Game 6: Tallmadge 13, Manchester 0

The long road trip to Manchester was made worthwhile as B Team Blue bested the Panthers by a final score of 13-0.

This contest was definitely a huge defensive effort for Tallmadge, as the mighty Devils' D bent but did not break. The Panthers won the coin toss and elected to receive to begin the contest. After a failed drive the Tallmadge offense took over but also failed to generate even as much as a first down the entire first quarter and even the entire first half. Big plays from B Team Blue defenders in the first half, most notably, Tyler Cupps with a big sack in the second quarter for a six yard loss on third down:



and a big play on fourth down from both Dallas Hukill and Colton Stricker, who had a breakout game on this day:



After taking possession, B Team Blue quickly fumbled the ball away and Manchester mounted another drive beginning at the Tallmadge 46. More big plays from the Devils' defense during this drive including a nice hit by big Nick Carey:



and a great tackle by Jeffrey Natcher:



On this drive, the Panthers' RB slipped away from the line and rumbled downfield for 18 yards from the Tallmadge 33 yard line. However, Kane Wolfe made a big touchdown-saving tackle driving the runner out of bounds:



The Panthers were able to get as close as the 10 yard line but here the Devils' defense stiffened up as time ticked down. First a third down tackle by Jeff Natcher for a loss and on a fourth and 13 with 11 seconds left, Bobby Clark made a huge play for the Devils! Bobby had a MONSTER game for the defense, closing out the first half with 0-0 showing on the board!!



After a highly motivational halftime speech involving lunches getting eaten, girls on their team, etc., the B Team Blue offense finally woke up and mounted their first scoring drive of the game beginning at the Panthers 44. On a fourth and 11 from the 45 yard line, Kane Wolfe swings to the right and scrambles 15 yards for the Devils' first first down of the day!



On the following series, Kane sees daylight open up in the offensive line and scores B Team Blue's first touchdown of the day from 21 yards out. Tallmadge fails to convert but now leads 6-0.



Not much from the Panthers on their next possession as they go 4 and out, highlighted by an Andrew Francesconi stop on a faked punt attempt:



Now the Devils' offense takes over again and begins a long scoring and possession drive to end the third quarter with a 6-0 lead and into the fourth quarter as Colton Stricker returns from what he called "hibernation". On second and seven from the 35 yard line, Colton breaks loose to the left for a 15-yard run:



Unfortunately, he had a little help on this run and a holding call brings it back. Soon B Team Blue finds themselves on fourth and ten at the Panthers' 33 yard line and execute what could possibly be the key play of the game. Once again, the line opens up and Kane Wolfe hits the hole for a gain of 15 yards and a first down!



On the very next play, Colton Stricker swings left and strides into the end zone for B Team Blue's second touchdown!



Nick Carey powers up the middle to convert the TD, and the Devils take a 13-0 lead with 5:12 left on the clock.



The Panthers did not quit at this point and decided to go no huddle to begin a drive of their own. However, the Tallmadge defense once again rises to the occasion and on a fourth and five from the Manchester 48 yard line make a huge stop just short of the first down marker:



The Panthers were able to have one more shot during the closing minutes, but Colton Stricker caps off a great day with this final fumble recovery, pausing to "savor the moment".



Great team play all around on this one. Big plays by the defense highlighted by key tackles by Nick Carey and Bobby Clark. The offense was slow to get going, but once they did Colton Stricker was a big playmaker for B Team Blue!

Next week, our final home game at Overdale Field against the Ravenna Rams. One note, please be at the field for warmups at 5:45pm, not 6:00pm.