In the next three weeks, Manual football will play Trinity, St. Xavier and rival Male consecutively.

“I expect every game to be like this; St. X, Trinity, Male; they should all be blowouts,” running back Trae Gordon (12, #22) said after the Crimson football team shutout Seneca 51-0 on September 26.

“We’re on murderers row, and on life support every week; hopefully nobody pulls the plug on us,” head coach Oliver Lucas said. “We need to continue to just practice, grind and just try to get the job done because its a brutal next three weeks for everybody: for us, St. X., Trinity, and Male. Its a matter of trying to stay healthy above everything else.”

For the third time in four years, the Manual football team is 6-0. The past three seasons Manual has fallen to Trinity and St. X, but has then rallied to defeat Male. Trinity has defeated Manual 11 years in a row, the Crimsons’ last victory over the Shamrocks being in 2003 with a score of 37-36.

This year, however, there is more optimism on Manual’s chances to defeat the Shamrocks. Even Courier-Journal columnist Jason Frakes predicted that the Crimsons will defeat the Shamrocks 21-20 tonight.

Manual, however, has not prepared any differently for the game.

“The preparation doesn’t change,” Lucas said. “We just steady the course and try to do the things we have been doing and try to do them better.”

Lucas said that the only thing that changes from the team’s perspective is the hype around the game.

“Its the whole ambiance,” Lucas said. “The atmosphere of the week that makes these games what they are; every one of these games are large.”

Manual will travel to St. X on October 17 and then to Male on October 24.

“The only game we need to put an emphasis on is the Male/Manual game, because that is the game that everyone cares about,” Lucas said.

Manual’s game against Trinity will kick off at 8:30 tonight at Manual Stadium.