Manchester Loses to Mount Saint Joseph in Homecoming Game
Mackenzie Kopplin
Bitterly cold temperatures, swarms of alumni milling around campus, and very few parking spots were available as the Manchester University community enjoyed Homecoming Weekend once again. Alumni expressed their nostalgia while watching from the stands.
“It was great getting to see my guys play again,” said Quantae Miller, 2018 graduate and former football player. “There was no nostalgia to be back on campus but having the opportunity to come up and see all my friends again is a different story.” The Spartan football team took on Mount St. Joseph University on the afternoon of Oct. 12. The results were not what the Spartans were hoping for, but it was a hard-fought battle.
Senior Donavan “Dub” Henderson Jr. expressed his outlook on the game. “We played a good game, we just have to start fast and finish,” he said. “We just have to execute better when it matters.” Manchester received the first kickoff and executed a very quick drive downfield that resulted in a missed field goal. Shortly after the start of the second quarter, MSJ scored their first touchdown to take the lead 7-0. A Mount St. Joe interception with 2:22 left until halftime put the Lions up 26-0 going into halftime.
Halftime brought an essential meeting for the Spartan football team. They had to find a way to revive both their offense and their defense to not only put some points on the scoreboard, but also to be able to devise a game plan to shut down the Mount St. Joe offense. The halftime performance was a brilliant dance by the Manchester University Spartanettes.
To start the third quarter, MSJ had a quick drive down the field that resulted in a missed field goal, much like the opening drive in the first quarter by Manchester. On the next possession, the Spartans scored a touchdown on a pass from freshman Brian Antoine, one of Manchester’s two quarterbacks for the game, was completed to sophomore Harrington Greer. A good PAT from sophomore Andrew Kibler helped the Spartans cut Mount St. Joe’s lead down to 26-7. However, even with the solid display of offense for that drive, the Spartans finished the third quarter trailing 40-7.
“The biggest struggle during the game would be not finishing drives on offense, we left a lot of points on the field,” Henderson said. The offense was not as strong as the Spartans would have liked; however, they are optimistic for this to improve.
To finish the game, both teams traded touchdowns to bring the game to a close with a score of 47-14. The Spartans scored when running back Henderson pushed through with a five-yard rush into the end zone. Henderson finished the game with 171 rushing yards. With Henderson’s rushing yards in this game, he was able to break the 3,000-yard career rushing threshold. He currently has 3,008 career yards and still has several weeks to watch that number climb.
The Spartans’ starting quarterback, senior Austin “Arob” Roberts, had 79 passing yards on the day.