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NORTH MANCHESTER - Manchester's football teams won sectional titles in 1988, 1989 and 1991 under Al Bailey.
Even though the 1998 team has not won the sectional -Êyet -ÊBailey says this is his best Manchester team in his 14 years as coach.
"I think we're a better team now, because the quality of football from top to bottom in the state has picked up every year," he said. "I think there have been years where I've done a better job coaching, but we didn't win very many games. You have to look at the talent."
Last week the 9-1 Squires, who finished the season ranked seventh in 2A, beat 1-9 Madison-Grant 34-0 in the sectional first round.
Now they meet 3-7 Oak Hill.
"It's a good draw for us, probably better on paper than it is in real life," Bailey said.
Bailey believes this for several reasons. One, Oak Hill tallied its third win just last week, 30-0 over Wabash. Never mind that Wabash finished 1-9. The Golden Eagles finished the game with no interceptions and no fumbles.
"I would have to say it was our best effort this year," Oak Hill coach Dan Brauchler said. "Our special teams played well. Our defense had a good game.
"Manchester is on a roll and is probably the best team in the sectional. We'll play the best we can and see what happens."
Two, the Squires dominated Oak Hill 28-3 in the regular season. Manchester racked up 403 yards, but what Bailey bragged up after the game was the Squires' defense. Manchester allowed only 75 passing yards and only 71 rushing yards. Oak Hill's leading rusher, Cory Key, who averaged 5.7 yards per carry this year, rushed for 16 yards on 11 carries, an average of 1.5 yards per carry.
Three, Oak Hill senior quarterback Kyle Wert led the Three Rivers Conference with 78 completions in 161 attempts.
"Oak Hill's played people tough," Bailey said. "Southwood was beating them only 7-0 in the fourth quarter. The size is there. The skilled people are there. They are strong, aggressive.
"Their defense is much tougher. They do things now to get their inside linebacker, (Kevin) Warnoch, free. They've given the quarterback more options. He's running more. He passes the ball well. They have good receivers. Look at their offensive line, they have guys who go 260 (tackle Anthony Frank) and 300 (tackle Aaron Pickering). The 300-pounder has run out of the backfield before, so he's pretty mobile."
Senior running back David Barrett has cornered the headlines for Manchester, as he led the state in rushing with 2,021 yards. He smashed the previous school record of 1,400, set in 1972.
"If David Barrett gets in the open field," Brauchler said, "he will score. But Manchester has so many other weapons. Greg Groombridge is a great fullback, and Rex Reimer does a good job throwing the football."
But every chance he's had, Bailey's talked about his offensive line, led by 6-foot-3, 260-pound Nate Young. Like Barrett, Young hopes to play football for a Mid-American Athletic Conference school.
"We've had other good linemen," Bailey said. "But as far as a unit, from tackle to tackle, this is our best line. Nate Young is probably at a level I wished all of them would be at. He's a senior. Pushing him are Jeff Daugherty at center, Eric Sommer at guard and Brady Burgess at guard. Kory Rupley is a junior. All he needs is the strength of Nate Young and he'd be outstanding.
"Linemen in the past here, it was a matter of hit somebody. If that didn't work, hit 'em harder. That's not always the answer now. These players have learned a lot of technique. You have to be in the right place, positioned correctly and understand what the defense is doing. They have that understanding of the game."
For now, Bailey just hopes his players understand they can't look past Oak Hill, even if the Golden Eagles are 3-7.
"We want to win sectional, but you can only do that by winning one game at a time," Bailey said. "We don't win Friday night, we turn it in."
