NORTH MANCHESTER — A pair of early-season themes resumed in North Manchester Friday for the Manchester and Bluffton football teams. On the home side of Squires Field, it was another hard-fought effort for coach Brandon Baker’s squad. His Squires put up 254 yards rushing and reached paydirt three times, but the squad struggled with turnovers with three fumbles and an interception. For the visiting Tigers, coach Casey Kolkman’s team saw another heart-stopping victory. Seven days removed from holding off Northfield for a 20-19 win, his team came up with a final-minute scoring drive to capture a 26-22 decision. “I told our guys I was proud of how hard they fought,” Baker said after his team dipped to 0-2. “Too many turnovers and another slow start early were hard on us again. “We just need to find a way to start quicker and minimize the mistakes,” he added. “I still think we can do some good things this year.” Manchester nearly got over the hump. Trailing 26-22 in the final two minutes, the Squires battered their way at the Tigers’ defense on the ground and reached the Bluffton 12-yard line with 11 seconds left. With the din of both cheering crowds in the background, senior quarterback Jim Sainsbury dropped back and floated a nifty pass to fellow senior Cody Harlan in the left corner of the end zone but the pass was broken up at the last moment to seal the final. The closing minutes’ drama concluded a contest that both sides held leads in. After stopping the hosts on downs to open the contest, Bluffton didn’t wait long to put a score up. Fleet-footed freshman running back D’ Wayne Eskridge got to the right side of the Squires defense and roared 50 yards for a touchdown. The first stanza ended at 6-0 despite both sides having opportunities that ended with fumbles. Manchester gave the home crowd something to cheer about early in the second quarter. Sainsbury faded back from his own 46 and hit Harlan in stride for the equalizer. Manchester appeared to be ready to settle into a 6-6 halftime count after stopping the Tigers on downs on their own 16-yard line, but a fumble gave the visitors a short field which the rushing tandem of sophomore Javon Morgan and junior Josh Streveler took advantage of. Morgan went around left end for a 15-yard gain on the first play, with Streveler diving in from a yard out to break the tie. He added the two-point run for a 14-6 Bluffton lead. The visitors opened the second half just as quickly as the first, as the Tigers marched inside Manchester’s 20 on their first possession but the Squires’ defense stiffened and held them on downs. Sophomore Jacob Casper didn’t wait long to even things for Manchester, bursting through a hole on a quick-hitting handoff and racing 85 yards for a touchdown. On the conversion, sophomore quarterback Lucas Shilling hit senior Evan Olinger with a pass to tie the game at 14-14. Both teams then traded fumbles on ensuing possessions. Bluffton used its chance to build a 56-yard scoring drive with Eskridge breaking free for on a 32-yard scoring scamper. The extra point kick sailed wide left to keep it at 20-14. Trailing by six points midway through the final stanza, Baker and his staff went to a new wrinkle to take the lead. “We’d been paving the way by crashing at their defense with Jacob all night so we gave Evan (Olinger) and Evan Milam a chance to go the other direction at their defense,” he said. The sophomore Milam got a huge hole off the right side and went 45 yards for the score to make it 20-20. He added the two-point conversion to give the Squires a 22-20 lead. Bluffton got up off the deck and answered right back. Using a penalty that added to a sizable kickoff return, the Tigers marched 56 yards again. This time around, they converted a fourth-and-1 by the length of the ball during the march and then cashed in when Streveler bowled in from a yard out, setting up the frenetic finish. Eskridge’s and Casper’s rushing performances led each side. Eskridge carried the ball 10 times for 116 yards, while Casper rushed nine times for 113 yards to mark his second successive 100-yard-plus game. Bluffton closed the night with 172 yards on the ground, while Manchester compiled 254.
