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Bedford – The dynamic duo of Mason Sullivan and Luke Gardner outran the one man show of Ethan Wright to give Kirtland the 32-7 win over Manchester.
It was windy, wet and cold so both teams had but no choice other than rely on their strong running game. The weather also led to double digit penalty flags as the teams combined for almost 20.
Luke Gardner looked incredible tonight, rushing for 149 yards on only 9 carries. He also scored twice on the ground including his very first carry of the game for 81 yards. He also caught a touchdown pass the second time he touched the ball for 80 yards. He spun and bulldozed through everyone in his path.
His dynamic duo running mate Mason Sullivan also lit it up with 128 yards on only 14 carries including a 53-yard dash in the fourth quarter that ended all doubt if there was any to begin with.
For the Manchester Panthers it truly was a one man show of excellence as do it all player Ethan Wright looked absolutely incredible in all three phases of the game. Wright made one big tackle after another on defense, and per his usual ran wild on offense.
Wright finished with 148 yards on 29 carries and a touchdown. He bolted off dazzling runs of 62,10, and 42 yards before it was over. Each of those resulted in him hurdling over diving tacklers.
Before anyone could blink, Luke Gardner made it 15-0 Hornets only minutes into the game. He bolted for a 81 yard touchdown on the Hornets second play from scrimmage.
Then the next time they touched the ball it was Gardner again, this time catching an over the shoulder pass from Liam Powers and dashing ahead for a beautiful 80-yard touchdown strike. Just like that, five minutes in, it was 15-0 Kirtland.
After a 7-yard touchdown hurdling run from Ethan Wright cut the score to 15-7, Gardner would strike again. This time, Gardner spun, stiff armed and demolished his way to a 23-yard touchdown run to give the Hornets 22-7. It would never be closer as Gardner broke the spirit of the Panthers.
The feisty and banged up Hornet defense stiffened up even more in the second half and shutout the Panthers 10-0. The final score was Kirtland 32-7 as they advance to the final four in Division Five.
Excellent re-cap. Came away with an overall feel for the game without having to get cold or wet!