Dutchmen end season with a loss; seven receive All-Cascades Conference honors

Senior Dutchmen at their final game of the season last Friday night: 11- Maxwell Edwards, 6-Aiden Kelly, 5-Jared Bunn, 20-Jacob Bunn, 4-Garett Pope, 76-Bret Harvey, 2-Brady McGuigan, and 42-Collin Campbell. Photo courtesy of Stacy Pope.

The varsity Dutchmen hosted the Union City Chargers in the Cascades crossover game on Friday night and came up on the short end of the score, despite some great effort from Manchester’s defense and offense.

“Union City played a fabulous game both offensively and defensively on Friday,” said head coach Ben Pack. “They kept our offense off balance and kept our defense on the field. This is exactly what is expected in an evenly matched cross over game.”

Garret Pope, Aiden Kelly and Jeff Loomis highlighted the defense with their effort and tackling. “These kids compete from the first snap to the last,” Pack commented.

The Chargers started off strong in the first quarter, scoring 12 unanswered points during the first round of play, and they started off the second quarter with another touchdown and a successful two-point conversion to lead by a 20-point margin.

A three-yard touchdown run by Wyatt Carson, followed by the PAT from Max Edwards, started Manchester’s scoring late in the second quarter, at 3:43. The Dutch shut down Union City with a deep kick by Edwards to the Chargers’ 19 yard line, followed by tackles from Trent Aiuto, Kelly, and Landon LaVigne, and a recovery at the 23 by Cody Branner. A 23-yard pass from Kannon Duffing to Jaxon McGuigan gave the Dutch their second touchdown score, topped off with a successful kick by Edwards, within minutes, at 2:39. The Dutch went to the lockers at halftime down by just a 20-14 score.

But another Union City TD with a two-point conversion at 6:02 in the third quarter dashed some of the Dutchmen’s hopes, and a fumble at the end of the third made their recovery seem even less likely. Undeterred, the Dutch came out at the beginning of the fourth with another touchdown, on a 40-yard pass from Duffing to Garret Pope. The point-after kick by Edwards brought the score to 28-21, once again with a successful outcome within reach. With just over a minute remaining, however, the Chargers scored one more touchdown to bring the final score to 34-21.

“Our running game was stalled most of the night even though they were giving us this option,” Pack noted. “Despite being double covered, the passing combo of Jaxon McGuigan and Kannon Duffing continued to highlight the offense. These two have played consistently every game the entire season.”

Wrapping up the season, Pack commented, “Our seniors showed strong leadership the entire season. This class has faced adversity every year of high school. As freshmen, they could have folded when the JV season was canceled. As sophomores, they could have pitched it in when they played with only 14 players. As juniors, Covid robbed them. But, through it all they showed grit, toughness, and love for each other. We will miss them!”

Seven Dutchmen received All-Cascades Conference Honors: Aiden Kelly – Defensive Back; Max Edwards – Kicker; Jaxon McGuigan – Wide Receiver; and Kannon Duffing – Quarterback. Honorable Mentions were received by Garett Pope – Linebacker; Cody Branner – Defensive Line; and Landon LaVigne – Offensive Line. Congratulations to all!

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.