Football Preview: Barnegat Bengals vs. Manchester Township Hawks
Barnegat has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will head out to square off against the Manchester Township Hawks at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Barnegat's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three matchups.
If Barnegat beats Manchester Township with 42 points on Friday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. Barnegat simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Monmouth Regional 42-6 at home. That looming 42-6 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Bengals yet this season.
Barnegat's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Myquan Rush-Esdaile led the charge by rushing for 188 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Johnnel Johnson, who rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries.
Barnegat's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Stephen Griffin and Cole Toddings. What's more, Griffin also racked up 21 rushing yards, the mosthe's had since back in September of 2023.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Barnegat was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 433 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Manchester Township didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Liberty on Friday, but they still walked away with a 15-9 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Hawks.
Manchester Township's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Aidan Lunn, who rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown, and Marquis Goins Jr, who picked up 122 receiving yards and a touchdown. Goins Jr got the majority of those receiving yards when he pulled down a pass and took off for a gain of 67 yards.
Barnegat pushed their record up to 3-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Manchester Township, their record now sits at 3-1.
Barnegat came up short against Manchester Township when the teams last played back in August of 2023, falling 36-24. Thankfully for Barnegat, Josh Love (who rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.6 yards per carry, and also picked up 81 receiving yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
