Manhattan High football put together its most dominant performance of the season Friday night, routing No. 5 seed Wichita Southeast 45-6 in the Class 6A regional round.<\/p>\n
In the first half, Manhattan overwhelmed Southeast in every phase, outgaining the Golden Buffaloes 227 to -12 in total yards. The Indians allowed just 3 passing yards and held Southeast to -15 rushing yards, controlling field position throughout and never allowing the Southeast offense to gain traction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we played really well, and we got off to a good start,\u201d head coach Joe Schartz said. \u201cTypically when we\u2019ve gotten off to a good start this season, we\u2019ve kind of let our foot off the gas. But we kept it down tonight. We continued to play with energy and focus, and we played really well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The performance marked one of Manhattan\u2019s most complete efforts of the season, forcing a running clock to start the second half with reserves on the field.<\/p>\n
Junior Joseph Mortensen led the early surge, collecting a hat trick of touchdowns in the first quarter. Mortensen ran six times for 30 yards and two scores, and tossed his first varsity touchdown pass, a 24-yard strike to senior JJ Dunnigan.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot in the slightest,\u201d Mortensen said when asked if he ever pictured throwing a touchdown this season. \u201c(Becoming a quarterback) was a surprise, I\u2019m not used to throwing the ball \u2014 I usually just run it \u2014 but I\u2019ve been having a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schartz said the Wildcat package has evolved into a major weapon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew the quarterback run game was going to be there,\u201d he said. \u201cOur heavy package has really gotten better as the season has gone along. Joe\u2019s a good runner, and that puts a lot of stress on the defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dunnigan, returning from an ankle roll suffered last week, added two total touchdowns, including a 70-yard punt return score, and had another long return for a score wiped out by penalty.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Dunnigan) had a great game \u2014 offense, defense, and special teams,\u201d Schartz said. \u201cThey were actually kicking to him, and he showed what he can do when he gets his hands on the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Running backs Kha\u2019Mario Davis and EJ Massenburg each added rushing touchdowns, while senior quarterback Finn Watson collected 97 total yards as the offense averaged 9.87 yards per play in the opening half behind an outstanding performance from the offensive line.<\/p>\n
Senior lineman Garrison Vikander said the improvement has been steady.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like every week we just got better and better,\u201d Vikander said. \u201cWe\u2019re where we need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
How it happened<\/p>\n
Southeast opened the night with an onside kick, giving Manhattan a short field. The Indians capitalized quickly. A 34-yard screen pass to Davis set up Mortensen for a 2-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead with 9:26 left in the first.<\/p>\n
After a defensive stop, Manhattan marched again. Mortensen powered in his second touchdown of the quarter, another 2-yard run, and Massenburg added the two-point conversion to make it 15-0 with 3:41 remaining.<\/p>\n
Manhattan nearly added a defensive touchdown moments later when Dunnigan scooped up a fumble and returned it for six, but the play was blown dead for forward progress. The defense responded anyway, forcing a muffed punt to keep momentum with the Indians.<\/p>\n
Two plays later, Mortensen \u2014 who began the year primarily as a defensive back before assuming Wildcat quarterback duties \u2014 floated a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dunnigan, extending the lead to 22-0 at the 1:40 mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cA fantastic effort by JJ,\u201d Schartz said. \u201cHe\u2019s the only one in the state who could have caught that ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 13-yard sack by junior Max Evans-Pryor helped force another punt, and though Dunnigan returned it 43 yards for a touchdown, a penalty erased it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe key is talking and trusting my guys,\u201d Evans-Pryor said of the defense’s chemistry. \u201cWe\u2019ve got great energy and great players \u2014 and I love all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Indians simply kept attacking in the second quarter. Davis punched in a 5-yard touchdown run and added the two-point conversion to make it 30-0 with 10:56 to play.<\/p>\n
Dunnigan followed with one of the standout plays of the night: a 70-yard punt return touchdown, cutting through multiple defenders with key blocks. Davis added another two-point conversion to stretch the margin to 38-0 at 8:25.<\/p>\n
A sack by senior Evan Middleton set up another short field. Dunnigan returned a punt 31 yards to set up Massenburg\u2019s 1-yard score, closing out a dominant half. Manhattan led 45-0 at the break. The running clock began to open the third quarter, and reserves closed out the final two periods.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe offensive line did a really great job tonight,\u201d Schartz said. \u201cWe\u2019re clicking on all cylinders right now, and it\u2019s a great time to be playing good football.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schartz also credited the defensive staff:<\/p>\n
\u201c(Defensive coordinator Lucas Aslin) called a very good game,\u201d he said. \u201cWe won on first down and got them behind the chains. When they had to throw, we were putting a ton of pressure on the quarterback. The defense continued to play very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manhattan (8-2) will travel to No. 1 seed Maize next Friday in the sectional round. The Eagles beat Wichita East 58-34.<\/p>\n
MANHATTAN 45,<\/p>\n
WICHITA SOUTHEAST 6<\/p>\n
Manhattan (8-2) \u2014 22; 23; 0; 0; \u2014 45<\/p>\n
Wichita SE (7-3) \u2014 0; 0; 0; 6; \u2014 6<\/p>\n
SCORING SUMMARY<\/p>\n
Manhattan \u2014 Mortensen 2-yard rush TD, PAT good by Balderson, 9:26 1Q<\/p>\n
Manhattan \u2014 Mortensen 2-yard rush TD, 2-pt. conversion good by Massenburg, 3:41 1Q<\/p>\n
Manhattan \u2014 Mortensen 24-yard TD pass to JJ Dunnigan, PAT good by Balderson, 1:40 1Q<\/p>\n
Manhattan \u2014 Davis 5-yard rush TD, 2-pt. conversion good by Davis, 10:56 2Q<\/p>\n
Manhattan \u2014 Dunnigan 70-yard punt return TD, 2-pt. conversion good by Davis, 8:25 2Q<\/p>\n
Manhattan \u2014 Massenburg 1-yard rush TD, 4:26 2Q<\/p>\n
Wichita Southeast \u2014 Cooks 1-yard rush TD 0:11 4Q<\/p>\n
INDIVIDUAL STATS (1st Half)<\/p>\n
Passing \u2014 Manhattan: Watson 2-2-60, Mortensen 1-1-24-1. Wichita Souteast: Mack O\u2019Bar 1-3-3<\/p>\n
Rushing \u2014 Manhattan: Davis 6-23-1, Watson, 3-37, Mortensen 6-30-2. Wichita Southeast: Harrison 9-16, Mack OBar 3-(minus)-17, Cooks 3-4, Jones 2-(minus)-18<\/p>\n
Receiving \u2014 Manhattan: Dunnigan 1-24-1, Middleton 1-26, Davis 1-34. Wichita Southeast: Mboya 1-3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manhattan High football put together its most dominant performance of the season Friday night, routing No. 5 seed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[8918,19775,11582,11581,11583,11584,19774,75,84,83,8919,11587,9,24,8920,8917,8921,63,9225,19773,11580,11589,11585,8916,4027,11579,11588],"class_list":["post-32948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-american-football","tag-american-football-positions","tag-champion-seasons-in-american-football","tag-college-football-conference-seasons","tag-gridiron-football","tag-gridiron-football-variants","tag-lineman-gridiron-football","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-national-football-league","tag-ncaa-division-i-fbs-football-teams","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nfl-seasons","tag-nfl-teams","tag-nfl-teams-seasons","tag-nyc","tag-outdoor-sports","tag-punt-gridiron-football","tag-quarterback","tag-quarterback-sack","tag-seasons-in-american-football","tag-seasons-in-american-sport","tag-team-sports","tag-touchdown","tag-wildcat-formation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32948","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=32948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}