Goodnight stopped short of calling the matchup a rivalry, but the physicality between two of the top teams in the classification was evident.
“You see all over social media, they’re beating us, they’re beating us,” senior wide receiver Tash Murray said. “We know who we are, we know what we’re capable of.”
Murray, like Schneiter, faced an uphill climb due to injuries this offseason after tearing his ACL in May. On a late third down, the game tied at 20, Schneiter found Murray for a 28-yard touchdown toss.
Seeing his two athletes, in their return to Florence’s field, shine in their biggest moment was all you can ask for, Goodnight said.
“It’s why I coach football, man,” Goodnight added. “To see those kids battle adversity and be able to come and play the game they love with their brothers, it’s just special.”
The fireworks from Schneiter were necessary, as the Tigers’ offense found plenty of production as well. Manhattan quarterback Tyson Pavlik connected with Matthew Fenno on a pair of touchdown passes, the latter of which tying the game at 20.
But the Falcons defense hunkered down in key moments. On the goal line, Luca Caldarone picked off Pavlik to thwart a scoring opportunity. Brennan Meinhold secured an interception earlier in the game, setting up a Falcons’ touchdown right before halftime.
The biggest stop, though, came as the Tigers tried to answer the Schneiter-to-Murray touchdown late in the fourth quarter. On fourth down, Schneiter went untouched as he launched off the defensive line and secured a sack that essentially iced the game. Caldarone bullied into the end zone, a one-yard rush, with 15 seconds left to fully ice the contest.