Manhattan High football will close out the regular season Friday on senior night, hosting Washburn Rural with a Centennial League title on the line.
After opening the season with losses to top teams Rockhurst and Mill Valley, the Indians (5-2) have won five straight and still have their season goals in front of them.
“You compare this year to last year, we’ve already accomplished one thing that we didn’t do last year, which is to win the Silver Trophy,” head coach Joe Schartz said. “And if we beat Rural this week, we will accomplish another thing that we didn’t accomplish last year, which is to win the Centennial League.”
Standing in the way of the Indians’ league title is a familiar opponent. While the matchup might not carry the same rivalry intensity as Manhattan’s games against Junction City, the two programs have a long history of competing against each other.
“With all the youth sports in the area, living it through my kids, it doesn’t matter what sport it is, whether it’s football, basketball, baseball, soccer, it seems like the best competition in youth sports is always the Washburn Rural kids,” Schartz said. “Our kids have seen them since they were in second grade. They know them pretty well, and they typically have a lot of talent.”
The Junior Blues enter Friday’s matchup with a 3-4 record after facing tough competition, including 5A powers Kapaun Mt. Carmel and Bishop Carroll, along with Nebraska’s Millard West.
Most recently, Washburn Rural fell 43-14 at Junction City. A win Friday would leave Manhattan as the only undefeated team in Centennial League play. If the Junior Blues upset the Indians, all three teams would finish with 3-1 league records.
“It’s just one of the goals that we set out every year to accomplish, and something that we weren’t able to accomplish last year,” Schartz said. “It would be another feather in the cap for these seniors, and a nice accomplishment.”
Schartz said the seniors have consistently improved throughout the season, but the Indians still have plenty left to accomplish beyond the regular-season finale.
“There’s so much to accomplish yet. We are still in the mindset of going 1-0 each week, and we still have really big goals ahead of us,” Schartz said. “Hopefully we can keep our focus, execute and play well Friday night.”
Manhattan is coming off a 60-13 win over Topeka High, its fifth straight victory. The Indians rushed for 347 yards in the win.
“The offensive line has made miles of improvement, and we’ve settled in and have some consistency up front,” Schartz said. “Those kids are working together and communicating well, and our running backs have been the beneficiary of that.”
Winning the battle up front will be important again Friday. Washburn Rural senior defensive lineman Steven Cantrell, listed at 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds, presents a challenge for the Indians’ offensive line.
“He plays with a lot of intensity,” Schartz said. “Hopefully our offensive line can continue to battle up there and be able to handle that defensive front.”
On the other side of the line, Manhattan’s defense has been productive, recording 37 tackles for loss in league play. The Indians did so while facing flexbone offenses in consecutive games against Emporia and Topeka High.
“Kadin Dibbini continues to be dominant, very difficult to block, and causes lots of chaos at the point of attack,” Schartz said. “Our linebackers have performed well. Max McAlpine and Liam Nider continue to rack up a ton of tackles every week, and they should. That means that the people in front of them are doing a good job.”
The Indians will face a different challenge against Washburn Rural’s run-pass option offense, which will require some adjustments in the secondary.
“This week will be a different challenge with the RPO style of offense that Washburn runs, and you’ll see a little bit of different personnel in there because of that,” Schartz said. “So we’re going to have to utilize a few more DBs.”
The Junior Blues’ offense is anchored by running back Jadyn Baum, who rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-7 win over Topeka High this season. Baum has helped steady an offense that has dealt with injuries at quarterback.
“When you have a big, powerful running back like him, you’ve got to get him stopped before he gets going,” Schartz said. “Hopefully we can continue to try to get some penetration and get in the backfield. If he gets a full head of steam, he’ll definitely run over two or three guys before you’re able to get him stopped, if you can get him stopped at all.”
Manhattan also hopes to secure the No. 3 seed in the Class 6A West bracket, which would give the Indians a chance to host their first two playoff games if they win their opener.
“It’s always a benefit to play at home. We have a home-field advantage. I think we always have good crowds, a lot of support, and it’s fun for these kids to represent their families here in Manhattan,” Schartz said.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Bishop Stadium.