NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – In the wake of a hard-fought 41-27 loss at the hands of D3Football.com No. 19-ranked Franklin College Saturday, Oct. 1, Manchester University head coach Nate Jensen was looking forward.
"We just need to keep getting after the little things," he noted. "That was our message after game … every detail we need to be better at.
(Our team) has to stay the course," he added. "(Franklin College) is a good football team being ranked nationally, but I'll tell you now if you'd ask our guys, they felt like it could have been a lot different. We had opportunities to do so but didn't capitalize."
MU (0-4 overall, 0-2 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) gave a crowd of better than 2,000 fans at Carl W. Burt Field plenty to be optimistic about early on. After the high-powered Grizzlies offense went 70 yards in seven plays for a 7-0 lead less than two minutes in, the Black and Gold answered in the late stages of the opening stanza, marching 69 yards in 10 plays with senior running back Brenner Cruce (North Judson, Ind.) diving in from seven yards out. The Grizzlies (4-1 overall, 3-0 HCAC) reeled off 20 unanswered points from that point for a 27-7 halftime advantage, but the Spartans had chances to stop the run, driving inside the visitors' 40-yard line three times but being turned away on downs, an interception and held to punt.
An impressive nine-play, 75-yard drive with sophomore quarterback Tristan Chester (Charlestown, Ind.) hitting senior wide receiver Matt Wirick (Granger, Ind.) on a nifty 21-yard scoring strike that Wirick turned at the last second to catch over his shoulder for a touchdown got the home crowd buzzing again, trimming the deficit to 27-13. However, Franklin responded with a touchdown drive of its own and then grabbed a pair of interceptions to help build the lead to 41-13 in third period.
The Spartans' offense wasn't finished, either. Wirick, resuming his way to a three-touchdown afternoon, dove on a fumble in the end zone as Cruce tried to break through for a second rushing score and then caught a 28-yard toss from freshman signal caller Alex Downard (Indianapolis, Ind.) in the final minute, separating himself at the last minute to pick the ball just off the grass. Wirick concluded the day with four catches for 87 yards to go with 104 yards in returns.
"Tristan and Alex did a great job of getting the balls to me where I had chances to make plays," he said. "I've also got to credit the offensive line for giving the two of them time to throw."
"Confidence is getting higher for all of us," Chester said after a 290-yard passing afternoon. "We just need to do what Coach Jensen said and pay attention to the details."
In other offensive highlights, senior tight end Brandon Webb (Fort Wayne, Ind.) joined his senior teammate in the 80-plus-yard category. He hauled in eight receptions for 81 yards. Sophomore running back Tyler Pruitt (Springfield, Ohio) added 40 yards rushing and 23 yards receiving. On the defensive side, senior linebacker Nathan Birk (Indianapolis, Ind.) registered 11 tackles including two for losses. The defensive line also proved stout, registering seven sacks with the senior trio of Billy Pigg (Veedersburg, Ind.), Zach Rudolf (Whiteland, Ind.) and Chandler Miller (Seymour, Ind.) tallying two each.
Manchester University continues back-to-back outings at their home field Saturday, Oct. 8. They host Defiance College at 1:30 p.m. in their annual Homecoming game.