NORTH MANCHESTER, IND.-- Manchester fought back from a 14-point first half deficit to defeat Trine, 29-28, in the season-opener that concluded Sunday afternoon at Burt Memorial Field.
Logan Haston's two-yard touchdown run with 3:41 remaining completed the Spartan comeback. MU trailed by two touchdowns late in the first half, and trailed by as much as 11 points in the second half. The win was the first by the Spartans over the Thunder since 2006, snapping a seven-game Trine win-streak in the series. Haston threw for 245 yards and a touchdown on 22-of-36 passing, and added 12 yards rushing. Taylor Masiewicz (Belmont, Mich./Rockford) completed 19-of-33 passes for 212 yards and rushed for nine yards and three scores to lead TU. The three rushing TD's were the most for a Trine quarterback since Eric Watt in 2008. The game concluded Sunday after being postponed after the first quarter Friday night. Trine opens the season 0-1. Manchester is 1-0 for the first time since 2006.
Austin Shoemaker (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) led Trine on the ground, rushing for 112 yards on 12 carries. He scored one touchdown. Anthony Yoder (Goshen, Ind./Concord) caught a career-high four passes for 70 yards. Defensively, Ryan Hogan (Vine Grove, Ky./Meade County) led Trine with a four tackles-for-loss. The senior had eight tackles overall.
Austin Adams carried the ball 26 times for 103 yards to lead the Manchester rushing attack. Dakota Nelson accounted for two Manchester TD's, one on a punt return and one receiving. He caught 12 passes for 120 yards. Taylor Anglemeyer anchored the defense with nine stops.
After the Thunder defense forced a Manchester three-and-out on the first possession of the game, Trine responded with a touchdown drive to take the lead. Trine converted three third-downs on the drive, including a 19-yard completion from Masiewicz to Yoder on a 3rd-and-17 to keep the chains moving. Masiewicz capped the 12-play, 50-yard drive with a two-yard keeper for his first TD at Trine to make the score 7-0.
The two teams traded stops before the Spartan special teams made the big play to get back in the game. Nelson took a Trine punt 91 yards back to house to knot the score at seven-apiece.
That score would hold through the end of the first quarter before the two teams entered the lightning delay and postponement. After the game was called shortly after 11 p.m. Friday night, the two teams resumed play Sunday afternoon at 1:30.
Each defense came through with stops, before Shoemaker busted a long run to give the Thunder the lead. The senior took the handoff around the left side, weaving his way through the Spartan defense and pulling away for a 78-yard score to put the Thunder up 14-7.
After another stop, Trine marched right down the field again for another rushing score. Masiewicz capped the 7-play, 70-yard drive with a two-yard plunge through the middle to put Trine up 21-7. Key plays on the drive included a 26-yard rush by Frank Vuocolo (Jackson, Mich./Grass Lake) and a 32-yard completion from Masiewicz to Jared Barton (Middleton, Mich./Fulton).
A late drive to close the first half helped the Spartans cut into the Thunder lead. MU was able to take advantage of a couple Trine penalties to keep the sticks moving, and Andrew Coe nailed a 37-yard field goal as time expired to cut the halftime score to 21-10.
The Spartans continued their comeback on the first drive of the second half, as Adams capped a 7-play, 84-yard drive with a one-yard TD run. Trine answered right back with a 5-play, 51-yard drive of their own, capped by a Masiewicz five-yard rush make the score 28-17. That would be the last time Trine would score on the afternoon.
Manchester cut the game to a one-possession score with 2:05 on the clock in the third, as Haston hit Nelson for a one-yard score on fourth and goal. A failed two-point conversion off a bad snap left the score at 28-23 in favor of TU.
The turning point came after a Trine turnover deep in Manchester territory. The Spartans took control of the ball on their own 22 with 7:42 remaining and marched the ball down to the Trine 2. After stops on first-and-second and goal, Haston carried the ball in from two yards out to cap the comeback. The two-point pass failed.
The Thunder had an opportunity to drive in the closing minutes, but the Spartan defense stood tall to seal the victory.
Trine will host Milliken next Saturday, Sep. 13 at 1:00 p.m. in the home-opener for the Thunder at Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.