Ravens win 7th straight Bronze Ball game at Manchester

The Anderson University football team capped its season with a 19-14 come-from-behind victory over Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Manchester College in the Bronze Ball game on Saturday at Burt Field in North Manchester.

The win was the third in the last four games for the Ravens and means the Ravens will retain the Bronze Ball for the seventh straight time since the trophy was added to the series in 2001. It was the ninth straight win for AU in the series.

Senior tailback Denny Kimmel capped his career with two more school records in the contest, bringing his total to 18. On Saturday, he passed Thomas Lee on the career rushing attempts list (741) and consecutive games catching a pass (41). He also went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second time in his career, finishing with 1,002.

Kimmel finished with 86 yards rushing on 23 carries and added 83 receiving and 51 on kickoff returns for 220 all-purpose yards. He came into the game second in the nation in all-purpose yards per game at 216. He also scored the first touchdown of the game with 29 seconds left in the half to give the Ravens a 10-7 lead.

Tristan Cork added a pair of field goals from 37 and 45 yards with the latter just one yard short of Jason Gilman’s school-record of 46 set in 1988. The second field goal gave the Ravens a 13-7 lead with 14:42 left in the game.

After a blocked punt at their own 1-yard line led to a Manchester touchdown, the Spartans had a 14-13 lead with six minutes left in the game.

However, Chase Thurston’s 34-yard TD pass to senior Matthew Thompson with 34 seconds left in the game sealed the victory.

Thurston finished the game 29-of-46 for a career-high 312 yards and a touchdown. Thompson finished with three catches for 46 yards in his final collegiate game.

Freshman Zach Duke led the receiving corps with seven catches for 37 yards and freshman Nolan Bernard had five catches for 37 yards. Senior Brady Church added four receptions for 26 yards and freshman Chris Newman three catches for 52 yards.

Punter Shane Nevers had six punts with five of the inside the 20-yard line, averaging 33 yards per punt.

Defensively, Michael Capstick led the team with 13 tackles. Matt Plessinger had seven tackles and Travon Curry six, including a sack. Jeremiah Townsell added six stops, edging Plessinger for the tackles lead on the season 84-83.

AU finished the season 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the HCAC.