NORTH MANCHESTER - Following an 8-1 regular season record, the IHSAA sectional draw wasn't kind to the Manchester Squires football team.
What the Squires (8-2) got for their regular-season effort was a first-round home matchup with one of Class 2A's top teams in the Fort Wayne Bishop Luers Knights (5-5)."They're a really, really good team," Manchester coach Brandon Baker said of Luers after suffering a 45-21 loss to the Knights Friday at Carl W. Burt Field on the campus of Manchester College.
Luers entered the contest with a 4-5 record, but the Knights had to play bigger schools in the Summit Athletic Conference, including Fort Wayne schools Dwenger, South and Snider.
"We have some exceptional athletes and we play in a brutal conference, where we get tested every week with all-state athletes," Luers coach Matt Lindsay said.
And Luers athletes were on display, in particular junior Eric Sorg.
On the night, Sorg served as Luers punter, holder for field goals, played wide receiver and then replaced sophomore James Knapke at quarterback following an injury in the second quarter.
On his first play at quarterback, after having already caught a touchdown pass, Sorg had to improvise, finding a way to weave through the Squires defense for a 64-yard touchdown run, giving his team a 17-7 lead with 6:08 remaining in the first half.
"He's a goofy dude," Lindsay said of Sorg. "He really did come through tonight though. That's a difficult spot to be put into, and he did a terrific job."
Sorg finished the night converting 9 of 16 pass attempts for 99 yards and a touchdown.
Junior Steve Kiermaier also proved to be multifaceted for the Knights, rushing for 94 yards on 10 carries, while also catching four passes for 62 yards and also recording an interception on defense, which he returned 48 yards for a score.
"I knew we were capable of doing this if we got off the bus ready to play," Lindsay said. "The guys were ready to play."
That mentality showed as the road team got off to a 10-0 lead before Manchester got on the scoreboard on a 1-yard run by senior quarterback Dylin Kennedy with 7:39 left in the second quarter.
The Squires scoring drive ate up 5:12 of the clock and covered 76 yards in 11 plays, showing they could move the ball.
But just when it appeared Manchester was coming back, and Luers starting quarterback was taken off the field, Sorg had his big 64-yard TD scamper on the Luers' next possession.
The Knights struck again late in the half when Kiermaier converted a third-and-nine with 34-yard run to the Manchester 32-yard line. A play later, Sorg hooked up with junior Quyan Mattox for a 32-yard touchdown with only 27.9 seconds remaining.
Showing things were going really well for Sorg, on the ensuing extra point, the snap came low, but Sorg handled it, stood up and found freshman Jaylon Smith for a two-point conversion pass, increasing the lead to 25-7 at the half.
"That was big to add to the lead right before half," Lindsay said.
"We knew (Manchester) wasn't going to quit," he added. "They're a good football team. They've got their home crowd and they've got pride too. You keep playing."
The late score was deflating for the Squires, but Baker said his team wasn't hanging their heads too low.
"We were still in it," he said. "We made some good adjustments, we just didn't execute."
Luers really seemed to get a strong hold on the game when Kiermaier got his interception return touchdown off a Kennedy pass in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 32-7.
Kennedy responded with a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior Kyle Boone on Manchester's next drive, and added another 1-yard touchdown run himself to open the fourth, but Luers proved to have too much.
"I'm disappointed in our execution, but our effort was there," Baker said. "That's the way it's been every game. Our effort has been great. We just didn't execute, and unfortunately, against a team like Luers, we needed to play an almost perfect game."
Luers finished the game with 416 total yards, including 241 rushing yards, led by Kiermaier's 94.
Manchester had one of its better passing games of the season, with Kennedy completing 9 of 25 passes for 165 yards, while sophomore punter Mazric Shambarger also converted a fake punt with a 40-yard pass to senior Seth Dotson.
However, Manchester's bread-and-butter has been the running game, but the Squires generated just 45 yards on 24 carries.
"Running is part of our main attack," Baker said. "We were able to get some things going with the passing game, we just couldn't sustain it and finish drives with it."
Manchester's main source of rushing yards this year has been senior Brady Miller who's averaged 123 yards a game, but against the Knights defense, he could only get 38 yards on 13 carries.
"No one was the focal point," Lindsay said. "It was just everybody doing their jobs. We did a nice job on their running attack, and I know that's their strong point."
Following the loss, Baker and his coaching staff talked with the guys for an extended time in the north end zone.
"It doesn't seem like it now, but these guys have a lot to be proud of, like winning the second (Three Rivers Conference) championship in school history," Baker said. "There's a lot to be proud of once this pain goes away. They're going to sit back, I hope, and realize what a great accomplishment this is."
And Baker will be sitting back realizing what a good group of seniors just played their last games for him.
"This is the best group of leaders we've ever had here," he said. "That makes it so easy for (the coaches), because a lot of those little things in practice, we don't have to worry about. If someone messes up, we don't have to jump on them, because those guys do. That just shows the character and determination they have. We're going to miss them a lot."
