LYNN — Despite struggling offensively for much of the first half in Thursday night's clash at St. Mary's, the Manchester Essex football team remained within striking distance heading into the break. That was in large part due to a pair of beautiful passing connections from junior quarterback Zach Hurd to receiver Jarrett Croft, who linked up for a pair of second quarter touchdowns to draw within four against a high-powered Spartans team at recess.
But any glimmer of hope the Hornets' possessed from there was quickly extinguished by a St. Mary's team that seemingly couldn't be held in check. Utilizing an effective hurry-up offense, the Spartans duo of Dimitri Koutsouflakis and Rowan Merryman rumbled on the ground to combine for three third quarter scores to run away from their non-conference foe for good in an eventual 43-25 victory.
Koutsouflakis carried the ball a whopping 29 times for 206 yards while Merryman chipped 141 yards on 22 totes in the win. The two backs combined for six touchdowns, and the Hornets simply had no answer for them all night. Manchester countered with some strong play by Hurd under center.
The junior signal caller threw for 163 yards and the two touchdowns to Croft. The first came on third and long from midfield as he launched one down the sidelines and Croft hauled it in for a 50-yard score to bring the Hornets within 16-6 late in the second. Then, just before the halftime buzzer sounded, Hurd scrambled in the pocket, evading multiple tackles and l.
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