Manchester Falls in Season Finale

Coming out of halftime, it finally looked like the tables had turned.

Throughout the season, the Manchester Hawks football team had built up big leads, only to watch them wither away.

Dealing with these circumstances, it might have even been a relief to not hold a nerve-wracking lead at halftime, trailing rival Monsignor Donovan 14-0 at the half. After the opening drive of the second half, it appeared Manchester would be the squad mounting the comeback. Unfortunately for them, it was not the case as they fell 27-14 to Monsignor Donovan on Friday night.

Senior quarterback Tim Rogers, playing his final game for the Hawks, made it one of his best. The Hawks drove down the field on a six play, 66-yard drive ending in a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior wideout Anthony Cook. Rogers converted the two-point conversion as well, to cut the lead to six.

Rogers threw 31 times for 15 completions, gaining 198 yards and two touchdowns.

"We knew we would be able to throw the ball," said Manchester head coach Gerry O'Donnell, "We made some adjustments and took advantage of the coverage."

Running the ball was a different story for the Hawks. The Griffins' defense only yielded one of Manchester's Joe Johnson breakaway runs, which was a 32-yard gain up the middle in the second quarter.

"That's something that was frustrating for us," said O'Donnell, "They came out with a different look and we wanted to take our chances through the air."

On the following Donovan drive, a methodic drive brought the ball as far as the Hawks 15-yard line before senior cornerback Nick Galletta intercepted the ball. Manchester halfback DaVante Shepherd would take a screen pass 20 yards on the next play, but the drive would stall soon after.

With an opportunity to add to their lead, the Griffins' Grant Klimek burst through the middle on a 35-yard touchdown run on the second play of the fourth quarter to make the advantage 21-8. 

"They're a good, well-coached team," said O'Donnell.

After a turnover on downs, the Griffins only needed two plays, to turn the contest into a three score game. Running back Garrett Hanifin pounded in a 25-yard rush with 4:28 to play.

Rogers would lead the Hawks down for another score, but Manchester was unable to recover the onside kick.

The Griffins never trailed, as quarterback R.J. D'Anton fired a 26-yard strike to wideout Chris Carbone on the opening drive of the game. Grant Klimek gained two yards on third and goal from the two to give the Griffins a 14-0 lead.

Anthony Sasso, Grant Klimek, and Garrett Hanifin all combined to carry the load for Monsignor Donovan.

It was the 34th meeting between the schools, and the win gives Monsignor Donovan the narrow lead 18-16, in the all-time series.

With the win, Monsignor Donovan ends the season at 6-4, a pleasant bounce back from going 2-8 in 2010.

Manchester finishes the year 4-6. Back-to-back losses by a combined three points to Lacey and Central ended up proving costly, and likely bounced the Hawks from the playoffs.