November 4, 2022

Manchester Football Strives against Bluffton for Homecoming

Noah Proffitt

On Saturday, October 22, the Manchester football team had their Homecoming game against Bluffton. It was a thrilling game, with plenty of students, faculty, families and alumni cheering on the Spartans. The stands were filled with fans cheering on the team, as they played against Bluffton’s team.

The Spartans started strong in the first quarter, keeping even with Bluffton, with both teams scoring 3 points. They continued to keep this match up with Bluffton at the beginning of the second quarter getting the touchdown and the extra point. Bluffton however kept up by scoring a touchdown and an extra point. Both teams ended the first half by scoring 7 points each. In the second half, the Spartans scored 3 more points. Then in the final quarter, the Spartans scored another 3 points with a field goal, Bluffton however scored another 13 points. They ended the final quarter with both teams ending with 30 points each. It then went into overtime with each team scoring another 7 points. This then cause the team to go into another overtime quarter, but each team gained another 4 points. Bluffton scored with an 18-yard pass, having both teams end the quarter with each team having 44 points. In the final overtime quarter, Bluffton scored another 2 points with a 3-yard pass. Ending the game with the Spartans having 44 points and Bluffton ending with 46 points. The Spartans fought hard and managed to keep up against Bluffton with multiple overtime.

In the stands the Spartan crowd was yelling and cheering on their football team, the seats were packed tight with fans, students, alumni, and family members of the team. One woman in the crowd had an air horn with her, blasting it off each time the team scored a point. Families also gathered up on the hills next to the stands where they laid out with their families on blankets. The smell of hotdogs and nachos filled the air and the sounds of kids running up and down the hills could be heard.

During the game, there was plenty of entertainment to be had while the game went on. There were multiple food trucks, serving all types of food alongside like Baby Got Mac, Tacos Los Gordo’s, The Baker’s Daughter, and plenty of others to choose from. Many clubs and organizations run by Manchester students were selling items and clothing to help raise for the fundraiser. For students that are interested in medical health, there was the Pharmacy Health Fair & College Connections Tent, where students were able to meet with Pharmacy professors and students and could start their connections in the field.

There were plenty of alumni at the game; some were parents of the football players watching their kids. Some were there for the Alumni Honor Awards Banquet, which had taken place before the game, where multiple alumni met up to honor Beverly McEntarffer, Rex Miller, Nicholas Kenny and Samantha Chapman. Many of the alumni were wearing badges that showed their graduation year and their anniversary of that year. Many of these alumni could be seen conversing with one another, some from the same anniversary date or others from completely different graduation years.

Even though the Spartans lost this game, in the end, it was a tight, close match. The team fought on till the very end and even into overtime.