Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH MANCHESTER - Manchester played host to the Rochester Zebras on the Squires' homecoming night Friday.
Coming off its first win of the season, Manchester was upset minded. The Zebras, however, got by the Squires 38-22.
The win will keep the Zebras in a tie for at least second place in conference play. Tippecanoe Valley defeated Wabash to stay unbeaten in conference play Friday night.
The game was a lot closer than the score indicated. Manchester held the Zebra offense to 14 yards and no first downs in the first quarter.
Although the Squire defense played well, Rochester took a 7-0 lead with 5:55 left in the first when Brandon Stuart intercepted a Blaine Miller pass and ran it 32 yards for the score.
"We played them tight in the first quarter tonight. We were able to hold their offense to minimum gains," Manchester coach Brandon Baker said.
Rochester scored on a long drive in the second quarter that was capped with a nine-yard pass from Justin Baird to Carter Walley to increase the lead to 14-0.
On the ensuing kickoff the ball bounced into the end zone for a touchback. On the very next play, which took 14 seconds, Aaron Snover moved to the inside and found daylight on the outside and outraced the Zebra defense for an 80-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14-6.
Rochester went into the locker room with a 17-6 lead after Casey Good kicked a 30-yard field goal with 27 seconds left.
"We have improved this year. Tonight we played with more intensity than I have ever seen since coming aboard. We cut down on a lot of mistakes tonight," Baker said.
Neither team could move the ball against the other's defense. Manchester's Miller picked up a fumble from Stuart and ran it for a touchdown from 32 yards out. Miller then hit Yezan Al-Khateeb in the end zone for the two point conversion to cut the score to 17-14 after three quarters of play.
The turning point in the game came in the fourth quarter. Walley punted the ball 65 yards to pin the Squires at their own 8-yard line. On the next play, a pass from Derreck Freshour was intercepted by Brock Sroufe and returned to the 1-yard line.
"That 65-yard punt turned the game around for us. It allowed us to force a turnover and score which gave us the momentum we needed. Before the punt we were flat. Manchester did a good job defensively," Rochester coach Mark Miller said.
"We have a lot of good athletes that are playing at the quarterback position. We don't have a true quarterback. When you play quarterbacks by committee you will have problems," Baker said.
On the next play, Stuart ran through the Squire line for a touchdown that put the Zebras ahead 24-14. The momentum continued for Rochester.
After receiving the kickoff, the Squires' woes continued. Starting on Manchester's 35-yard line, Brandon Shepard hit Brecken Kennedy for a pass over the middle. Kennedy fumbled the ball and Rochester recovered the ball at the Squire 36.
Four plays later, Josh Runkle ran the ball up the middle for 26 yards to take the wind out of Manchester's sails. The score was 31-14 with 7:34 left in the game.
Manchester did not give up, however. Kennedy redeemed his earlier miscue. He caught a 21- yard pass from Miller. Miller ran in the two point conversion to cut the lead to 31-22.
"The turnovers at the end just took us out of the ball game," Baker said.
ROCHESTER 38, MANCHESTER 22
Rochester 7 10 0 21 - 38
Manchester 0 6 8 8 - 22
R M
First downs 12 8
Rushing yards 122 157
Passing yards 114 80
Comp.-Att.-Int. 10-18-0 7-24-5
Total offense 236 237
Fumbles/lost 4-2 1-1
Punts/avg. 4-49 2-38
Penalties/yards 4-25 5-35
First Quarter
R - Brandon Stuart 34 interception return (Casey Good kick) 7-0, 5:55
Second Quarter
R - Justin Biard 9 pass to Carter Walley (Good kick) 14-0, 9:52
M - Aaron Snover 80 run (kick failed) 6-14, 9:38
R - Good 30 field goal 17-6, 0:27
Third Quarter
M - Blaine Miller 32 fumble return (pass good) 14-17 11:45
Fourth Quarter
R -ÊStuart 1 run (Good kick) 24-14, 9:36
R -ÊJosh Runkle 26 run (Good kick) 31-14, 7:34
M - Miller 21 pass to Brecken Kennedy (Miller run) 22-31, 4:12
R - Runkle 3 run (Good kick) 38-22, 1:26
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Rochester, Brandon Stuart 10-27, Josh Runkle 20-83, Justin Biard 4-3, Derreck Nelson 4-11; Manchester, Derreck Freshour 4-7, Blaine Miller 12-44, Travis Lightle 7-29, Nolan Holloway 5-9, Aaron Snover 2-78
Passing - Rochester, Biard 10-18-114, 1 TD; Manchester, Blaine Miller 5-15-60, 1 TD, 3 INT, Brandon Shepherd 2-6-20 1 INT
Receiving -Rochester, Jaron Strem 3-38, Carter Walley 2-23, Blayne Hammel 2-35, Nelson 2-21; Manchester, Brecken Kennedy 2-33, Shepherd 2-15, Holloway 1-10, Snover 1-19
