it's not going to matter if you don't execute."
Penrod entered the game with 288 yards on 28 carries, but couldn't get it going against the Wildcats defense, getting just 58 yards on 14 carries.
"We just have guys on the field that fly to the football," Swender said when asked if he did anything special to game plan against Penrod.
Fouce led the Wildcats with 73 rushing yards, followed by Harmon's 49 and Stoddard's 15.
Both teams return to TRC play Friday, as Whitko hosts Wabash and Manchester travels to North Miami.
With the Manchester Squires (1-3, 0-2 TRC) trailing the visiting Whitko Wildcats (3-1, 2-0 TRC) by a count of 14-7, Whitko senior linebacker Benjamin Bryan picked off a Logan Brunn pass with 10:21 left to play. From there, Whitko scored on two of its final three possessions, helping the 27-7 final score look a bit more lopsided than it may have been.[[In-content Ad]]"We lost composure," Manchester coach Brandon Baker said. "We still had plenty of time to get something going, but we panicked, just like we have in the past. That's what's so frustrating. If we just keep our composure, we still had plenty of time to move the ball down the field."
Instead of letting the Squires regain their composure, Whitko's sophomore quarterback Alex Stoddard capped a four-play, 38-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior Scott Skiles after the Bryan interception.
After the offense put points on the board, the defense stepped up, forcing a three-and-out on the Squires' ensuing possession.
However, after getting the ball back, the Whitko offense fumbled the ball to Manchester on its first play, setting the Squires up at the Whitko 45-yard line.
No big deal though, as Whitko then forced Manchester to turn the ball over on downs.
"We've been proud of our defense all year long," Whitko coach Wayne Swender said. "The defense, all season long, other than the Columbia City game (a 30-0 loss), has responded."
Against the Squires, the Wildcats defense gave up 143 rushing yards, but the passing defense responded as Brunn completed just 2 of 17 passes for 44 yards.
"The effort is there," Baker said. "They played hard, and I really think they did. It's just, we haven't figured out how to execute every play. It's one play here, one play there, but that one play gets us in a big down situation. It may be third-and-long, then all of a sudden, they know what we're going to do. It's just little things that are killing us right now."
Brunn may have struggled, but Stoddard certainly did not.
On Whitko's opening drive, Stoddard went 5 of 5 for 50 yards, finishing the game completing 6 of 8 passes for 105 yards and the score.
On Stoddard's impressive opening drive, 40 of his passing yards went to senior Derek Snep.
Gouging the Squires defense with repeated slant patterns, Snep finished the game catching four passes for 81 yards.
"Snep's a good athlete and he responds well," Swender said. "The line gave Alex some time to throw tonight, so it goes to them too."
Snep may have accounted for 40 of 80 yards on the drive, but it was senior Dakota Harmon who finished the drive off with a 2-yard touchdown plunge.
Manchester responded to the score with a 1-yard touchdown score by Brunn in the second quarter, but that would be the last time Manchester would put a point on the board.
Whitko took the lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by senior DJ Fouce with 3:06 left in the first half, and the Wildcats didn't look back as sophomore Connor Stouder put an end to the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run with 2:49 left in the game.
In the loss, Manchester did get its best offensive player and defensive player for the game, as running back Preston Penrod returned after suffering a concussion in Week 2 and Brubaker served a suspension.
"They're good football players, but if we don't execute, it's not going to matter," Baker said. "You could get Barry Sanders to be the running back, but it's not going to matter if you don't execute."
Penrod entered the game with 288 yards on 28 carries, but couldn't get it going against the Wildcats defense, getting just 58 yards on 14 carries.
"We just have guys on the field that fly to the football," Swender said when asked if he did anything special to game plan against Penrod.
Fouce led the Wildcats with 73 rushing yards, followed by Harmon's 49 and Stoddard's 15.
Both teams return to TRC play Friday, as Whitko hosts Wabash and Manchester travels to North Miami.
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