Outside The County-Maconaquah

Results from Maconaquah for Friday, October 7th and Saturday, October 8th

Seeking their first conference championship since 1991, the Maconaquah Braves remained in the title hunt here Friday night by edging the Manchester Squires, 26-18.

The Three Rivers Conference win sets up next weeks “Senior Night” clash when Rochester visits Maconaquah to close out the regular season. In order for Coach Tyler Campbell’s gang to secure a three-way share of the crown the Braves must come away with a win and get a Tipp Valley loss at Southwood. Valley is the lone unbeaten team at 7-0 in league play, while Mac, Rochester and Southwood all stand at 6-1.

For the second time in the past three games, Maconaquah blew a seemingly-safe halftime lead after being in command, 26-0, after the opening 24 minutes.  


In a game showcasing two of the top three quarterbacks in the TRC, it was Mac's Braxton Birner who stole the show on this night.  The junior signal-caller, who ranks third in the state in passing yards and leads the state in completions etched his name in the MHS record books once again.  


 He completed 28 of 45 passes, good for 321 yards and all four Brave touchdowns.  He broke the single-season records for attempts, completions and yards that he set a year ago.  


 Birner's first completed pass of the game was a 66-yard TD bomb to Fuddy Kile just 43 seconds into the contest.  Kyler Hanson booted the PAT for a quick 7-0 lead.  The long pass moved Birner past Jon Morrell as Maconaquah's career-passing leader.  Birner now has 4205 yards, surpassing Morrell's record (3923) set in 1987 and has seven of the top eight single-game efforts in Mac's 60-year history.  He credited the play-calling of Coach Campbell and his sure-handed receivers as the main reason of getting the record.  "I sometimes don't make nice throws, but my receivers make the catches," he said.


 Kile also set another record on the big play as he wiped out the single-season receiving record set by John White in 1983.  Kile caught three TD passes on the night, tying the single-game record and finished with 131 yards on eight catches.  The sophomore now has 927 yards this season and moved into the "Top 20" on Mac's all-time scoring list.  "It's really nice to get the record and sharing it with my friends", Kile said.  "We have real good chemistry after being together the past two years."


The Braves took a 13-0 lead with 3:31 left in the first stanza when Birner hit AJ Kelly on a short one-yard TD pass.  Kelly was on the receiving end of 12 Birner passes on the night and finished with a game-high 132 yards.  


After both teams lost possession on fumbles and the Braves forced a punt, Maconaquah began its next scoring drive at its own 44 with 9:10 left in the opening half.  With Ty Galvan doing the ground work, Mac reached paydirt in just over three minutes.  A Birner-to-Kile pass from 13 yards out capped the nine-play drive.  Hanson's kick had the Braves on top, 20-0 with 5:58 showing.  Galvan rushed for a game-high 77 yards on 20 carries. 


 Kelly's 12-yard interception return and Squire facemask penalty gave the Braves the ball back at the Manchester 23 with 80 seconds remaining in the half.  Facing a fourth-and-12 at the 25, Kile hauled in a 21-yarder and then closed out the half with a four-yard TD catch with :27 showing. 


 The Squires scored on their first possession of the second half and added a pair of scores in the final 5:32 of the fourth quarter to close out the scoring, 26-18.


 Sophomores Ethan Farnell (10), Brady Dausch (9) and Austin Ringeisen (8) led Brave tacklers.  Jackson Collins and Ayden Jernagan had fumble recoveries, while Farnell and Collins each caused fumbles.  Isaac Pearce and Kelly intercepted Squire passes.

The Braves are now 6-2 overall, while Manchester dropped to 1-7 on the year and to 1-6 in the TRC. Maconaquah’s first-round sectional 28 opponent in the upcoming 50th annual IHSAA tournament will be announced Sunday at 5 pm as the IHSAA conducts its parings show.

**

For the first time in 13 years, the Maconaquah boys cross country team won the IHSAA Sectional meet at Logansport High School. Once again, the team raced well when it mattered most, with all five scoring runners finishing in the top 25.

Isaiah Wittenberg set the bar by finishing in 2nd place with a time of 16:46.

Daylen Schrock ran a 17:29 and finished in 5th place.

Kaden Miller (9th, 17:39) had a top-ten finish and his best run of the season.

Once again, Kaden Hanson ran another personal-best time, breaking the 18:00 barrier for the first time (12th, 17:51).

Isaiah Moore had another great race, finishing in the top-25 (23rd) and breaking the 18:30 barrier (18:26).

Jacob Sayger (62nd, 22:40) took 40 seconds off his best time ever.

Luke Abbott finished in 28:51 and 70th place.

The Braves will compete at the IHSAA regional meet at Culver Academies next Saturday. Gun time is 11:15 AM.

**

The Maconaquah girls cross country team competed in the IHSAA sectional meet at Logansport High School, where they earned their 13th sectional championship!

The Lady Braves had six runners in this race, and all of them finished in the top-20, earning all-sectional honors.

Abby Jordan crossed the line first for Maconaquah, placing 3rd overall with a time of 19:21.

Freshman Zoie Laber was not far behind, placing 4th (20:02).

Lucy Loshnowsky ran her best time ever, finishing in 20:23 and placing 6th overall.

Samantha Jones ran a personal-best time of 20:49 and finished in 11th place.

Aubrey McClain was the 5th runner for the Lady Braves, placing 18th in a time of 21:43.

Chloe Jordan rounded out the Maconaquah team finishing in 20th place, earning all-sectional honors with a finish time of 21:50.

The Maconaquah Lady Braves will compete in the IHSAA regional at Culver Academies next Saturday. The girls run at 10:30 AM.