'Built For This Moment': Manchester Football Aims To Add Another Chapter To Dream Season

MANCHESTER, NJ — As his team knelt near the endzone, grins from ear to ear, Manchester football coach Tommy Farrell Jr. told his team how proud he was of how they played in winning a state playoff game for the first time in school history.

"You deserve every bit of this moment, it is an honor to be your coach," Farrell said. He also repeated something he's said many times in the last few weeks:

"You were made for this moment," Farrell said. "Manchester, Lakehurst and Whiting were built for this moment."

The sheer joy that overflowed following the 30-29 victory over West Deptford in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 opening round game is a feeling the Manchester football team will hope to repeat at Point Pleasant Borough High School on Friday.

The Hawks take on Point Boro at 7 p.m. at Al Saner Field, a meaningful intersection of life for the Manchester team, as Saner had joined Farrell as an assistant in his first year coaching in Manchester.

Farrell expects Manchester (8-2) to bring the same blue collar, hard-working attitude to the game against the Panthers that has brought the Hawks a dream season so far that has included the school's first back-to-back winning football seasons, a home playoff game for the first time, and the first playoff victory.

The hard work and plenty of preparation has kept the team confident even in the face of tough moments. Against West Deptford, the Hawks were poised to take the lead at the start of the fourth quarter when quarterback Aiden Lunn threw an interception in Hawks' territory that West Deptford quickly turned into a 29-21 lead.

"I told everyone, 'we have plenty of time,' " Lunn said after the game, recounting the moment.

With the ball back, Lunn got sacked on the next two plays. It's the kind of moment that can be tough to bounce back from.

Lunn and Manchester never flinched.

Lunn ran for a first down, then hit Avery Phillips with a long pass as Lunn was being pursued to set Manchester up at the 2-yard-line. Lunn then bulled into the endzone, but the Hawks couldn't complete the two-point conversion and trailed 29-27.

Manchester's defense went to work and stopped the Eagles, giving the ball back to the Hawks with not much time left on the clock. With less than a minute left, the Hawks tried to push the ball downfield, reaching the 25-yard-line before putting the matter on the shoulders of their kicker, Ian Spicer.

"I told Coach as soon as we get to the 25-yard-line I'm making it," Spicer said, though he admitted he was a little nervous. The stadium was loud with cheers from both sides, and West Deptford called a timeout to try to ice Spicer.

The extra wait seemed to fire up Spicer, who booted a 37-yard field goal that was still rising as it sailed through the uprights, giving Manchester the 30-29 win. It was a career-long field goal in a game for him, Spicer said.

"We call him 'Iced' Spice," Farrell said, adding they had prepared Spicer had prepared for pressure moments like the one against West Deptford by playing loud music and making lots of noise while he was kicking in practice.

Friday's game will test Manchester's resilience once more. Point Boro also is 8-2 and will have the home crowd. The Panthers also tested Toms River North, one of the top public school teams in the state, earlier this season, pushing North before falling 24-21 on Sept. 27. Point Boro has not lost since and beat Gloucester, 41-13, in the opening round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 playoffs.

Farrell hopes his team's grit will rise to the challenge again.

"You beat us, now you gotta win it all," Bryce Wright, the West Deptford running back yelled over to Farrell as the Eagles left on Friday.

Manchester will just take it one game at a time, Farrell's mantra since he first took on the team.