Varsity continues to improve, defeating Quincy 37-30
#40 Wyatt Carson runs for one of three touchdowns against Quincy last Friday night.
Manchester kept up its winning momentum last Friday night with a high-scoring victory over the Quincy Orioles.
“Our offense turned in a solid performance playing with consistency the the entire game,” said head coach Ben Pack. “Our offensive line stepped up the entire night, allowing our ball handlers an opportunity to turn in their outstanding performances.”
Kannon Duffing connected on 16 of his 18 passes for 212 yards. His main target, Jaxon McGuigan, caught 11 passes for 152 yards and two TDs. Not to be outperformed, Wyatt Carson turned in 136 yards on offense, hauling in four passes for 58 yards and rushing for 78.
Starting off the first quarter with 15 points, first matching the Orioles’ touchdown and two-point conversion just halfway into the quarter, the Flying Dutchmen saw Kannon Duffing with a 15-yard pass to Jaxon McGuigan for the TD, followed by a Duffing pass to Garret Pope for the extra points. The next touchdown, with 2:13 remaining in the quarter, was a long drive culminating in a five-yard run for the score by Wyatt Carson, followed by Max Edwards’ PAT. As the quarter ran out, Quincy scored another touchdown, followed by a failed two-pointer leaving the score at 15-14, Manchester.
In the second, Manchester saw another very long drive starting at the Quincy 10. A five-yard run by Carson finally resulted in the touchdown and a two-point conversion by Brady McGuigan increased Manchester’s lead by another eight points. The Orioles spent the rest of the quarter unable to score thanks to the efforts of Dutch defenders including Carson, Pope, Trent Aiuto, Jeff Loomis, Brady McGuigan, and Aiden Kelly. The Dutch went into the locker room at halftime leading by a score of 23-14.
The third quarter started off quickly with a drive by Manchester that led to a touchdown at 11:26 by Carson on a 28-yard run. Edwards had his second successful PAT of the evening to increase Manchester’s lead to 30-14. Another long defensive standoff kept Quincy from scoring with Ryan Kelly, Bret Harvey, Garrett Corwin, and others holding the Orioles back. With fourth and 13 at the Quincy 15 yard line, Manchester’s Edwards attempted a field goal with 44 seconds remaining in the third, but the ball was recovered by Quincy and the attempt was no good.
Quincy was unable to convert with so little time remaining, but as play continued into the fourth quarter the Orioles scored another touchdown at 8:52 with a successful two-point conversion and increased the score to 30-22, Dutch.
A quick drive with Duffing completing a 22-yard pass to Jaxon McGuigan at 7:07 gave the Dutch a greater lead, with Edwards contributing his third and final extra point of the night. Manchester 37, Quincy 22. Quincy retaliated with its own drive back towards Manchester territory, until Kelly intercepted a pass that got the ball back in Manchester’s hands. It was Kelly’s second interception in as many weeks, Coach Pack pointed out. However, Max Edwards’ second field goal attempt of the night was unsuccessful, returning the ball to Quincy yet again for another quick run into Dutch territory, ending with a touchdown and two point conversion with 2:16 remaining. Manchester 37, Quincy 30.
A final scoring attempt by Manchester failed, but the Dutch prevailed overall with a strong game. Led by Duffing with 16 of 18 pass completions for a total of 212 yards, the rushing leaders included Carson, followed by Pope and Jared Bunn with 37 and 19 yards, respectively. In addition to McGuigan and Carson, Jacob Smith received one pass for two yards.
Brady McGuigan led Manchester defensively with six solos and a total of 12 tackles. Pope came in second, with 10 assists and two solos. It was definitely a team game, however, as players with defensive stats numbered 16 against the Orioles.
“It feels good to watch our players play with confidence, and compete,” said Pack. “This shows all their hard work is paying off.”
The Dutchmen will travel to Michigan Center this Friday for a 7 pm kickoff.
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