Henderson highlights Homecoming battle

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NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – One by air and one by ground got Manchester University into the end zone Saturday, Oct. 14.

With approval from a partisan crowd of better than 2,000 fans for Homecoming 2017 at Carl W. Burt Memorial Field, sophomore quarterback Alex Downard (Indianapolis, ind.) hit senior wide receiver Dakota Nelson (Fairland, Ind.) for a second period scoring play of 24 yards. The Black and Gold hit pay dirt again in the waning moments of the third period when sophomore running back Donovan Henderson, Jr., (Hollywood, Fla.) continued to impress with a 31-yard scamper for six that eluded several Rose-Hulman defenders.

Even with those two shiny moments on a picturesque October day along the Eel River to go with a second 100-yard-plus rushing effort from Henderson in league play, it wasn't enough to off-set a hard-charging Fightin' Engineers crew from Terre Haute. The visitors put a wet blanket on the large MU throng with a 30-0 scoring roll over a good share of the first half in route to a 44-13 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory.

Senior linebacker Jack Kay (Willamsport, Ind.), freshman linebacker Conner Sherwin (Pierceton, Ind.) and junior defensive lineman Jacob Cooper (Fairland, Ind.) topped the Spartan defensive efforts. Kay finished with 10 tackles including two and a half for losses and a forced fumble, while Sherwin and Cooper wound up with seven and six, respectively. Senior defensive back Cody Shelton (South Bend, Ind.) came away with a pair of takeaways in the form of a fumble recovery and interception.

Manchester University (2-4 overall, 1-3 HCAC) resumes a set of back-to-back home games Saturday, Oct. 21. Bluffton University is their guest for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.