Kannon Duffing sets up the pass for receiver Jaxon McGuigan, which resulted in a 7-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

The Manchester Flying Dutch varsity football team had an interesting week that culminated in a Saturday night homecoming victory over the Hanover-Horton Comets, 24-14.

“After a tough game the week before, and having the game postponed until Saturday, it would have been easy for our players to lose their focus and let up,” said head varsity coach Ben Pack. “Our players continued to show grit and determination the entire week; taking a 21-0 lead at half was evidence of their focus.”

A long, slow start to the first quarter of play culminated in a long drive to the Dutchmen’s first touchdown with just 1:58 remaining in the quarter. Manchester used both their passing and running game to achieve their first score on a pass from Kannon Duffing to Andrew Campbell, followed by a successful PAT by Max Edwards. The quarter ended with a 7-0 Manchester lead.

Scoring picked up in the second quarter; at 7:37 a Duffing pass to Jaxon McGuigan resulted in Manchester’s second TD of the night and a 14-0 lead thanks to Edwards’ PAT. A second touchdown in the quarter at 4:10 was on a seven-yard run by Gunner Carson, with another point-after kick by Edwards to make the score 21-0 at the half.

The Comets picked up some steam in the third quarter, however, scoring a safety and a touchdown with a failed two-point conversion in the final minutes to bring the score to 21-8 by quarter’s end. They continued their momentum in the beginning of the fourth with another six-point touchdown pass and another failed conversion attempt. This narrowed the score to 21-14, until Manchester’s Edwards kicked a field goal with 9:23 remaining in the game. With much back-and-forth play in the rest of the game, both teams held fast to bring their final score to 24-14.

“Max has played a significant role all season long,” Pack said. “His field goal in the fourth quarter was gold.”

“Our focus was not isolated to just the players in the game,” added Pack. “Our scout team players that help prepare the first string contributed well before the ball was kicked. Zach Jarels, Jozef Sprunk, Nick Laurain, and Nathan Fletcher did a tremendous job getting us ready to play Hanover-Horton. Their effort revealed flaws in the original game plan, allowing us to tweak the plan by mid week.”

In addition, Aiden Kelly turned in his best performance of the season on defense, leading the team in tackles, and registering one tackle for a loss of yardage.

“Aiden’s coverage on the punt and kick offs units and Edwards’ kick offs, helped us pin Hanover deep on their side of the field,” Pack continued. “This was a huge factor in keeping them scoreless in the first half, as well as the outcome of the game.”

On offense, Wyatt Carson found his groove running the ball for 99 yards and having one reception for 33 yards. His combination of power and speed kept Hanover off balance all night. The Dutch offensive line did a tremendous job all night controlling the line of scrimmage, especially our strong side of Garrett Corwin and Bret Havey.

“This was our best game of the season rushing the ball,” Pack concluded.

The Dutch, now 3-5 on the season, will face the Grass Lake Warriors on the road this weekend, with Friday night’s game rescheduled to noon on Saturday at Grass Lake.