Manchester and Rochester are an even 4-4 against one another since September of 2014, but not for long. The Manchester Squires will be playing at home against the Rochester Zebras at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Friday, Manchester didn't have too much trouble with Wabash on the road as they won 42-26. The Squires pushed the score to 35-12 by the end of the third, a deficit the Apaches cut but never quite recovered from.
Among those leading the charge was Reiss Gaerte, who rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown on only five carries. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run and that went for an incredible 50 yards. Resto D?Andrea was in the mix as well, providing Manchester with a touchdowns.
Manchester's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Mason Rooney and Gaerte. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in total yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Manchester was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 280 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Wabash only rushed for 133.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Rochester, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They took their match at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 49-12 victory over Whitko. With the Zebras ahead 35-6 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Brant Beck had a dynamite game for Rochester, rushing for 112 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Carson Paulik, who threw for 109 yards and a touchdown on only seven passes.
Manchester's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Rochester, they pushed their record up to 2-1 with that victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Manchester has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 166.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Rochester struggles in that department as they've been averaging 253. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Manchester was taken down by Rochester 50-0 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Beck, who rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Now that Manchester knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
