Manhattan High football opened its postseason the same way it opened its season — with a win over Garden City.

Behind a veteran performance from senior quarterback Finn Watson, the Indians rolled to a 47–15 victory Friday night at Bishop Stadium, advancing to the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs.

“There’s no question we didn’t play our best tonight,” Schartz said. “But the positive thing is that we survive and advance, and we can continue to try to get better. We have that opportunity because we did win the ballgame.”

Watson accounted for three total touchdowns — two rushing and one passing — while leading an offense that found rhythm early and never looked back.

“He did some good things,” Schartz said. “We still have to work on some reads and understanding, but he made a few checks and did some good things. We protected the ball — and that’s the difference in the game. Our two losses all came down to turnovers, so we protected the ball, moved the ball and were able to put it in the end zone.”

Junior Joe Mortensen added a rushing score, finishing with 10 rushes for 88 yards as a running back and wildcat quarterback.

“We’re minus Mclain Aslin, and he was our speed and our running quarterback, Joe played quarterback as a freshman, and he’s a good athlete. He’s come in over the last few weeks and learned that quarterback position as best he could with some short reps and limited time, and he continues to get better. He’s definitely a weapon for us.”

EJ Massenburg broke a 33-yard touchdown run, and Greyson Wassenburg hauled in a 21-yard touchdown catch to seal the victory offensively.

“Greyson’s been real steady,” Schartz said. “He played tackle for us last year and got his chance to play tight end this year. He’s just real steady — a leader out there. He does a great job blocking, and he’s quite an excellent receiver as well.”

On the other side of the ball, Manhattan’s defense delivered another complete effort, forcing key turnovers and holding Garden City to a single score until the final seconds.

Junior Michael Hamm’s interception in the red zone midway through the second half helped swing momentum for good. Senior Evan Middleton scooped up a fumble and sprinted 80 yards for a defensive touchdown as well.

“Evan’s a very good athlete, and he’s a good football player,” Schartz said. “It doesn’t matter what he’s doing — offense, defense or special teams — he can do it all.”

The win extends Manhattan’s dominance of opening-round playoff victories under head coach Joe Schartz and reinforces its midseason resurgence — a team that looks more and more like a contender with each passing week.

Garden City (1-8) entered as the No. 13 seed but was battle-tested all season against a high-quality Western Athletic Conference schedule. The Buffaloes gave Manhattan fits at times, but ultimately, the Indians proved to be the superior team.

“Garden City is a good football team,” Schartz said. “Two kids that really stand out for them are No. 6 and No. 7 (Drew Strecker and Jhett Price) — very physical, good football players. It was tough sledding at times.”

After seeing time early, star senior JJ Dunnigan exited with an injury.

“He rolled his ankle a lot. But hopefully, with some time off, we’ll see how he is next week,” Schartz said.

How it happened

After a defensive stop to start, Manhattan’s offense struck first with a methodical opening drive that chewed up much of the first quarter. Mortensen capped the 12-play march with a 1-yard quarterback keeper, finishing the drive with five carries for 44 yards to give the Indians a 7-0 lead with 0:59 left in the first.

The next time Manhattan touched the ball, it didn’t take long. On the Indians’ first play of the second quarter, Massenburg broke free for a 33-yard touchdown run, and Kha’Mario Davis added the two-point conversion to stretch the lead to 15-0 with 10:55 remaining.

Garden City responded shortly after with a big play of its own. Ryder Carr hauled in a tipped pass for a 65-yard touchdown reception, cutting the deficit to eight. Manhattan answered with a 24-yard field goal from Prescott Balderson just before halftime, extending the advantage to 18-7 at the break.

Outside of the long scoring play, Manhattan’s defense held firm through the first two quarters, limiting Garden City’s ground game to just 10 yards and forcing several short drives. The Indians’ offense controlled possession early, while the Buffaloes bent but didn’t break late in the half.

Manhattan set the tone out of halftime with another sustained scoring drive. Watson finished it off himself on a 1-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 25-7 with 5:16 left in the third quarter.

The defense came up big on the next possession as Hamm intercepted a pass in the red zone to halt a Garden City threat. The Indians capitalized immediately — Watson added another rushing score, this time from 8 yards out, and connected with Middleton on the two-point conversion to make it 33-7 with 9:35 remaining.

Manhattan sealed the win later in the quarter when Watson found Wassenburg on a 21-yard touchdown pass, capping a dominant second half that put the game out of reach.

With the score 40-7, the exclamation point came next. Middleton scooped up a fumble and sprinted 80 yards for a defensive touchdown with 3:24 left in the fourth, stretching the lead to 47-7 and putting an emphatic finish on Manhattan’s playoff opener.

Garden City’s Drew Strecker added a 14-yard touchdown catch with 22 seconds left, but it was far too late to make a difference. The Indians ran out the clock moments later to close a convincing 47–15 victory at home.

As the No. 4 seed, Manhattan (7-2) will host again next Friday, welcoming No. 5 Wichita Southeast, which beat Heights on Friday.

MANHATTAN 47,

GARDEN CITY 15

Manhattan (7-2) — 7; 11; 7; 22; — 47

Garden City (1-8) — 0; 7; 0; 8; — 15

SCORING SUMMARY

Manhattan — Mortensen 1-yard rush TD, PAT good by Balderson, 0:59 1Q

Manhattan — Massenburg 33-yard rush TD, 2 pt. good by Davis, 10:55 2Q

Garden City — Carr 65-yard TD reception, PAT good, 9:14 2Q

Manhattan — Balderson 24-yard FG, 0:16 2Q

Manhattan — Watson 1-yard rush TD, PAT good by Balderson, 5:16 3Q

Manhattan — Watson 8-yard rush TD, 2 pt. good Watson to Middleton, 9:35 4Q

Manhattan — Wassenburg 21-yard TD pass from Watson, PAT good by Balderson, 5:19 4Q

Manhattan — Middleton 80-yard fumble return TD, PAT good by Balderson, 3:24 4Q

Garden City — Strecker 14-yard TD reception from Heavner, 2 pt. good, 0:22 4Q

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing — Manhattan: Watson 8-10-92-1. Garden City: Heavner 15-28-200-2-1

Rushing — Manhattan: Davis 11-103, Watson, 12-58-2, Mortensen 10-88-1, Evans-Pryor 3-32. Garden City: Yanez 4-11, Brunson 8-8.

Receiving — Manhattan: Dunnigan 1-11, Vornes 3-15, Wassenburg 3-55-1, Crocker 1-18. Garden City: Strecker 3-60-1, Price 6-31, Carr 2-95-1.