Armed with raw talent, Manual QB a multi-sport athlete fueled by future in college football

PEORIA — Amare Breedlove helped Manual to a lead on the game's first possession Friday, and nearly led them through a comeback at the end.

In all those minutes and plays in between, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior basketball guard looked more and more like what he is trying to be — a quarterback.

There were flashes of a developing impact quarterback, mixed with sustained looks of a high-caliber multi-sport athlete who couldn't quite keep the Rams from fading to a 15-6 loss to Richwoods at Peoria Stadium.

"He's learning the position and he's getting better, made a lot of great strides," Manual coach Dennis Bailey said. "But we're going to have a talk about some things we want him to do. He'll embrace it and lead the team.

"He's new to all this, and he's a young man with a great future."

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That future already includes a football offer from Loras College (Iowa) .

"That's the only offer I have so far," Breedlove said. "But I'm working on this. I'm hoping there will be more."

Seeing triple on the Rams roster

Amare Breedlove is a senior on the Rams team, a bit late to football. He took over the quarterback role around mid-season last year, so he has less than a full slate of games in experience.

One of seven siblings — five boys, two girls — in the Breedlove family, he grew up playing against his brothers.

There are three Breedlove brothers playing on the Rams roster this season. Amare holds the quarterback/free safety role, while sophomore Amane Breedlove is a receiver/defensive back and freshman Amyren Breedlove is a quarterback/receiver.

"I love being on the team with them, being on the field with them," Amare Breedlove said. "Amane is really physical, hitting, he'll give it and take it. I'm the one among us who has the throwing skill. And Amyren, he's just good at everything.

"We are all competitive, and we've had some battles growing up."

Breedlove threw 30 times — completing 14 for 121 yards and two INTs. He was 8-of-11 in the first half and in a key third-quarter drive completed five straight passes for 44 yards to get Manual to the Richwoods 17 before the drive ended on a fourth-down goal line interception by Jeremiah Boatright.

Breedlove also had seven carries for 39 yards. The tall, rangy quarterback could become a dominating dual threat if he perhaps runs harder and more often.

Amane Breedlove, as advertised, was the toughest man on the field Friday, absorbing heavy shots from the Knights while making clutch plays among his five catches for 66 yards.

The journey to 15-6

The Rams kicked off, but covered the free kick to steal away the opening possession.

Facing fourth-and-7 at the Richwoods 32, Breedlove hit his brother, Amane, for a 14-yard pass to extend the drive.

After eight plays and 37 yards, running back Tyree Porter slipped up the middle from the 6 for a 6-0 lead.

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Richwoods fumbled its snap away on the opening play of the second quarter — it was recovered by Manual's Tink Marshall — and Manual embarked on a 13-play drive to the Knights' 14.

But the drive essentially ended on an intentional grounding penalty. Breedlove, three plays later, heaved a 24-yard pass for Porter in the end zone, but he couldn't haul it in amid traffic.

The Knights make big plays

The Knights arrived after that, marching 76 yards on 11 plays to tie the game with 42 seconds left in the half when senior Amari Johnson capped his sixth run of the series with an 8-yard sprint up the middle to the end zone.

The Knights drove 59 yards on 14 plays, chewing up most of the third quarter, in a pivotal sequence.

Facing fourth-and-6 at the Manual 6, Johnson slashed off tackle and was brought down inches short of a first down by a pack inside the 1 to turn the ball over on downs with 1:14 left.

The Rams took over, Breedlove handed off from a shotgun in his end zone to Porter, and the running back disappeared under a pile of Richwoods tacklers for a safety and an 8-6 Knights lead with 71 seconds left.

The Rams ensuing free kick left Richwoods with the ball on the Manual 18, and two plays later, on the first snap of the fourth quarter, Johnson ran it in from the 10.

Jasmine Bisping's point after was good, the ball bouncing through off the crossbar for 15-6.

In the face of adversity

Breedlove tried to march the Rams back into it, completing five straight passes for 44 yards on an 11-play drive that eventually ended on Boatright's interception near the goal line on a fourth-down heave with 8:12 left.

The Rams got it back one play later when senior defensive back Kyren Campbell — who earlier on the sideline promised he was going to make a big play — delivered on that promise by recovering Ryan Beschomer's fumble on the Knights' 29.

Breedlove ran twice on the ensuing drive and completed an 11-yard pass to his brother on third-and-nine. Manual drove to the 7 and faced fourth down, and Breedlove hit tight end Amaree Robinson on the left sideline, where he was driven out of bounds just inches short of the goal line for a turnover on downs.

"I think about Lamar Jackson in these situations," Breedlove said, grinning. "I love watching him, how focused he is, how well he sees everything and the decisions he makes. You have to use a 'next play' mentality, and we did that tonight."

Manual (0-2 overall, 0-1 in the Big 12) got 17 carries for 40 yards from running back Tyree Porter.

Richwoods (1-1, 1-1) got 16 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns from senior running back Amari JohnsonKnights junior running back Ryan Beschomer ran 13 times for 77 yards and had a fumble.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Armed with raw talent, Manual QB a multi-sport athlete fueled by future in college football