Despite a phenomenal run in the regular season, Manchester couldn't carry that success into this playoff game. They fell 27-21 to the Thomas Dale Knights on Friday. The Lancers were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Knights apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in November of 2024.
Although Manchester took the loss, they still got scores from Landen Abernethy, Justin Fabian, and Antonio Turner Jr.
Don't try to pin the team's loss on the defense: they kept the trenches locked down and allowed a mere 3.5 yards per carry. The team can thank Kaleb Polk for the heroic effort on defense: he. Sadly, that's becoming something of a trend for Manchester; they were averaging 6.8yards per carry per game earlier this season, but in their last three contests they've fallen to only 3.1 per game.
A big part of Thomas Dale's victory came down to the chemistry between Wyatt Jessup and his top target Micah Flowers. Jessup threw for 160 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Flowers picked up 99 receiving yards and two scores. Those 99 receiving yards gave Flowers a new career-high.
Manchester's defeat dropped their record down to 10-2. As for Thomas Dale, they pushed their record up to 10-1 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season.
Manchester does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Thomas Dale, they will head out on the road to square off against Oscar Smith at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few points on average (the Knights 9.9, the Tigers 13.4) so any points scored will be well earned.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
