Preview: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers Knights vs. Manchester Squires
The Fort Wayne Bishop Luers Knights will head out on the road to face off against the Manchester Squires at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Fort Wayne Bishop Luers is not getting complacent, as they presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Manchester in Indiana (Fort Wayne Bishop Luers is ranked 107th, while Manchester is ranked 250th).
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers fell on hard times earlier this season, but after back-to-back victories it seems like their luck might finally be changing. They managed a 14-10 victory over Eastside on Friday.
Giovanny Jimenez was the offensive standout of the game as he rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.1 yards per carry. Jimenez was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 67 yards.
Meanwhile, Manchester's game on Friday was all tied up 14-14 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They came out on top against Central Noble by a score of 28-21.
Manchester can attribute much of their success to Logan Eastgate, who rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Manchester also got help from Eli Metzger who showed off his sure hands for 114 receiving yards.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Central Noble to a paltry 239 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Manchester's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out eight times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Trace Murphy and Preston Duffy who racked up five sacks between them.
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers' victory was their fourth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 8-3. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-10 Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran and 1-9 Fort Wayne South Side (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 32% over those games). As for Manchester, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-6.
