Hall Holds Off MHS In Football Opener

One player does not a team make but if Manchester could have contained Hall’s dynamic two-way starter, Ian Dugger, on Saturday afternoon, perhaps the Indians’ rally wouldn’t have stalled in the fourth quarter.

Manchester had no solutions for the Warriors’ wide receiver and defensive back and Hall, led by Dugger’s receptions and tackles from the secondary, held off the Indians 35-27 in the season-opening CCC interdivision football game in West Hartford.

Dugger had two touchdown receptions among his eight catches for 163 yards. His 35-yard reception on third-and-seven was the pivotal play in the Warriors’ last scoring drive early in the third quarter, his last catch of the game. And when Manchester had possession, he was often in the middle of the pile, moving to the side to reach the ball and darting up to stop the inside rushes.

Dugger, who is 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds with speed and grit, was a one-man wrecking crew in blue, after being a stalwart on the 2010 Hall team that was eliminated in the Class LL quarterfinals.

The Indians trailed 15-0 in the first quarter and by 35-14 late in the third quarter. That was before they established some consistent rhythm on offense and showed that they, too, had potential to strike defenses with big plays, as Hall had done in building its leads.

“It was just tough for us to stop No. 8 [Dugger] from catching the ball,” Manchester coach Marco Pizzoferrato said. “But we knew that was going to be the case coming in.”

Most of Dugger’s receptions were in uncovered areas near the sidelines or in the seams, thrown by Hall senior first-year starting quarterback George Lund while the Indians’ defense was still reacting to the developing play. The plays were well designed and well executed. Manchester’s adjustments resulted in improved coverage of Dugger but couldn’t prevent the damage.

“Ian is fantastic, he’s a great receiver,” said Hall coach Frank Robinson. “The quarterbacks got to get the ball to him, the linemen got to do their blocking but he did a fantastic job.”

Once Hall opened a 35-14 lead not even three minutes into the second half, Robinson shifted the Warriors’ offensive scheme and formation to focus on running and Dugger no longer was the target yet he still was a concern for Manchester’s young defense.

The Indians’ comeback began after Hall’s first series of the second quarter. Manchester moved 55 yards on three plays, in 1:14 of play, scoring on junior running back Elijah Udoh’s 14-yard run and Courtney DeBerry’s point-after kick and it was 15-7. Hall  answered on Dugger’s 62-yard reception from back-up quarterback Zach Dobbins, in his only play on offense.

Manchester responded to that 22-7 deficit with a 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive that took up almost five minutes. The key play was junior Roy Richards’s 43-yard run down the right sidelines that got the ball to the Hall 22-yard line. Six plays later, junior quarterback Marquis Little connected with junior Ashton Grant on a 6-yard touchdown pass. DeBerry’s kick made it 22-14. But the Indians’ defense couldn’t stop Hall and Christian Bohn scored on a 22-yard run in the final minute of the half that ended with a 29-14 Warriors’ lead.

After Hall’s opening possession of the second half made it 35-14, Manchester got back to work again. The Indians needed close to six minutes and 10 plays to drive 75 yards, scoring on Udoh’s 3-yard run. DeBerry’s kick left them down by 35-21.

It took Manchester more than 14 minutes to draw within a touchdown. Hall’s defense held the Indians on downs at the Manchester 38. Senior linebacker Ryan Deschaine recovered a fumble on the Manchester 36 midway through the fourth quarter, which turned into a score. But it took the Indians more than four minutes and 13 plays after the fumble recovery to get the touchdown on Little’s 2-yard run.

“There were a lot of mistakes; there’s no excuses,” Pizzoferrato said. “I knew there were going to be a lot of mistakes in the first game. Usually the biggest improvement in a season is from Week 1 to Week 2 and we’re going to need that.”

Udoh carried 19 times for 83 yards and Richards rushed for 71 yards on nine runs.

Hall, 8-3 last year after an eight-game winning streak, is in the new CCC Division I West, while Manchester, 7-3 a year ago, plays in the CCC Division I East following the off-season realignment by conference officials and athletic directors.