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MANHATTAN — It was billed as a Top 5 showdown between conference opponents in Class B. But Manhattan dominated from start to finish Friday to celebrate senior night.
The No. 3 Tigers picked off a pass on the third play of the game, scored a short time later, and never let off the gas in a 54-16 Southern B drubbing of No. 5 Jefferson. The victory clinched a fourth consecutive conference title for Manhattan, which has gone 21-0 against league opponents during that span, and handed Jefferson its first loss of the season.
“We put in a ton of work, and we know every single year that it’s gonna still be a challenge, and that we’re the team everybody wants to come out and beat. So every game we just got to come out, hit hard, and be fired up,” senior running back Marshall Friese said. “We can’t come in expecting that we’re just going to be able to take it out, cause, I mean, Jefferson, they’re an undefeated team. They’re a good team, and they’ll probably make it a ways in the playoffs too. We just always know we’re the team to beat, so we got to come out ready to have a challenge.”
There wasn’t much of a challenge in the Tigers’ home finale. They led 13-0 after the first quarter and 40-8 at halftime.
Manhattan head coach Wes Kragt felt a bye week leading into the game was just what the team needed late in the regular season.
Manhattan’s Brayden Zikmund runs with the ball after making a reception Friday in a conference game against Jefferson.
“We’ve just been trying to get better every week,” he said. “And I felt like that bye week was huge just to get back to the grind and do more skill development and kind of hone in on our structure and our discipline and (it) really showed these last two weeks.”
Senior quarter Tyson Pavilk threw four touchdown passes, ran for a score and caught a touchdown to lead the charge. Following Caleb Fenno’s interception to begin the game, Pavlik capped a quick 35-yard drive with an 11-yard TD run to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
Later in the quarter, Weston DeHann caught a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage from Pavlik and then raced down the sideline for a 77-yard touchdown. While the PAT failed, the rout had begun.
Jefferson (6-1, 4-1 Southern B) never found a way to slow down Manhattan’s offense, which tallied more than 400 yards. Weston DeHaan and twin brother Easton weaved in and out of the Panthers’ defense all night, while Friese exploded for a 75-yard run on the first play of the second quarter to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Matthew Fenno.
“We’re really trying to fit our team around our players that we have, and I feel like we have a good grasp on that here in the middle of the season,” said Kragt. “We’re just going to take what the defense is giving us, and that’s what we did in this game.”
While Brayden Zikmund caught a 30-yard touchdown pass and Fenno reached the endzone again on short touchdown pass by Jack Douma, the dagger came on the last play of the first half. Pavlik eluded a heavy pass rush as time expired and lofted a pass into the endzone that Caleb Fountaine caught for a 38-yard score.
The touchdown countered a score by Jefferson after Colten Thornock caught a 36-yard pass from Tyzer Zody. Zody, who had more than 1,800 yards of total offense entering the contest, was largely ineffective through the air and on the ground against the Tigers.
“He’s a dual threat guy. He’s been one of the best quarterbacks in Class B this year, and so we went in with the game plan of shutting him down and getting some pressure on him in the pass game, and make sure that he’s not able to run the ball,” said Kragt. “And he didn’t look like the same quarterback tonight against our defense.”
Manhattan’s Jack Douma rolls out of the pocket on a pass attempt Friday in a conference game against Jefferson. The sophomore threw a touchdown pass on the play.
Pavlik scored the only points of the third quarter, hauling in a 15-yard pass from Douma. Then he threw a 16-yard TD pass to Zikmund in the fourth quarter.
It’s the fifth consecutive victory for Manhattan following a loss to Florence-Carlton in early September. That defeat snapped a 25-game winning streak in the regular season dating back to the 2023 campaign.
It also allowed the Tigers to hit the reset button after allowing a season-high 33 points. They’ve allowed 43 points over the past five games.
“Florence was probably a game we needed to lose. We needed to be humbled a little bit coming off a state championship and three state championship appearances,” said Friese. “That’s just a game that we needed to be humbled a little bit and know that we got our work cut out for us. We’ll meet them in playoffs, I’m sure. So that was good, and that just gives us the fight that we need in the upcoming games.”
Manhattan (6-1, 4-1 Southern B) wraps up the regular season Oct. 23 at Whitehall.
“Our defense has been playing so well the last few weeks, and we feel like we have some things figured out and our personnel,” said Kragt. “If we can stay healthy, I feel like we have a good, solid defense going into postseason.”
Boxscore
Manhattan 54, Jefferson 16
Jefferson 0 8 0 8 – 16
Manhattan 13 27 7 7 – 54
Man – Tyson Pavlik 11 run (Connor Mayo kick)
Man – Weston DeHaan 77 pass from Pavlik (kick failed)
Man – Matthew Fenno 2 run (pass failed)
Man – Brayden Zikmund 30 pass from Pavlik (Mayo kick)
Man – Fenno 4 pass from Jack Douma (Mayo kick)
Jef – Colten Thornock 36 pass from Tyzer Zody (Thornock pass from Zody)
Man – Caleb Fountaine 38 pass from Pavlik (Mayo kick)
Man – Pavlik 15 pass from Douma (Mayo kick)
Man – Zikmund 16 pass from Pavlik (Mayo kick)
Jef – Carter Lee 5 run (Tristen Whitford pass from Zody)