Maconaquah Schools

The thrill-a-minute Maconaquah Braves erased a 28-0 halftime deficit with 29 second-half points to capture a pulsating 29-28 Three Rivers Conference win over the Manchester Squires Friday night when junior Nolan Tarrh split the uprights with a 28-yard field goal with three seconds left in the game. It is the largest comeback win in Maconaquah's 63-year history. The previous largest rally came in 2014 when the Braves trailed 21-0 at Western and went on to win, 25-21. The incredible come-from-behind triumph was a game of two halves with the hosts dominating the first 24 minutes and the Braves storming back after intermission to secure the all-important win and move to 8-0 on the year. More importantly, Coach Michael Fenters' defending TRC champions will now trek to Rochester to face the Zebras in a winner-take-all heavyweight championship matchup Friday night. Both teams are the league's only unbeatens (7-0) and were tabbed by many as pre-season favorites to secure this years title. Rochester is 7-1 overall, riding a six-game winning streak. MHS defeated Rochester, 30-14, to win the 2024 crown. "Absolutely great job," Fenters told the jubilant team following the contest. "This was a special game, but we've got a long way to go." He and assistant coach Dan Robinson were then quick to point out the two "big plays" by Mac's special teams in the final 78 seconds of the game . . . a perfectly executed Colton Beebe onside kick recovered by teammate Jaxon Sullivan and Tarrh's game-winning kick . . . his second-game winner in the last four weeks. After Manchester took the opening kick and grabbed a 7-0 lead at the 7:49 mark, the Squires got the ball back two minutes later when Mac's first offensive possesion came up a yard short at it's own 34. The Squires wasted no time and jumped out to a 14-0 lead 45 seconds later on a 31-yard TD pass from Dallas Martin to Eli Metzger. Martin would go on to make significant plays in the second quarter giving the Squires a seemingly-safe 28-0 lead at halftime. A pair of Maconaquah red-zone interceptions led to Manchester's next two TD's and the 6'5" senior quarterback did most of the groundwork. Facing third-and-14 situation early in the second period, he rambled 70-yards to paydirt, 21-0. He topped that with 1:04 showing when he escaped pressure and went the distance from 80 yards out on a third-and-20 play. The Squires finished with 250 yards rushing in the first half and the 28-0 lead at intermission. The Braves limited Manchester to 68 yards on the ground in the final 24 minutes of action. Then came the topsy-turvy second half with Conner Eldridge kickstarting the Braves with a dandy 50-yard run. Maconaquah's got on the board at the 8:46 mark when Marcell Sims scored from a yard out. The extra-point PAT kick was blocked, 28-6. Manchester's first possession of the second half was halted when big Joe Butcher threw Martin for an eight-yard loss at the Brave 29 on fourth down. After an incompletion, Aiden Robinson and Sims toted the pigskin for six and five yards respectively moving Mac to its own 40. A 60-yard Robinson-to-Tarrh TD strike on the next play trimmed the deficit 28-12 with 4:26 showing. The two-point conversion run attempt failed after a little discussion between the officials ruled that Sims was short of the goal line. The Braves would take possession again late in the third quarter after the game's only punt ended up at the Mac 21. Maconaquah would convert three third down situations in the next 3:27 and pull to within eight, 28-20, at the 9:39 mark when Sims scored from the one again and then powered his way in on the two-point try. With the big momentum swing and Maconaquah suddenly back in the ballgame, it was Chase Washburn's time to shine and personally halt Manchester's next scoring threat. After the Squires reached the Maconaquah 25, Washburn had a one-yard tackle-for-loss and ended Manchester's chance to ice the game with a huge nine-yard quarterback sack on fourth down with 3:33 remaining. Taking over at their own 39, the Braves steadily marched downfield with Sims carrying the ball seven times to go along with an 11-yard keeper and first down by Robinson. Tarrh hauled in passes of nine and 10 yards during the drive that ended with a Sims five-yard TD burst with 1:18 left in the game. The Squires owned a 28-26 lead when Sims' two-point attempt to tie the game came up short. The final 78 ticks of the game will go down as perhaps the wildest in Brave history. Everyone in the house knew an onside kick was coming and the Braves executed it with perfection as Sullivan covered Beebe's kick at the Squire 49. Robinson sandwiched an incompletion with nine-yard passes to Tarrh and Eldridge to get things started. After a pair of incompletons and timeout with :35 left, another Robinson-to-Tarrh nine-yard pass moved Mac to the 22 setting a big fourth-and-one. Sims got the call and responded with six yards and a first down at the 16. After another timeout and a QB spike by Robinson, Sims carried to the 11. After the clock was stopped with another spike, the field goal unit was sent on the field on fourth down and Tarrh delivered the knockout punch with the game-winner from 28 yards out as time expired. Manchester returned the ensuing kick eight yards after three seconds were put back the clock. Sims finished the game with a career-high 32 carries, 148 yards and three TD's. The state's fourth-leading scorer entering the game, he became the ninth different player in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. He now has 1,136 on the year and 2,171 in three seasons moving past Alan Mills and Jared Blake into fifth place on the career rushing list at Maconaquah. Besides kicking the game-winning field goal, Tarrh added his name to the record book by hauling in 15 passes for 219 yards. The 15 catches wipes out the previous MHS mark of 14 set by Fuddy Kile vs North Miami in 2022. He became the sixth player in school history to score 200 points and moved past Vernon Robinson into sixth place on the career scoring list with 200 exactly . . . thanks to "The Kick" Unofficially, Butcher topped the tackle charts with 13 stops. Helping out were: Washburn (9), Carsten Hollars (8), Tarrh (7) and Landon Morgan (6). DaKoda Dauenhauer finished with five, while Cris Rizo, Aiden Ousley and Sims were each credited with four. > > > SIDELINE NOTES > > > . . . . The win is Maconaquah's 17th straight regular season win . . . a school record . . . . It is the Braves' 15th straight conference win . . . also a school record . . . . It it the eighth consecutive win on the road for MHS . . . a new record . . . . Robinson threw for 329 yards, completing 27 of 50 passes . . . . Sims has now scored 144 points this year, tying the school record for most points in a season set by Carter Little in 2019 . . . . With the win, Maconaquah evened the all-time series with the Squires, 3-3 . . . . The Braves remained ranked No. 6 in the Class 3A poll and are now one of four unbeaten teams remaining in Class 3A heading into the regular season finale with Rochester . . . . Manchester had its three-game win streak snapped and fell to 5-3 overall and to 5-2 in the TRC . . . . Through its first seven games Maconaquah trailed a total of 5:06. The Braves trailed 43:46 vs Manchester . . . . The IHSAA tournament drawing is Sunday at 6 p.m. and is exclusively streamed on IHSAAtv.org or Indiana Champions Network