By ANDREW FEEBACK
NORTH MANCHESTER — Friday night’s game between the Bluffton Tigers and Manchester Squires started off like any other.
By the time it ended, it felt more like a fever dream.
The Tigers came away with a 28-14 win over the host Squires, largely controlling the second half after a horrendous first half that saw them turn the ball over five times.
Incredibly, they managed to get into halftime with the score tied despite forcing just one turnover themselves.
“Credit to Manchester, they had a really sound game plan,” coach Brent Kunkel said. “Axton (Beste) is a young kid. He’s a sophomore starting quarterback, and he’s still learning.”
Beste was picked off three times in the first half, and also had a fumble.
But an 85-yard touchdown run by Beste had the Tigers up 7-0 early.
Manchester countered with a 78-yard pass from Logan Eastgate to Eli Metzger that tied the score.
Five of Bluffton’s next six possessions ended in turnovers.
Metzger got loose again for a 67-yard reception that had the home team up 14-7.
The Squires got decent pressure on Beste and forced him into two more picks, both of which came courtesy of Metzger on defense.
Coleson Teeple came up with a big interception in Squire territory that the Tigers cashed in on when Beste scored on a one-yard run.
That allowed Bluffton to get into halftime and regroup, and they had plenty of time in which to do it.
Lightning from approaching storms sent the game into a delay which lasted nearly two hours. For about ten minutes, the power inside the stadium was out.
A break that long can be detrimental for some, but it seemed to be just what the Tigers needed.
“We told them to take their pads off, put some music on,” Kunkel said. “When you have the team we have right now … we’re just young. Not a lot of experience, and until you’re in it, you don’t know.”
The Tiger defense got a stop to begin the second half. Big runs from Beste, Khamel Moore and Cooper Craig put them back in front 21-14.
Bluffton’s final score came on a fourth-and-seven play when Beste threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Griffin Morgan.
The Squires had a couple long passing plays in the second half, but never seriously threatened to reach the end zone.
Kunkel was pleased with how his team handled a game that ended nearly four hours after it began.
“I didn’t go in yelling and screaming, I just said ‘Hey, five turnovers but you’re tied,’” he said. “You’ve got a 24-minute game, let’s relax. We got a stop at the start, then put one in the end zone and it was kind of lights out from there.”
Bluffton will travel to South Adams next Friday night.
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BLUFFTON 28, MANCHESTER 14
At Manchester
Score By Quarters
Bluffton 7 7 7 7 — 28
Manchester 7 7 0 0 -— 14
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
B—Axton Beste 85 run (Abram Gehrett kick), 5:00.
M—Eli Metzger 78 pass from Logan Eastgate (Wyatt Young kick), 3:32.
Second Quarter
M—Metzger 67 pass from Eastgate (Young kick), 6:43.
B—Beste 2 run (Gehrett kick), 2:02.
Third Quarter
B—Cooper Craig 4 run (Gehrett kick), 8:06.
Fourth Quarter
B—Griffin Morgan 10 pass from Beste (Gehrett kick), 6:46.
Team Statistics
BLU MAN
First Downs 12 8
Rushes-Yards 36-248 34-45
Yards Passing 37 196
Passing (Comp-Att-Int) 7-12-3 5-13-2
Penalties-Yards 7-85 7-50
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-1
Punts-Average 2-39 5-29
Time of Possession 25:02 22:58
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Bluffton, Axton Beste 16-177, Khamel Moore 13-66, Cooper Craig 5-12. Manchester, Mason Rooney 11-28, Maddux Greer 3-10, Reiss Gaerte 7-10, Dallas Martin 1-9, Logan Eastgate 11-(minus 10), Rex Moore 1-(minus 2).
Passing: Bluffton, Beste 7-12-3-37. Manchester, Eastgate 5-13-2-196.
Receiving: Bluffton, Griffin Morgan 1-10, Treyton Bustos 3-9, Elijah Bertsch 2-9, Aaron Streveler 1-9. Manchester, Eli Metzger 4-182, Martin 1-14.
