Spring-Ford stopped by Manheim Township’s aerial assault, 26-13

Royersford >> Ailed by a sluggish offensive performance and a handful of costly turnovers, the Spring-Ford football team was defeated by Manheim Township 26-13 in a non-conference showdown at Coach McNelly Stadium Friday night.

Manheim Township sophomore quarterback Hayden Johnson had a four-touchdown night (26-for-45, 278 yards), connecting twice with Penn State-bound wide receiver Anthony Ivey and twice with sophomore Landon Kennel.

Kolten Kqira (5 catches, 76 yards) caught both Spring-Ford scores.

The Blue Streaks struck first in the opening quarter, as quarterback Johnson found senior wide receiver Ivey in the back of the end zone for a 19-yard scoring reception with 6:02 remaining in the first. Manheim Township would only lead by six points however, as the Spring-Ford special teams squad blocked the extra-point attempt.

The Rams would answer on the following possession, coming away with a touchdown of their own on a seven-play scoring drive ending in a trick-play score. Spring-Ford senior quarterback Ryan Freed tossed the ball to junior wide receiver Jake Reigh, who turned his eyes downfield and found a wide-open receiver in senior Kolten Kqira for the 35-yard score. After a successful extra-point, the Rams would take a 7-6 over the Blue Streaks heading into the second quarter of play.

Manheim Township would regain control on their opening drive of the second quarter, as Johnson found sophomore receiver Landon Kennel in the back corner of the end zone for the 13-7 score after a successful extra point attempt.

Momentum began to snowball against the Rams on the ensuing kickoff as the Spring-Ford returner fumbled the ball on the return, handing the ball back to the Blue Streaks in Rams territory at the 42-yard line. Spring-Ford’s defense once again stepped up to the challenge, holding Manheim Township to a 32-yard field goal attempt, which bounced off the upright and out.

The Rams’ offense was unable to take advantage of the momentum, fizzling out with a five-play drive and allowing the Blue Streaks to head into half-time still holding a 13-7 lead.

“We couldn’t convert first downs,” Spring-Ford coach Chad Brubaker said of the effect offensive struggles had on the defense. “All things considered we played well defensively, we just need to play better offensively. Zach Zollers was all over the field and played unbelievable; he’s going to be exhausted. We didn’t get a ton of pressure on the quarterback, but we got enough to put him into some bad situations where we were able to stay in the game. But if you don’t move the ball and change the field, you’re in trouble.”

Manheim Township would increase their lead on their second possession of the third quarter as Johnson found Kennel for their second scoring connection of the game on a seven-yard touchdown that gave the Blue Streaks a commanding 20-7 lead over the Rams.

Another four-and-out by Spring-Ford ending with a punt turned into a third consecutive touchdown and a 26-7 lead for Manheim Township as Johnson and Ivey connected for their second score of the game, this time on a 24-yard score (and another blocked extra-point) with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter.

The two teams would spend the remainder of the third and the opening of the fourth quarter trading four-and-outs and turnovers, as the Blue Streaks came away with an interception and a fumble-recovery.

“They [Manheim Township] tackled very well, we didn’t make a lot of guys miss,” Brubaker said. “But we wanted to mix it up a little bit and get the ball out into space and like I said, they just tackled well. We’ll have to go back and look at the film.”

Freshman quarterback Matt Zollers would make an appearance for the Rams in the latter possessions of the game, coming away with Spring-Ford’s only score of the second half on a 29-yard pass to Kqira with just under two minutes remaining.

Spring-Ford (2-2, 0-0) now looks ahead to a tough conference-opening matchup next Friday against Perkiomen Valley (2-2, 0-0), who fell at home 43-40 to Manheim Central on Friday.