Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH MANCHESTER - The Manchester College Spartans spell relief W-I-N.
After beginning the season 0-7, the Manchester Spartans captured their first win over WIlmington College 42-35 in their last home game of the season Saturday.
"This is a great win," said Manchester head coach Dave Harms. "I'm happy for the seniors. This win is something that will last them a lifetime. It feels good."
The Spartans fell behind early on senior recognition day as Wilmington's Wallace Morris intercepted a pass from Josh Crick and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown with less than two minutes off the game clock.
The Spartans found themselves behind 14-0 with 5:38 left after Wilmington scored another touchdown on a 6-yard pass.
"We really wanted to win on senior day," said Josh Crick, Manchester's senior quarterback. "When you are 0-7, a win is important, especially a win at home."
With just 31 seconds left in the first quarter, Crick connected with Josh Hardman for Manchester's first score. Hardman nailed the extra point to make the score 14-7 in Wilmington's favor.
Manchester scored the only touchdown of the second quarter with just 3:32 left in the half when Crick connected with Jeff Gorrell for an 8-yard touchdown pass.
As the Spartans and Quakers left the field for the halftime break, the score stood at 14-14.
Manchester came out of the locker room and started the third quarter with a bang as Crick connected with Hardman again for a 2-yard touchdown pass with just 19 ticks off the clock.
The Spartans struck again five minutes later when Crick kept the ball for a 10-yard touchdown run, putting Manchester up 28-14.
Manchester's Lance Vanvekovan ran five yards for the next Spartan touchdown, giving the Spartans their fifth unanswered touchdown of the game.
WIlmington was down 35-14 until scoring two touchdowns in less than three minutes to make the score 35-28.
With 1:15 left in the third quarter, Crick and Hardman connected for their third touchdown of the game to put the Spartans ahead 42-28.
Wilmington scored with 4:11 in the fourth quarter to put them within one touchdown of the Spartans, 42-35.
With less than two minutes left in the game, Wilmington took possession of the football and began its last drive of the game.
After moving the ball down the field 20 yards, the Quakers were hoping to ride their momentum all the way to the end zone when Chad Campbell intercepted an Adam Ryan pass with less than one minute left on the clock to end the Wilmington run.
"I just watched the quarterback's eyes," said Campbell. "He was watching one receiver from the beginning of the play. When the play started, the receiver stopped and then took off again so I was able to beat him to the ball."
"Campbell put the nail in the coffin on that interception," said Crick.
Manchester has had its worst start since the 1994 season, when the Spartans went 0-10 on the season.
"This feels good," said Barry Halter, who returned to the team after a three-year absence. "We were 0-10 my freshman year so it feels good to get my first win at Manchester."
The Spartans ended their seven-game losing skid.
After the game, the Spartans were enjoying their first win of the season.
"It was good to end on a high note," said Geoff Clemens, senior offensive lineman. "It was nice to end with our last game at home with a win."
"We finally played well as a team for a whole game," said Todd Brown. "We played well during every aspect of the game. Up to this point we have had good quarters but have not really been able to put together an entire game."
The Spartans hope to take the momentum and emotion of this game into the next two weeks as they finish the season.
"We need to enjoy this win tonight and then get ready for the next one," said Josh Hardman.
"We're on a roll," said Jeff Gorrell. "Now we want to keep it up and try to make it a two-game winning streak."
The Spartans hope to improve their record to 2-7 when they travel to Ohio to play Mt. St. Joseph's Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Manchester College 42,
Wilmington College 35
Manchester 7 7 28 0 - 42
Wilmington 14 0 14 0 - 35
M W
First downs 21 23
Rushes-yards 34-138 39-177
Passing 280 287
Comp.-Att.-Int. 27-50-2 25-47-2
Total offense 418 464
Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-2
Punts-ave. 7-37.2 5-38.4
Penalties-yards 0-0 4-35
First Quarter
W - Morris 12 INT return (Vaughn PAT) 7-0 W
W - Faucett 6 pass from Ryan (Vaughn PAT) 14-0 W
M - Hardman 6 pass from Crick (Hardman PAT) 14-7 W
Second Quarter
M - Gorrell 8 pass from Crick (Hardman PAT) 14-14
Third Quarter
M - Hardman 2 pass from Crick (Hardman PAT) 21-14 M
M - Crick 10 run (Hardman PAT) 28-14 M
M - Vanvekovan 5 run (Hardman PAT) 35-14 M
W - Faucett 12 pass from Ryan (Vaughn PAT) 35-21 M
W - Glover 52 pass from Ryan (Vaughn PAT) 35-28 M
M - Hardman 25 pass from Crick (Hardman PAT) 42-28 M
Fourth Quarter
W- Cain 9 pass from Ryan (Vaughn PAT) 42-35 M
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Manchester: Halter 11-55; Crick 10-36, 1 TD; Vanvekovan 11-45, 1 TD; Wilmington: Murphy 19-82; Collins 7-43; Ryan 11-48
Receiving - Manchester: Hardman 12-157, 3 TD; Dillon 4-48; Gorrell 4-26, 1 TD; Liddick 3-26; Wilmington: Glover 5-113, 1 TD; Cain 4-45, 1 TD; Faucett 5-36, 2 TD
Passing - Manchester: Crick 50-27-2, 280 yards, 4 TD; Wilmington: Ryan 47-25-2, 287 yards, 4 TD
