By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
A long road trip this past weekend resulted int he first loos of the 2025 season for Coach Justin Schmitz and his Manchester greyhounds football squad. The Hounds had a Saturday afternoon date at Crestline High School to face the host Bulldogs and for the first time this fall, Manchester came out on the short end of the scoreboard.
Despite getting touchdowns from Dylon Fite and Joel Blythe, the Greyhounds dropped to 5-1 on the season, suffering a 48-12 loss to the Bulldogs. Even more important than the defeat, the Hounds dropped to #14 in the Harbin computer rankings for Division VII, Region 28, leaving them temporarily outside of the top 12 who will make the playoffs.
“ It obviously wasn’t the outcome we wanted,” said Coach Schmitz. “Credit to Crestline, they played a great game. We ran into a tough team and we didn’t execute the way we needed to. The scoreboard showed that result, but I was proud of the way our guys kept playing hard. Losses like this are tough, but they give us an opportunity to learn and grow. I’m looking forward to getting back to work this week to prepare for Federal Hocking.”
The Greyhounds will get the opportunity to get back on the winning track this Friday night as they return home to host the Federal Hocking Lancers on Homecoming Night with a 7 p.m. scheduled kickoff.
“It’s Homecoming Week,” said Schmitz. “We understand the urgency and our guys will be ready to play. The Hound Pound will be packed. The environment will be hostile and electric. Hoping we can feed these Greyhound fans with another competitive game so they can stay fat and sassy.”
