On Friday night, the Manual Crimsons defeated the St. Xavier Tigers, with a final score of 29-22. The Crimson Crazies designated the game a white-out.
First Half:
Manual won the coin toss, and chose to start the game on offense. After a quick three and out, the Tigers gained possession. However, they were stopped by defenseman Antwan Hogue (#51, 12) and Braydon Underwood (#21, 12). Manual then regained possession after an interception by Dequoria Warner (#2, 11). Following this, Gerian Traynor (#34, 11) ran 28 yards to score the first touchdown of the game. The extra point by Parker Friedman (#53, 12) was good, and the Crimsons took the lead, 7-0.
St. X got the ball back, and managed to move down the field a few yards. Manual’s defense remained strong once again, as tackles from Cameron Jesse (#19,12), Aiden Blakey (#8,11), and Damahrie Wilson (#13,10) stopped the Tigers from scoring.
Then, after several incomplete passes, St. X punted, allowing Manual to regain possession. A flag on the play on the Crimsons led to a loss of one yard, and then a loss of seven yards. Adding to that, St. X intercepted the ball during the next play, but were stopped yet again from scoring by the Crimson defense.
The quarter ended with a score of 7-0, in favor of the Crimsons.
The Tigers started off with the ball to begin the second quarter. However, a flag on the play led to a loss of a couple yards. St. X was also penalized due to a false start. On fourth down, the Tigers decided to attempt a field goal, and made the kick. The Crimsons still led, though, 7-3.
Manual then received the ball following St. X’s field goal. During one play, Brayland Miles (#14,10) ran to complete a huge pass, allowing Manual to advance into the red zone. Jessee was then able to score the Crimsons’ second touchdown after a short pass from Kaden Mack (#6,10). The extra point by Friedman was good. Manual now led 14-3.
St. X regained possession following Manual’s second touchdown, and only a few plays later, the Tigers moved down the field. As a result, they were able to score their first touchdown. The extra point was good, and the score was now 14-10, with Manual still in the lead.
Manual got the ball back afterwards, with Traynor carrying the ball on several occasions, gaining a few yards for the Crimsons. However, the Tigers intercepted the ball, stopping any momentum Manual had during the drive.
Though the Tigers got the ball back, they were unable to get a first down, punting the ball. With only a few minutes remaining in the first half, the ball was exchanged between teams, and neither was able to score as time ran out.
The half ended with a score of 14-10, the Crimsons in the lead.
Second Half:
St. X started off on offense to start the second half, and made several attempts to move down the field, but were stopped by a big tackle from Wilson. The ball was then passed back and forth from both teams following a few three and outs.
During one of their drives, however, St. X scored a field goal on fourth down, bringing the score to 14-13.
Despite Manual getting the ball back, they were unable to score, allowing St. X to regain possession. Ultimately, the Crimsons were unable to stop them from scoring a touchdown a few plays later. St. X took the lead, 19-14, as the extra point was no good.
The Crimsons got the ball, and Traynor carried it for several yards, but the third quarter ended soon after, with St. X in the lead, 19-14.
At the start of the fourth and final quarter, Manual continued from where they left off at the end of the third quarter. Almost immediately, Mack scored a touchdown after evading St. X’s defense.
“I don’t even know what it was, [but] I thought I was gonna get tackled, [so] you know, I kept going, and just scored,” Mack said.
The Crimsons then decided to go for a two-point conversion on the occasion that St. X would kick another field goal. They were successful, bringing the score to 22-19 in Manual’s favor.
St. X got the ball back, and after a few minutes, they scored a field goal, bringing the score to 22-22. Manual then received the ball, and gained several yards. On a big third down play, the Crimson offense successfully executed a flea flicker, a trick play disguised as a throwing play instead of a rushing play, gaining the first down. However, there was a flag on the play, resulting in a Manual fourth down and a loss of five yards.
Jackson Pritts (#17, 10) then punted the ball from Crimson territory. The Tigers got the ball near midfield, and were able to move a few yards. On fourth down, with only about 3:30 left in the fourth quarter, St. X went for it on fourth down. It was too close of a call, and the ball was measured. It was short of the first down, however, allowing Manual to gain possession with good field position. Immediately after, Traynor ran 63 yards, scoring Manual’s fourth touchdown. The extra point by Friedman was good.
“[I did really well with] oh, just staying in the game, keeping my teammates in the game, you know, just motivating them and keeping them in the game so we can finish the game strong,” Traynor said.
St. X got the ball back with only a few minutes left, however. With only one chance left on fourth down in their own territory, St. X went for it, but St. X quarterback Mason Trimble was taken down, allowing Manual to regain possession, taking a knee to end the game.
“Well, there’s always the little details, but we’ll worry about that tomorrow and next week. It’s a night to celebrate,” head coach Keith Eckloff said.
Manual beat St. X, with a final score of 29-22. The Crimsons will play the Pleasure Ridge Park Panthers next Friday night at Manual Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
