by 
New Franklin, OH – The Manchester Panthers defeated the Fairless Falcons and showed up to play for the home crowd on this brisk fall evening, defending home field for their homecoming game and winning 27-21!
The first quarter tonight started off fairly uneventful, but began to heat up a little bit past the halfway mark, as the Manchester Panthers scored the first touchdown of the night. Running back Phil Partin absolutely refused to go down tonight, as this was the first of his many tough carries. After being wrapped up by the talons of the Falcon defense, Partin escaped the grasp of two Falcon defenders and ran the ball into the endzone for a 15 yard touchdown.
The Falcons kicked off the second quarter with their first touchdown of the night, and quarterback Mikey Ritterback kept the ball and swooped into the endzone for a 14 yard rushing touchdown, tying the score at 7-7.
The Panthers fired back on the very next drive and scored their second touchdown of the night. Quarterback Greyson Swaino pump faked his first pass and then launched a missile through the Falcon defense to receiver Brycen Mauger, good for a 12 yard touchdown, as the Panthers pulled ahead 14-7
The Falcons scored the final touchdown of the first half, after Ontrell Hunter picked off Swaino’s pass, good for a 36 yard pick six which tied up the game 14-14 heading into halftime.
The Panthers scored the next touchdown of the game after Phil Partin broke through the Falcon defense and carried the ball for 74 yards, which wasn’t even his farthest carry of the night!
After a few dry possessions, the Panthers got things going again after Phil Partin broke loose and carried the ball 79 yards down the field, but a touchdown saving tackle by Kaleb Roudebush stopped him just short of the endzone! But it wasn’t enough to get the job done, as he carried the ball into the endzone and scored on the very next play, and the Panthers pounced ahead 27-14.
The Falcons weren’t giving up yet, however. They scored on the very next drive, going 71 yards down the field and capping it off with a 16 yard carry by their quarterback Mikey Ritterbeck and making it a one possession game, 27-21.
However, the score remained stagnant for the rest of the game and the Manchester Panthers pulled out with a win.
The player of the game for the Manchester Panthers was far and away their star running back, Phil Partin. Partin had a phenomenal performance tonight, carrying the ball 23 times for a grand total of 368 yards and three touchdowns, and an interception as well!
The player of the game for the Fairless Falcons was wide receiver Ontrell Hunter, who had six receptions good for 144 yards, and a 36 yard pick six!
Mikey Ritterbeck had a solid game as well, though his passing game wasn’t his best performance, he showed off his prowess at scrambling and escaping pressure. Ritterbeck had 7 carries good for 60 yards, 2 touchdowns, good for 14 and 16 yards respectively.
The Manchester Panthers move on to 4-3 on the season (4-0 against their conference) and will take on the Triway Titans next week. The Fairless Falcons fall to 3-4 on the season, and will face off against the Canton South Wildcats next Friday.
