On Friday, Nov. 8, the Manual Crimsons defeated the Campbell County Camels with a score of 45-0 in the first round of the KHSAA Class 6A playoffs. The Crimson Crazies designated the theme to be “frat bro.”
First Half:
The Camels started off the game on offense. They fumbled the ball, but were able to recover it. Then, a flag on the play resulted in a loss of several yards. The Camels were forced to punt as a result, and the Crimsons took possession.
Brayland Miles (#14, 10) attempted to catch the ball from a pass by Kaden Mack (#6, 10), but the pass was incomplete. However, the Crimsons got the first down a few plays later, and continued down the field with a carry by Aiden Blakey (#8, 12), who gained seven yards. A flag on the play, however, resulted in a loss of five yards. Cameron Jessee (#19, 12) ran to the endzone, signaling to Mack he was open, but failed to catch the ball. Shortly after, however, Miles scored the Crimsons’ first touchdown. The extra point, kicked by Parker Friedman (#53, 12), was good. Manual now led Campbell County 7-0.
The Camels regained possession, but were unable to complete a first down. A time-out was then called, and the Crimsons took the ball when play resumed after the punt. They gained a yard, but were unable to advance any farther. Jackson Pritts (#17, 10) then punted, and possession returned to the Camels. They gained four yards, but were then stopped by a tackle from Blakey. Campbell County continued to gain yardage, but blocks by Jessee and Dahmarie Wilson (#13, 10) prevented them from gaining momentum. The Camels lost four yards due to a flag on the play. A few plays later, they lost an additional two yards for a flag on the reception. Max Thomas (#42, 10) sacked the quarterback, and the Camels lost another two yards, putting, at fourth down and 18. As they were preparing to punt, time ran out, and the quarter ended with Manual in the lead, 7-0.
At the start of the second quarter, the Crimsons began on offense. A flag on the play caused a loss of five yards, but Jessee was able to gain six yards for the Crimsons. A few plays later, Willis Nofsinger (#5, 12) caught the ball to complete the first down. Then, Nofsinger carried the ball for a number of yards, but a flag on the play resulted in a loss of 10 yards. As a result, the Crimsons were at third and 17. Consequently, they were unable to get the first down. However, on the next play, Friedman kicked a 34- yard field goal, bringing the score to 10-0 for Manual.
Campbell County got the ball back, and attempted to move down the field, but during one play, Braydon Underwood (#21, 12) made a huge tackle for loss. An official timeout was then called, and when play resumed, the Camels lost two yards. They got the first down, and continued to advance, but were stopped by tackles from Warner and Wilson. The Camels made it to third and five, and the Crimsons called a time-out. On the next play, Jessee and Antwan Hogue (#51, 12) sacked the Campbels’ quarterback, which placed the Camels back at fourth down and 11. They made the decision to punt, and the ball returned to the Crimsons.
Manual started at first and 10 on their own 45 yard line, with good field position. They were able to achieve the first down, and Jeremy Presley carried the ball 23 yards a play later. A few plays later, Presley then ran 20 yards to score a touchdown, and the subsequent extra point was good, bringing the score to 17-0, with Manual in the lead.
Campbell County got the ball back, but the ball was intercepted by Kaden Baker (#1, 12), who scored a touchdown. The extra point by Friedman was good. The score was now 24-0. The Camels regained possession, and then called a time-out. A few plays later, the ball was intercepted yet again, this time by Wilson. Shortly after, Gerian Traynor (#34, 11) scored a touchdown, and the extra point was good, bringing the score to 31-0.
The Camels were unable to gain much yardage, and made the decision to punt a few plays later on fourth down, with the ball returned by Nofsinger. Laterrian Spencer (#10, 11) gained a yard on a run play, and. Miles scored a touchdown a few plays later, with 23 seconds remaining in the half. The extra point by Friedman was good. Once the clock finally ran down, signaling halftime, the Crimsons were leading the Camels 38-0.
Halftime:
The Crimson Sound marching band and the Color Guard performed at halftime. The officials also made the decision to have the second half go on a running clock, with the exception of timeouts.
Second Half:
The Crimsons started with the ball, with Nofsinger receiving the ball on the kick-off. Nofsinger then ran and scored a 95-yard touchdown to start the second half. The extra point by Friedman was good, making the score 45-0, in the Crimsons’ favor.
“Oh the team’s doing great. I mean, I couldn’t be more proud of the team. Everybody’s balling. I love this team,” Nofsinger said.
Campbell County got the ball back, but after several incomplete passes, they were forced to punt. The Crimsons took the ball back, but a flag against Manual a few plays later caused them to lose four yards. This put them at fourth and 12, and Pritts punted as a result. The Camels’ offense took the field, but they were quickly blocked by Ronald Marshall (#33, 12). They managed to gain four yards, but the clock ran out, signaling the end of the third quarter. The score was still 45 to zero at the quarter’s end.
The Crimsons started the final quarter on offense, but a flag on the play caused them to lose several yards. A few plays later, Andrew Hoerter (#26, 10) carried the ball eight yards, putting the Crimsons at second and two. However, the Crimsons were unable to achieve the first down, and the Camels took the ball. They were stopped by tackles from Thomas and Leslie Hall (#45, 10), however. Soon after, they were run out of bounds by Andrew Newman (#37, 10). A flag on the play was called against the Crimsons, resulting in a gain of 15 yards for the Camels. A few plays later, another flag was called against the Crimsons for pass interference. However, the Camels had several incomplete passes, and were unable to capitalize off the penalties that were called against Manual.
The game ended shortly later with a score of 45-0, in favor of the Crimsons.
“I just want to thank God, thank my mother, Coach Eckloff, all my teammates and whoever invented football,” Nosfinger said.
The Crimsons will play their next game on Friday, Nov. 15, against Great Crossing at 7:30 p.m. in the Round of 16 of the KHSAA Class 6A playoffs at Manual Stadium.
