Manning football heads into October with 6-0 record
Ninth-ranked Monarchs play host to No. 2 Dillon on October 13
Manning – The Manning High School football team took an undefeated record into the month of October thanks to a big road victory against Aynor in its Region 7-AAA opener on September 29.
The Monarchs are ranked ninth in the latest High School Sports Report AAA Sweet 16 poll with a 6-0 record going into a game against Georgetown on October 6.
“That was just a really big win for us,” said Manning head coach Reggie Kennedy, whose team held on for a 28-24 victory. “It was our first region game playing down at Aynor against what they do offensively. I told the guys all week that it was going to be a tough 48 minutes. The style of play Aynor does is old school, smashmouth football as far as I’m concerned. Going up against that and answering the call, it was a big night for us.”
Manning was clinging to the 4-point lead as the Blue Jackets, who dropped to 3-3, were driving late in the fourth quarter. Aynor, which runs an offense that often resembles a rugby scrum, was at the Monarch 35-yard line, facing fourth down and two yards to go. That’s when cornerback Nazaiah York punched the ball out of the Blue Jacket runner’s grasp and nose guard Jaylnn Coard recovered with 1:36 remaining in the contest.
Manning then took a knee for a couple of plays to run out the clock and secure the victory.
Defensive lineman Jontavious Canty led the Manning defense with 17 tackles, while fellow linebacker Lamar Hilton had 11. Coard has eight tackles to go with two tackles for loss while Hilton had a tackle for loss as well.
Defensive back Jamari Wilson had an interception and fellow defensive back Jeffrey Ceasar had eight tackles.
Manning only had 205 yards of total offense, but it managed to get 28 points on the scoreboard. Running back Triston Thames was the leading rusher with 13 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. The 6-foot-2-inch, 280-pound Coard, who normally comes in for the heavy package around the goal line, had six carries for 30 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback JaRae Mitchell completed 7 of 12 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 16 yards on nine carries. Wilson had two catches for 39 yards and the touchdown, while Ceasar finished with four catches for 37 yards.
Ceasar also returned a punt 49 yards.
Kennedy said he isn’t necessarily surprised to see his team entering the final four games of the season with an unbeaten record.
“I'll tell you what; I knew we had some good pieces coming back,” said Kennedy, who led Manning to a 9-3 record last year and the second round of the state playoffs. “I knew if we continued to improve week in and week out we had a chance to be pretty good.
“They do the little things right. I always tell them that if you tend to do the little things right then big things can happen for you.”
Despite being held to 116 rushing yards against Aynor, the Monarchs are still averaging over 200 yards per game. Thames leads the way with 516 yards and five touchdowns on 65 carries. Despite being in a lot of short-yardage situations, Coard is averaging almost 11 yards a carry. He has 388 yards and 10 touchdowns on 36 carries.
Mithcell has carried the ball 32 times for 180 yards and one TD while completing 26 of 46 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns.
Kennedy is pleased with the progress Mitchell has made at quarterback.
“We didn't want to rush him,” Kennedy said of Mitchell, a junior who took over for graduated All-State performer Justin Daniels. “I don’t want to put everything on the quarterback, but does have a major role in what we do. During the week we see what he's good at and what he’s comfortable with and we build off of that.
“JaRae is disciplined, a good leader. He’s going to do what we ask him to do, and he’s a hard worker. He’s the team captain, so that says a lot about what his teammates think of him.”
Ceasar is far and away Mitchell’s favorite target with 15 catches for 227 yards and both of the touchdown receptions. Wilson has six catches for 57 yards.
Kennedy said the biggest surprise to him with the Monarchs has been the play of the offensive line. After some shuffling at the start of the season, Kennedy has settled on an O line that has senior Jeremy Blanding (6-1, 249 at left tackle, senior Javon Murray (6-2, 280) at left guard, Semaj Rankins-Bush at center, Darrell Gamble at right guard and senior Jamon Brock (6-4, 280) at right tackle.
“They’ve done really well with the style of play we bring to the table, where we spread the field and run the football. The line continues to get better week in and week out.”
Hilton leads the defense in tackles with 36 followed by Canty with 28, who also leads in tackles for loss with four. The Monarchs have nine interceptions with Wilson with three and Ceasar and Daquan McFadden with two apiece.
Wilson and Ceasar are both threats in the return game. Wilson has taken two kickoffs back for touchdowns while Ceasar has one.
What was perhaps more impressive about the 6-0 start is the fact Manning has been on the road for the last five weeks.
“We had a goal to come back 6-0,” Kennedy said. “We can’t make too much and be too high off the win last week. We’ve got to hit the reset button and be ready for this week.”
After facing Georgetown, the Monarchs welcome once-beaten Dillon to Ramsey Stadium on October 13. The Wildcats are ranked second in AAA.
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