Football: Manning, Conestoga spoil Kolka’s Owen J. Roberts debut

BUCKTOWN >> Rich Kolka and the Wildcats didn’t get off to the start they had been hoping for.

In his first go as head coach of Owen J. Roberts on Friday night, Kolka and the Wildcats got into an early they couldn’t overcome, eventually falling to Conestoga 41-14.

“For our first live-action game tonight, I thought we did a lot of nice things,” he said afterward. “It’s tough to simulate live speed during the offseason, so hopefully these guys will learn from this game and be ready for the season. There are certainly some things we can take away from this loss and do different next time around.”

Conestoga running back Corey Manning ran wild against the OJR defense, racking up 199 yards on the ground to go along with two touchdowns.

“I was seeing the holes and running the ball hard,” said Manning. “My vision with the ball has always been the most important part of my game. I always try and run hard, but the main thing for me is to get behind my blockers and find some open space to run with it.”

Manning found plenty of open space from the start, needing just three rushes on his team’s opening drive to march the ball 64 yards for the score. He also punched it in from four yards out to cap off the Pioneers’ second drive, giving his team a 14-0 lead.

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