It'll be Battle of the Birds when Hawks takes on the Monmouth Regional Falcons at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Manchester Township is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 26.6 points per game this season.
If Manchester Township beats Monmouth Regional 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. Manchester Township claimed a resounding 42-14 victory over Point Pleasant Beach on the road. Given the Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey football rankings (they are ranked 122nd, while the Garnet Gulls are ranked 277th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Avery Phillips was his usual excellent self, rushing for 186 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 72-yard run. The team also got some help courtesy of Aidan Lunn, who threw for 39 yards and two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Manchester Township was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 293 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Manchester Township wouldn't let Point Pleasant Beach keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Manchester Township can thank Desmond Askew and Stephon Mcfadden for forcing both of them.
Meanwhile, Monmouth Regional was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their ninth straight defeat dating back to last season. They were outmatched by Holmdel at home and fell 49-12.
Jaylin Reeves put forth a good effort for the losing side as he picked up 95 receiving yards and a touchdown. Ryan Crawford got in on the action too, returning a kick for a touchdown.
Manchester Township is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. As for Monmouth Regional, their loss dropped their record down to 0-8.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Manchester Township has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 154.8 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Monmouth Regional, though, as they've been averaging only 63. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Manchester Township didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Monmouth Regional in their previous meeting back in September of 2021, but they still walked away with a 20-14 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Manchester Township since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
