Manhattan High football will host its second straight postseason game Friday night at Bishop Stadium, meeting Wichita Southeast in a Class 6A regional matchup with a sectional berth on the line.<\/p>\n
Manhattan (7-2), the No. 4 seed, enters off a 47-15 win over Garden City in last week\u2019s playoff opener. Wichita Southeast (7-2), the No. 5 seed, is riding a four-game winning streak and coming off a 7-0 shutout of Wichita Heights \u2014 part of the program\u2019s first winning season since 2008 under second-year head coach Corby Milleson.<\/p>\n
Southeast leans on a ball-control flexbone rushing attack that averages more than 200 yards per game, led by running back Kedrick Harrison, who has eclipsed that mark in each of the last four games. Quarterback Mack O\u2019Bar manages the option structure, with Jeno Jones rotating in when a more dynamic run threat is needed. O\u2019Bar\u2019s twin brother, Will, is a two-way starter at receiver and safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey create problems with how physical they are,\u201d Manhattan head coach Joe Schartz said. \u201cThey\u2019ll take things away, and there are only a few things you can do \u2014 and you better be able to do them well. It\u2019s a really aggressive, in-your-face pressure defense, and they love to be physical.\u201d<\/p>\n
The matchup figures to come down to execution at the line of scrimmage and discipline on early downs.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefensively, we need to win on first down,\u201d Schartz said. \u201cIf we can get a tackle for loss or no gain and get that flexbone behind the chains, then we can force them to do something they\u2019re not as comfortable with \u2014 throwing the ball. That\u2019s definitely a key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manhattan\u2019s defense, which has improved as key players returned from injury in recent weeks, will not get a full-speed flexbone look in practice \u2014 something Schartz acknowledged as a factor in how quickly adjustments must happen in-game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen the flexbone with Emporia and in the past against Gardner-Edgerton, so there is familiarity,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the problem is getting a quality look in practice. We\u2019re not going to get that from our scout team. So we\u2019ll have to stress the game plan and make adjustments as it goes during the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Offensively, Manhattan expects the same physical challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to match their aggression,\u201d Schartz said. \u201cWe have to get off the ball. Everything they do is predicated on getting penetration and crossing our face, and we cannot allow that. We need to pick our spots wisely when we throw and stay away from turnovers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turnover margin has been a defining storyline in Manhattan\u2019s season. In the Indians\u2019 two losses \u2014 at Wichita Northwest and home against Junction City\u00a0 \u2014 giveaways derailed drives. In last week\u2019s win, Manhattan played clean and controlled tempo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe protected the ball \u2014 and that\u2019s the difference in the game,\u201d Schartz said. \u201cOur two losses all came down to turnovers. So we need to continue to clean things up and be more disciplined.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senior quarterback Finn Watson has found rhythm as a runner and decision-maker, while junior Joe Mortensen has settled into a larger role taking snaps in short-yardage and quarterback run situations.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinn has done a nice job running the ball,\u201d Schartz said. \u201cHe lowers his pads and finishes runs. And Joe continues to get more comfortable \u2014 he\u2019s a gifted runner.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Indians also returned nose tackle Javaris Buchanan to the defensive front last week, adding size and depth inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cJavaris adds depth and some size,\u201d Schartz said. \u201cHe\u2019s a competitor. He\u2019s a little out of shape and we\u2019ll have to get him back into game shape, but it\u2019s definitely good to have him back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The status of senior playmaker JJ Dunnigan remains day-to-day after rolling his ankle in the win over Garden City.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still day to day,\u201d Schartz said. \u201cHe\u2019s limited in practice, and we\u2019ll find out as the week goes along.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manhattan will play its final guaranteed home game Friday. A win likely sets up a trip to No. 1 seed Maize next week \u2014 though Wichita East remains a potential opponent if it pulls the upset.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always nice to be at home,\u201d Schartz said. \u201cThe kids are comfortable, and hopefully we have a good turnout and strong support. It could be our last home game at Bishop, so it\u2019s special for these seniors, and I hope they go out there and perform well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Bishop Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manhattan High football will host its second straight postseason game Friday night at Bishop Stadium, meeting Wichita Southeast…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30593,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,4504,9,24,63,319],"class_list":{"0":"post-30592","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manhattan","8":"tag-manhattan","9":"tag-manhattan-headlines","10":"tag-manhattan-news","11":"tag-manhattan_high","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-city","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}