Turnovers doom Fleetwood effort against Manheim Central
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Clay Oberholtzer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Fleetwood fell just short in a valiant comeback, losing 28-26 to visiting Manheim Central in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section 3 game Friday night.
The Tigers’ defense allowed just 14 points and forced five three-and-outs, three in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers also recovered two fumbles, the first coming on the first play of the game, setting up their first touchdown. Landen Hare was a force off the edge, collecting two sacks in the game.
On paper, the Tigers (0-4, 3-5) dominated in nearly every facet of the game. They had 308 total yards along with 17 first downs, compared to 182 yards and seven first downs for the Barons (1-3, 3-5).
| Section 3 | ||
| Conrad Weiser | 5-0 | 8-0 |
| Cocalico | 4-0 | 6-2 |
| Warwick | 3-2 | 4-4 |
| Garden Spot | 1-3 | 3-4 |
| Solanco | 1-3 | 3-5 |
| Manheim | 1-3 | 3-5 |
| Fleetwood | 0-4 | 3-5 |
Fleetwood got into an early hole due to turnovers.
A costly fumble returned for a touchdown and a Pick-Six spotted the Barons 14 defensive points, costing the Tigers their early lead.
“The first one is on me,” said Tigers coach Steve Pangburn taking ownership on his team’s first fumble in which it tried to run a reverse pass play with Davyan Moore as the passer.
“It’s not a good play call,” Pangburn said. “We had worked on a gadget play there and it failed miserably. They brought some heat from the outside, and tracked (Moore) down from the front side.”
The momentum pendulum seemed to swing in full favor of Manheim Central.
“It was in that last four or five minutes of that first half that we just came alive,” said Manheim Central coach Dave Hahn. “It took one play. Give us that spark, give us that momentum and we capitalized on it.”
After their first drive the Tigers offense seemed to sputter. They were never able to mount sustained drives. The Tigers ground game was never able to get its footing, rushing for just 32 yards. The Barons defense had their number.
As Manheim Central scored to open up the second half, all seemed bleak for the Tigers, who trailed 28-6. Pangburn kept the message simple for his team.
“Make adjustments, stay positive,” he said.
The young Barons seemed to get complacent with their big lead, not gaining much on offense while the Tigers bottled up 215-pound running back Brodie Daugherty.
“I wish we came out in that second half with a little bit of that momentum, but we’re so young, we didn’t handle it right,” said Hahn.
As Fleetwood struggled rushing the ball, Pangburn leaned on junior quarterback Chase McMonagle, and the Fleetwood defense put together an incredible fourth quarter.
McMonagle threw three touchdown passes. He was able to use his legs when pressured and got rid of the ball quickly to his open receivers, often targeting Tristin McFarland, who had four receptions in the fourth quarter, including a 12-yard touchdown.
McMonagle scrambled to his right to find Bryce Ryan on a short pass. Ryan made one cutback inside and galloped 49 yards for a touchdown to pull the Tigers to within 28-26 with 2:56 remaining. The Tigers failed on a two-point conversion run that would have tied the score.
“I try to keep my eyes downfield,” McMonagle said. “I was a little banged up, so I wasn’t looking to run too much. My guys know when they see me running around, they just get back to me and give me a place to throw the ball.”
The defense came up with one final crucial three-and-out, giving the offense over two minutes of the clock to get at least three points.
McMonagle took a deep shot on the first play of the potential game winning drive but the ball wound up in the hands of Asher Cook for an interception. The Barons were able to run out the clock to clinch the win.
“I had more time than I realized,” McMonagle said of the interception. “I wanted to take the shot immediately, it wasn’t there and shouldn’t have taken it. I knew it as I threw it. I’ll learn from it.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Manheim Central | 0 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| Fleetwood | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 26 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Fleetwood | Domenech, 35 pass from McMonagle (kick failed) | 6:49 |
| 2 | Manheim Central | Rolon, 30 fumble return (White kick) | 2:27 |
| 2 | Manheim Central | Oxceva, 50 interception return (White kick) | 1:49 |
| 2 | Manheim Central | Cook, 15 pass from Jahnigen (White kick) | 0:00 |
| 3 | Manheim Central | Daugherty, 1 run (White kick) | 5:32 |
| 4 | Fleetwood | McFarland, 12 pass from McMonagle (Cappellano kick) | 10:18 |
| 4 | Fleetwood | Kummerer, 3 run (Cappellano kick) | 5:53 |
| 4 | Fleetwood | Ryan, 49 pass from McMonagle (run failed) | 2:56 |
Team statistics
| Manheim Central | Fleetwood | |
| First downs | 7 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 37-139 | 23-32 |
| Passing yards | 43 | 308 |
| Total yards | 182 | 340 |
| Passes | 6-8-0 | 19-37-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-2 | 3-2 |
| Punts-average | 4-29 | 3-21.7 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-50 | 5-35 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Manheim Central: B. Daugherty 20-81, Werner 1-51, Geib 12-31, Moyer 1- (-1), Jahnigen 3-(-23).
Fleetwood: Kummerer 13-23, Hare 1-15, Wamsher 1-6, Peon 2-3, Moore 3-3, Killian 1-2, McFarland 1-0, McMonagle 1- (-20).
PASSING
Manheim Central: Jahnigen 6-7-0–43, Team 0-1-0–0.
Fleetwood: McMonagle 19-36-2–308, Team 0-1-0–0.
RECEIVING
Manheim Central: Cook 3-37, Cornish 2-2, Morales 1-4 .
Fleetwood: McFarland 7-84, Moore 6-111, Ryan 2-58, Domenech 2-42, Hare 2-13.
INTERCEPTIONS
Manheim Central: Oxceva, Cook.
