Hanover vs. Manchester, Oct. 25
Last-minute TD lifts Hanover, Austin to first win
Head coach Joe Austin earned his first career coaching victory with a 35-34 victory against Manchester College. The Heartand Collegiate Athletic Conference game was played Saturday, Oct. 25, in North Manchester, Ind.
With just 56 seconds remaining, freshman quarterback Nick Sharp (Indianapolis, Ind.) hit senior receiver Tyler Thiems (Indianapolis, Ind.) with an eight-yard touchdown pass to knot the game at 34-34. Senior Bobby Smart (Coral Springs, Fla.) nailed the extra-point to lift Hanover to its first win of the season (1-5; 1-3 HCAC).
Manchester placekicker Ian Fry attempted a 43-yard field goal with six seconds left in the contest. Fry's effort had the distance, but missed to the left.
Hanover rallied from a 21-7 second-half deficit to post the victory, which marked the Panthers' 12th straight against Manchester (4-2; 2-2 HCAC).
Hanover jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter when Sharp connected with freshman receiver Daniel Passafiume (Louisville, Ky.) on a 17-yard touchdown.
Manchester countered with two rushing touchdowns in the opening period and a scoring pass with just 32 seconds left in the second quarter to build the 21-7 advantage at the intermission.
Thiems, who had four second-half touchdown receptions, raced 45 yards for a touchdown to pull Hanover within 21-14 with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. He scored on a four-yard pass from Sharp in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter to pull the Panthers into a 21-21 tie.
Manchester quarterback Caleb Grimes tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jared Yoder with 12:26 left to push the Spartans ahead 28-21.
Hanover, again answered, with Sharp hitting Thiems from 13 yards out to tie the game with 10 minutes to play.
Manchester running back Brandon Wells ended a six-play, 66-yard scoring drive with a five-yard run with 7:02 to go to give the Spartans a 34-28 lead. Fry missed the extra-point attempt after making his previous four in the contest.
Hanover mounted an eight-play, 69-yard drive for the game-winning score. Sharp hit 5-of-6 passes on the drive, which included a pass interference call on Manchester on a fourth-and-seven play from the Spartans' 34-yard-line.
Hanover totaled 356 yards of offense. The Panthers rushed for a season-high 160 yards against Manchester, which allowed just 105 rushing yards per game coming into the contest. The Spartans rolled up 499 yards of offense, including 253 yards on the ground.
Sharp finished the contest 19-of-30 for 196 yards with five touchdowns. He was sacked three times.
Thiems hauled in 12 passes for 102 yards and four touchdowns. Freshman running back Jeremy Cook (Batesville, Ind.) rushed 17 times for a season-best 87 yards.
Freshman defensive back Rory Mannering (Walton, Ind.) led Hanover's defensive unit with 19 tackles. Junior defensive back Corry Stewart (Nashville, Tenn.) added 15 stops for the Panthers.
