On Friday night, Manual’s football team took their first win of the season, finishing 42-0 against the Central Yellow Jackets.
“The game went great. We’re not perfect, and we have things to work on, but everybody executed very well,” Gerian Traynor (#34, 12) said.
Before the game began, the Crimson Sound marching band and color guard performed for the crowd.
First Half:
The captains met for the coin toss, which the Yellow Jackets won. They chose to have Manual on offense. Right out of the gate, Jeremy Presley (#5, 11) was tackled which made a first down for the Crimsons.
Quickly advancing down the field, in the next play there was another first down. Traynor ran the ball down the field to claim the first touchdown of the night, not even five minutes into the first quarter. The extra point was good, and the Crimsons led 7-0.
The kickoff to the Yellow Jackets led to a player getting tackled by Xavielle Brooks (#20, 11). Central then recovered to a respectable first down. In the next play, the Crimsons took the ball and ran to another first down. The Crimsons, fairly far from the end zone on the 40-yard line, got to third down but then sprinted down the field to get another touchdown.
Unfortunately, there was an illegal hand off, so the touchdown was lost. In just two plays time, Traynor took his second touchdown of the night from the 40-yard line. The extra point was added to the score from a great kick by Jackson Pritts (#17, 11).
The Yellow Jackets kickoff led to a quick flag on the play, which led to a 10-yard penalty. When Central was going into their fourth down and 19, Manual called for a timeout.
Since Central was quite far from the end zone, they punted it down the field but didn’t manage to get it through the goal posts. Manual led Central 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Central started the second quarter with the ball, but the Crimsons quickly gained possession. Following a first down, Traynor ran the ball to the end zone, resulting in his third touchdown of the game. The extra point was successful, with Manual leading 21-0.
The Yellow Jackets lost possession again and for the first time in the game, Laterrian Spencer (#10, 12) got a touchdown with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. The team was given a five-yard penalty, but Pritts had another good kick and the extra point was awarded.
At the end of the quarter, there was a flag on the play, going slightly overtime for one more play. The pass was incomplete by the Crimsons and halftime began. The Manual Crimsons led 28-0 at the end of the second quarter.
The Crimson Sound and color guard gave the half time performance.
Second Half:
Manual started off the third quarter with possession of the ball. This led to Traynor claiming his fourth touchdown. The kick was made with 10 minutes left in the quarter. The turnover was kicked into the end zone, which was followed by a pass completed to Brayland Miles (#14, 11).
In the Crimsons fourth down and 10, a timeout was called. Concluding the third quarter, the Crimsons led the Yellow Jackets 35-0.
The fourth quarter began with a touchback at the 20-yard line, shortly after Corey Fitch (#3,11) got his first touchdown of the game. Pritts made the kick for the extra point.
With a relatively uneventful end to the fourth quarter, the Crimsons claimed their victory, 42-0.
“We have a lot of work to do to get where we want to be but tonight was a great effort. You can see the kind of athleticism we have, and we really enjoyed the performance,” Head Coach Keith Eckloff said. “We’re really optimistic about where we are.”
