A great defensive first half was not enough for Manchester to come away with a Three Rivers Conference victory over Lewis Cass on Friday night, as the Kings did most of their damage in the final 24 minutes en route to a 38-7 win.
The Squires got the ball to start the game, picking up a first down and not much else, turning the ball over on downs near the Cass 40-yard line. This was the case for most of Manchester’s drives in the first half. The Squires were usually able to do enough to move the chains once or twice, but lacked the explosiveness to flip the field in a hurry. Outside of a 29-yard pass from quarterback Logan Eastgate to Colten Nelson on the team’s second drive, the home side relied heavily on the legs of Eastgate and Reiss Gaerte to get the offense going.
While the Manchester offense took a while to get going, the same could not be said about the defense, which showed up ready to play from the first snap of the game. The Squire defenders were especially stout in the first quarter, not allowing a first down on the two drives it faced. Throughout the rest of the first half, the defense didn’t give up much else, with the Kings scoring just one touchdown.
The score came after Manchester made the decision to go for it on fourth and short at their own 40. Gaerte was stuffed at the line on the play, giving Lewis Cass a short field to work with. The visitors would take advantage, as a few plays into the drive, a long passing play would get them near the goal line. A play later, Cooper Frey would find the end zone on a one-yard scamper. The Squires would come up with a stop on the ensuing two-point conversion, keeping it a 6-0 game.
That’s where the score would stay until the half, as both teams would possess the football following the touchdown, but neither side was able to do much with it.
Cass opened up the second half with the most impressive drive of the game up to this point. The Kings marched down the field at a methodical pace, going 55 yards in five and a half minutes, finishing off the drive with a touchdown pass at the four-yard line. The score made it a 14-0 lead.
It wouldn’t stay that way for long. On the following kickoff, Gaerte caught the ball at the 25 yard line, made a couple of tacklers miss, and had nothing but open field in front of him. Gaerte was able to beat the Cass kicker to the edge and take it all the way to the house for a return touchdown, cutting the lead in half in the process.
The explosive play by Gaerte seemed to inspire the visitors, as on the second play from scrimmage on the following drive, Frey broke free for a 62-yard touchdown to make it a two-possession game once again.
Needing another quick score to stay in the game, the Squires raced down the field once again, with Gaerte continuing his fantastic night with a 23-yard run. Unfortunately for the sophomore and Manchester, Gaerte was hurt on the run, temporarily coming out of the game. This would prove to be costly for the Squires, as not long after, a 4th and 1 play at the 10 was stuffed, keeping it a 15-point game.
A few big chunk plays by Cass later, and the Kings were able to extend their lead again near the end of the third quarter, essentially putting the game on ice. The visitors added one more score in the fourth quarter to give the game its final score.
Manchester (3-5, 3-4 TRC) will wrap up its regular season next week at home against Peru.