Dutch fall to Grass Lake in final conference game of season

Andrew Campbell stepped up his game on Friday night against Grass Lake when the Warriors put a hard defense on receiver Jaxon McGuigan. Campbell was Manchester’s leading receiver, grabbing six passes for 85 yards. Photo courtesy of John Osadchuk.

by Marsha Chartrand

“A lesson learned early in the season helped our team overcome a very slow start,“ said varsity coach Ben Pack of his Dutchmen on Friday night. “After being down by 21 points, most teams would have cashed in the night.“

Instead, he continued, “Our kids turned up the heat and competed, scoring two touchdowns before the end of the first half.“

Grass Lake started early with a touchdown on a 34-yard pass and a successful PAT at 9:24 in the first quarter, continuing with a two-yard TD run with 3:55 remaining in the quarter. The Warriors had done their scouting well and, according to Pack, did a great job of defending Manchester’s leading pass receiver, Jaxon McGuigan. McGuigan was held to an uncharacteristically low one, three-yard pass receive during the game. Wyatt Carson scored Manchester’s first touchdown at 4:12 in the second, running for three yards, with a good PAT from Derek Huff. Andrew Campbell picked up for Jaxon and had multiple big plays, including grabbing a seven-yard pass from Kannon Duffing for the second touchdown. Huff’s PAT attempt was unsuccessful.

“We faced another elite tailback in Andrew Stockton,“ Pack added. “He was the difference maker in the game.“

After the half, “the momentum from the first half didn’t stop,“ said Pack, “as the (Dutch) offense drove the field and scored, making the score 19– 21.“

Carson again made a short run for this touchdown, but not making the two-point conversion after falling short on the previous PAT were both critical misses in competing versus a team of like ability.

“However, (Grass Lake’s) screen pass for a TD on 3rd and 20 was the play that got to us,“ Pack admitted. “Giving up a big play for a touchdown is never easy to overcome, but that play shifted the momentum.“

The Warriors ultimately scored another touchdown in the final quarter to bring the final score to 35–19.

Nevertheless, he concluded, “our kids played extremely hard the entire game. We have come a long way this season and over the past two years, and I believe we have not reached our ceiling. If we can stay the course and trust the process, things will work out in our favor.“

Next week is the Cascades/Big 8 Crossover Game where Manchester will travel to meet the Reading Rangers at 7pm. GO, Dutch!

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

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.