Mustangs ride tough before undefeated Manchester runs to seventh straight triumph

 Mustangs ride tough before undefeated Manchester runs to seventh straight triumph

By Keno Sultan

Stark County Prep Press writer

www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com

TUSCARAWAS TWP.--The Tuslaw Mustangs were down 12 at halftime but were feeling good about themselves.

A fourth-down touchdown pass by quarterback Ethan Haer to Parker Reinhart slimmed the Manchester lead to five and everything was traversing way inside William E. Kurtz Stadium following a massive blocked punt by the Mustangs special teams.

In two plays after their score, their momentum literally parted.

Manchester sophomore running back Phil Partin's 86-yard touchdown scamper up the middle late in the third quarter immediately quashed the momentum Tuslaw generated and in the end it was just too much for the hosts to overcome as Manchester remained flawless by virtue of a 27-7 second half that parlayed into a 46-14 victory in a PAC-7 contest.

Too much Partin, too many big plays once again resulted in a fourth straight running clock defeat for the Mustangs and first-year general Broc Dial. However, unlike the last three weeks, the running clock wasn't activated until the final three minutes of the contest. After being scored 135-14 the last three weeks, the Mustangs offense was able to score two touchdowns, a bright spot for Dial in what has been an arduous year for him, one year after coaching Dalton to a state championship game before taking the Tuslaw reins.

"I felt like this was a team that got better tonight. We played three quarters tough and a lot of good things. We just have to build on it and continue to get better," Dial said.

Partin will definitely be in the nightmares for the Mustangs. He was responsible for five of the Panthers six offensive touchdowns as he also added on scoring rushes of 19, 8, 2 and 21 yards and was well over 200 yards rushing and he is one that second-year Panthers head coach Kevin Stacy truly is salivating over.

"We just stayed the course and our kids were fighting. Credit to them (Tuslaw). They were really well coached and they were giving us everything they could handle and Partin was able to bust one there and take the momentum back there and were able to put together some drives there," Stacy said.

Partin's first two carries came in large chunks of 21 and 19 yards with the latter resulting in an early 7-0 advantage. On the Panthers fifth possession after an interception by linebacker Jayce Mauger garnered them possession again seven plays after Tuslaw's Nate Eberhart snuffed out a Manchester drive with an interception, Partin would score on an eight-yard touchdown run and early in the second quarter it seemed like Manchester was on the cusp of a running clock victory.

TOP MUSTANG. Tuslaw head coach Broc Dial prepares for Friday night's contest against undefeated Manchester at William E. Kurtz Stadium. The Mustangs succumbed to Manchester 46-14. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press).

Tuslaw got a much needed voltage of energy when Haer converted a deep pass on fourth down and needing six yards as Reinhart made a sterling catch deep in Panthers territory. Three plays later, Mustang running back Joey Medure willed his way into the end zone and truncated Tuslaw's deficit to 12-7.

Before the intermission, Manchester survived two holding penalties and quarterback Yadin Sharp found receiver Jake Livingston in the back corner for a touchdown and Manchester took a 19-7 lead into the locker room.

Leading at halftime was something these Panthers were not used to last season in a 1-9 campaign that saw them lose multiple games that were close. No one knew that better than Stacy, a former Northwest quarterback whose father, Tom was the patriarch of Massillon for three seasons as their head football coach and once the offensive coordinator under Lee Owens from 1988-1991.

"Last year these kids got their butts kicked. And they grew from it. They never quit and that was a big motivator for us to get into the weight room and get better," he said. "Coach Dial is doing the same thing with those guys and they are going to be a force to be reckoned with soon. For us, it was learning the hard way and coming out on the short end of the stick too many times last year, we have learned a lot and are still growing and that's great to see."

Tuslaw had one last gallop in them through the blocked punt and Haer's touchdown pass to Reinhart before Partin's long scoring run deflated their hopes. Evan Kusmits scored the final touchdown for the visitors with a 21-yard scoring run that actuated the running clock.

Manchester has the vista of a team that  poised for a deep playoff run. But for now, they are seriously thinking about an outright PAC-7 conference title; however they will be immensely challenged by Triway (6-1 at press time) and 5-2 Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (CVCA) with Fairless at 3-4 sandwiched between them.

Stacy wants his charges to enjoy the wins but also to stay laser focused on what got them to their undefeated record, the same approach that his father took at Massillon that allowed them to overcome two consecutive 4-6 seasons and restore the Tigers program to respectability.

"One week a a time. Our players are doing a good job of not looking ahead," Stacy said.

For Tuslaw, the pains of losing continue at 2-5 but this game was not an early running clock as their last three losses were save for a 17-0 season opening loss to Smithville, a sign that Dial has his legion of Mustangs trending in the proper direction.

Salvaging a .500 season is now the goal for the Mustangs going forward, something that will start next week against Orrville and finishing up with Canton South and Fairless as those teams are a combined 8-13, providing hope for Tuslaw and it will start with them looking to score more than just two touchdowns.

"We just have to keep the kids focused and we have three weeks left so we have to continue to get better the next three weeks, focusing day-by-day and get better," Dial said.

FORCEFUL PANTHER. Manchester head coach Kevin Stacy watches his team warmup prior to Friday's game at Tuslaw. Manchester defeated the Mustangs 46-14 to improve their record to 7-0 on the season. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press).

Keno Sultan is a writer for Stark County Prep Press. He can be reached at 440-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.