Players gather in a distanced huddle, practicing safety amid COVID regulations.
Photo provided by MU Athletics
Manchester Prepares To Play Adrian in First Home Football Game of Season
Emma Buuck
The new stadium will be full of cheering fans on Saturday, Oct. 17, when Manchester takes on Adrian in the first home football game this season.
Last week, the Spartans traveled to Trine University in their first travel game. This ended with a score of 37-0 with the Spartans’ defeat. “Special teams were a huge factor on Saturday, and we need to improve on them,” said Coach Nate Jensen via email. “We need to continue to learn our new schemes offensively, defensively and special teams. We need to continue to grow in them. The guys played hard and I’m proud of their effort.”
The Manchester Spartans have been working on and off the field to attempt to ensure a win against Adrian. On practice days, they have two groups of two-hour practices, with one group on the field from 7-9 p.m. and the second group practicing 9:30- 11:30 p.m.
On non-practice days, they have Zoom meetings for updates involving plays, COVID and general news. These players and coaches are sleeping and eating football to prepare for this game and for the spring when they have their conference games.
“The main focus is to continue to get better in what we do,” Jensen said. “These fall games are used to prepare us for our tough conference schedule this spring.”
Saturday has a weather forecast of cloudy skies with a high of 57 degrees. Seating is limited by state regulations to accommodate for COVID. The coaches are working with how many people can attend and it will be announced before the game. As of now, the game will start at 6 p.m. Masks will be required during the duration of the game.