The Manual Crimsons lost 7-0 to the Central Yellowjackets last night in the first home game of the season.
The two teams were evenly matched, both playing with incredibly strong defense.
The game’s imminent stalemate was made apparent in the first quarter. As both teams tried to get a feel for the other, it became apparent that they shared many of the same strengths and weaknesses. Both teams had excellent defensive lineups, but often fell short when it came to handling the ball offensively.
In the second quarter, both teams began to double down. The ball was carried back and forth across the field of play, but both teams’ strong defensive lines were able to keep their opponents from scoring.
The highlight of the second quarter came when Manual’s Sam Walsh (76, 12) sacked Central’s quarterback, Rico White (8, 12). “That was probably my happiest moment so far,” said Walsh. “First varsity sack in a while, so it feels good.”
By halftime, neither team had scored.
Early in the third quarter, however, the stalemate was broken by Central’s Takaius Linton (4, 11), who managed to break through Manual’s defenses and run in for a touchdown. After a successful extra point kick, the Yellowjackets brought the score to 7-0, where it would remain for the rest of the game.
“I didn’t even know we were gonna win,” Linton said. “We still had a lot of time on that clock. I was just trying to help out my team and get them that touchdown.”
In the fourth quarter, the energy began to die down in the stadium as the stalemate between the two teams began in full force once again. Towards the end of the game, the Crimsons attempted to make one final push, but the attempt was foiled by Central’s Deondre Howard (7, 10) who intercepted the pass.
Central’s head coach, Marvin Dansler, said that he’s very happy with how his team’s first game turned out.
“We have some stuff we have to clean up on our end. I thought we had way too many penalties,” Dansler said. “But overall, we were able to keep them out of the endzone, and they (The Yellowjackets) are gonna be a great football team.”
Manual’s head coach, Scott Carmony, said that his team’s loss last night is partly due to a lack of experience.
“We’re very inexperienced,” Carmony said. “Even with our older kids. We have a lot of Juniors and Seniors that are playing, but just a couple of them have really played before.”
Even though his team is relatively inexperienced, Carmony said that this game will be a good learning experience for them.
“We can grow and learn from this, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Carmony said.
Next Friday the team will travel to face Fern Creek High School in the second game if the season.
