QB Sturtsman Leads Experienced, Hopeful Squire Team
August 11, 2017 at 3:57 p.m.
QB Sturtsman Leads Experienced, Hopeful Squire Team
By Mark [email protected]
Among the returnees is Hayes Sturtsman, who completed 48 percent of his passes for 1,335 yards and 11 touchdowns against nine interceptions in the 2016 season.
Sturtsman was the third leading rusher on the Squires last year, behind classmates Josh Shepherd and Devon Rooney. The trio combined for almost 700 yards on the ground. Rooney was a favorite target of Sturtsman, catching 31 passes for 468 yards and five touchdowns.
“We have a quarterback back for a second year for the first time since my first two years here; this will be Hayes’ second year as a starter,” Squire coach Greg Miller said. “Not only do we have his experience, but we can delve a little deeper into our playbook, and hopefully have a few more tools to exploit defenses.
“We have a lot of experience back; most of these guys have been two- and three-year starters for us. Our defensive line and linebacking corps are mostly two-year starters, our (defensive backs) are a little bit younger, but we’re feeling good with the experience we have coming back. We’ve had a good two weeks of preseason camp, and we’ve told them, even toward the end of last year, that we’re excited about what we’ve got coming back and what we can do.
“We’re looking at this season as a breakout season, they’re excited about it.”
Last season Manchester dropped its first seven games. Two of the losses were by less than a touchdown, and two more came when driving late and committing a costly turnover that led to a late opposing touchdown.
The Squires broke through with a win over Rochester, then earned their first sectional win since 2011 with a 28-19 victory over Delphi.
“I think ending the year the way we did gave our kids a taste of success, and they know how good we can be,” said Miller. “We have all the pieces in place, and it comes down to staying healthy. We’re going to have some sophomores getting varsity time, and we’re going to play a lot of kids early to see what we have, and see where it all pans out over the year.”
Miller acknowledged while his team scored plenty of points in most games last season, getting defensive stops was another matter.
“We struggled, and that’s evident in our record. But if you look at the scores, we were in the majority of the games. It came down to having that killer instinct and finishing ballgames with a little bit of swagger,” he said.
“But there’s no question that we need our defense to step up and get stops,” he said. “We found ourselves playing from behind a lot last year, and that makes things tougher for sure.
“With the experience we have, I think we can avoid a lot of the situations we found ourselves in last year. That should lead to more wins, hopefully.”
As part of the offseason team activities, Miller said he wanted to continue a tradition of players serving in the community, in hopes of earning mutual respect and support on Friday nights.
“We represent them, and we’re playing for them. That’s one of the things we’ve talked about since day one when I got here; we want the community to be on our side, and we want to make it fun for them,” he said. “We’re going to do what we need to do to show the community that we want their support.
“So we’re doing a lot of things behind the scenes. We’re volunteering a lot out in the community, and hopefully earn their support.
“Manchester’s a great town, and they’ve always supported our athletic programs. And we have great kids. I want the community to get a feeling for the kind of kids we have here. When it comes down to it, sports are sports but these young men are members of the community first.”
Manchester opens its season with a pair of road games. The first is Aug. 18 against fellow Three Rivers Conference member Southwood in a contest that won’t count in the TRC standings. The Squires then travel to Bluffton Aug. 25 before opening the home portion of the schedule Sept. 1 against TRC foe Wabash.
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Among the returnees is Hayes Sturtsman, who completed 48 percent of his passes for 1,335 yards and 11 touchdowns against nine interceptions in the 2016 season.
Sturtsman was the third leading rusher on the Squires last year, behind classmates Josh Shepherd and Devon Rooney. The trio combined for almost 700 yards on the ground. Rooney was a favorite target of Sturtsman, catching 31 passes for 468 yards and five touchdowns.
“We have a quarterback back for a second year for the first time since my first two years here; this will be Hayes’ second year as a starter,” Squire coach Greg Miller said. “Not only do we have his experience, but we can delve a little deeper into our playbook, and hopefully have a few more tools to exploit defenses.
“We have a lot of experience back; most of these guys have been two- and three-year starters for us. Our defensive line and linebacking corps are mostly two-year starters, our (defensive backs) are a little bit younger, but we’re feeling good with the experience we have coming back. We’ve had a good two weeks of preseason camp, and we’ve told them, even toward the end of last year, that we’re excited about what we’ve got coming back and what we can do.
“We’re looking at this season as a breakout season, they’re excited about it.”
Last season Manchester dropped its first seven games. Two of the losses were by less than a touchdown, and two more came when driving late and committing a costly turnover that led to a late opposing touchdown.
The Squires broke through with a win over Rochester, then earned their first sectional win since 2011 with a 28-19 victory over Delphi.
“I think ending the year the way we did gave our kids a taste of success, and they know how good we can be,” said Miller. “We have all the pieces in place, and it comes down to staying healthy. We’re going to have some sophomores getting varsity time, and we’re going to play a lot of kids early to see what we have, and see where it all pans out over the year.”
Miller acknowledged while his team scored plenty of points in most games last season, getting defensive stops was another matter.
“We struggled, and that’s evident in our record. But if you look at the scores, we were in the majority of the games. It came down to having that killer instinct and finishing ballgames with a little bit of swagger,” he said.
“But there’s no question that we need our defense to step up and get stops,” he said. “We found ourselves playing from behind a lot last year, and that makes things tougher for sure.
“With the experience we have, I think we can avoid a lot of the situations we found ourselves in last year. That should lead to more wins, hopefully.”
As part of the offseason team activities, Miller said he wanted to continue a tradition of players serving in the community, in hopes of earning mutual respect and support on Friday nights.
“We represent them, and we’re playing for them. That’s one of the things we’ve talked about since day one when I got here; we want the community to be on our side, and we want to make it fun for them,” he said. “We’re going to do what we need to do to show the community that we want their support.
“So we’re doing a lot of things behind the scenes. We’re volunteering a lot out in the community, and hopefully earn their support.
“Manchester’s a great town, and they’ve always supported our athletic programs. And we have great kids. I want the community to get a feeling for the kind of kids we have here. When it comes down to it, sports are sports but these young men are members of the community first.”
Manchester opens its season with a pair of road games. The first is Aug. 18 against fellow Three Rivers Conference member Southwood in a contest that won’t count in the TRC standings. The Squires then travel to Bluffton Aug. 25 before opening the home portion of the schedule Sept. 1 against TRC foe Wabash.
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