History-Making Season Continuing For Manchester Football

MANCHESTER, NJ — The Manchester Township High School football team has been working for three years for this moment. Hours in the weight room. Hours in the community. Hours in the classroom and on the field, becoming a close-knit group.

On Friday at 6 p.m., the Hawks will take the field at home to host West Deptford in the first round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 playoffs, their first time hosting a state playoff game.

It will be another memory in a sparkling season for the Hawks, who won the Shore Conference Class C South Division, going 5-0 for their first outright division championship in school history. The Hawks are 7-2, recording back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the team's 49-year history.

It's an achievement that has head coach Tom Farrell Jr. beaming with pride for the lessons his team has learned over the last three seasons.

"They learned how to win consistently last year," Farrell said, referring to the 2023 season where Manchester went 8-3, including a four-game win streak to open the season.

"This year they learned how to win on the backs of their brothers," he said. "They trust each other."

That trust was on display when Manchester rallied for victories against Pinelands and Jackson Liberty in back-to-back weeks.

The Hawks were trailing Pinelands with 8 seconds remaining in the game when quarterback Aidan Lunn ran for an 8-yard touchdown to lift Manchester to a 30-26 victory.

The following week, Manchester was trailing 9-0 in the fourth quarter. Farrell said that while the coaching staff was uncertain, the players were not.

" 'Coach, we got this,' they told me," Farrell said. And they did. Marquis Goins Jr. caught a 67-yard touchdown pass from Lunn to close the deficit to 9-7. Lunn then led the Hawks on a game-winning drive capped by a 15-yard run by Lunn and conversion pass from Lunn to Imere Smith for a 15-9 victory.

"I saw the resiliency," Farrell said.

He also saw the immense pride the entire school and community has for the football team. After Manchester defeated Monmouth Regional, winning 42-12 in Tinton Falls on Oct. 25, the team arrived in Manchester to a police and fire truck escort to the high school and the home field lit up and packed with fans.

"These kids played for all the Manchester players who came before them," Farrell said, and the town turned out to thank them. Someone brought bottles of apple cider that the kids sprayed like champagne, celebrating a title they didn't have to share. In 2020, Manchester won a share of a division title in the COVID-shortened season. There were no NJSIAA playoffs that year.

While some football teams draw players because they have a winning tradition, Farrell said the Hawks have been focused on building a foundation for success. This year's team has 18 seniors, and they provide great leadership with a focus on hard work.

"We do things the old-fashioned way with hard work and grit," he said, with a group effort where everyone contributes.

He will be looking for everyone to contribute again Friday night when the team takes on West Deptford. It will be a rematch of the season opener when the Hawks won 26-21 in the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City.

It will challenge Manchester. West Deptford (5-) "has electric players, they're fast," he said.

Farrell also is anticipating a packed crowd to fire up the team, with former Hawks players and alumni show up in their varsity jackets, supporting the next generation as the Hawks try to extend their season.

"This town loves its football," he said.

Farrell is hopeful that the season can continue, but he's not getting ahead of things.

"We take it one game at a time," he said.

The 2024 Manchester Hawks roster