Defense dominates in Homecoming win for Manchester
Editor’s Note: This week’s Flying Dutchmen Varsity Football Coverage sponsor is the Manchester Men’s Club.
senior quarterback Tyler Horky cuts through the defense for a rushing touchdown in the third quarter.
The scoreboard didn’t explain how lopsided of a contest it was, but the Dutch defense shone again.
Manchester defeated the Hanover-Horton comets 42-17, on homecoming night in Manchester Friday, and allowed just a field goal until the fourth quarter.
Yellow flags were a frequent sight in the first half, but they weren’t part of the homecoming festivities. Penalty flags against the Dutchmen (5-2, 5-1) threatened to hinder their offense, in the beginning.
“(Hanover-Horton) had a little bit to do with that,” said Manchester head coach Mike Blumenauer. “They’re pretty physical up front … We have got to be better in a week if we’re going to be on the field with Grass Lake and compete with them.”
The penalties repeatedly put the Dutchmen offense in undesirable situations on its very first possession. The tough, speedy, Comet defense faltered though, when on 2nd and 28, senior Manchester quarterback Tyler Horky found open space and ran for 33 yards before getting tackled just outside the red zone. Hanover-Horton head coach Perry Deliyanne called it one of the “biggest plays in the game.”
It was enough to break the Dutchmen out of their funk. Four plays later, senior Manchester running back Collin McCaffrey scored on a seven-yard touchdown run to give the Dutchmen an early 7-0 lead – and they never surrendered it.
McCaffrey had an exceedingly productive night. Aside from three total rushing touchdowns and 141 yards on 20 carries from his position at running back, McCaffrey also led the Manchester defense with 8 tackles, including three tackles for a loss and a sack.
Hanover-Horton (3-4, 3-3) lacked enough sizable blockers to keep Manchester’s aggressive defense at bay for very long at all. In a notable sequence of plays in the second quarter, Hanover Horton possessed the ball on their own seven-yard line. Three plays in a row, senior Manchester defensive lineman Simon Lato made the tackle, including one tackle for a loss, and forced yet another Comet punt.
“We actually put in some plays to go away from him,” said Deliyanne. “But it didn’t matter.”
The Comets relied nearly exclusively on the run, completing just one pass. Junior Hanover-Horton running back Trent Hocter led his team with 70 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
“If we could have figured out how to block (Lato) in the first half, (Hocter) might have had a better game,” said Deliyanne.
As a result, the Dutchmen dominated the time of possession, and were able to do just good enough on offense to keep the Comets frustrated, and behind.
Horky’s lone touchdown pass came on a one-play drive in the second-quarter. Blumenauer dialed up a play he admitted he’d been “keeping in our pocket for certain situations,” and it worked. Horky threw to wide-open sophomore Manchester tight end Aiden Kelly for a 60 yard score.
Deliyanne said he “wasn’t sure what happened” on the play to leave Kelly so wide open.
“(Kelly) was supposed to be double-teamed,” Deliyanne said. “You can’t make those mistakes against a good team.”
The Flying Dutchmen put up 416 total yards of offense. Horky finished 8-15 passing with 137 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He added 77 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Senior running back Jacob Kurgin added 47 yards and a touchdown rushing on six carries.
“We’re kind of taking what they’re giving us, and tonight they were giving us more of the run game end of it,” said Blumenauer. “The offensive line played their hearts out tonight.”
Manchester is currently third in Cascades Conference standings. With a win in Grass Lake (6-1, 5-1) on October 18, the Dutchmen could move to second in conference standings and clinch a playoff berth.
Tyler Scott covers football for the Manchester Mirror. He also hosts Weekend Afternoons on Michigan Radio (NPR)
Flying Dutchmen Varsity Football Coverage is only possible because of generous sponsors and supporters. This week’s coverage is thanks to sponsor the Manchester Men’s Club. If you would like to sponsor varsity sports coverage in the Mirror click here for more information.
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