Manhattan High football (4-1) defeated the Emporia Spartans last Friday night away from home. The Indians put the game away from the Spartans in the first quarter on their way to a 35-12 victory. 

“We played well as a team,” senior Tyce Hoover said. “We were a 14-point underdog heading into last Friday night and that really motivated us.”

According to MaxPreps — a site that ranks schools — the team was lined up below Emporia before the game earlier in the week. The team used this as an inspiring factor in the game.

“We believe in a humbler environment,” senior Ben Bolte said. “If we see posts on social media towards us we do not respond, we do not brag, we do not make a fool of ourselves, we practiced hard with the mind set every team should have. And when adversity struck during the week we adapted, overcame and executed.”

The Indians got the train rolling early with it on the ground. Senior running back B.J. Young got the Tribe on the board first with a rushing touchdown. It was followed by two rushing touchdowns from junior quarterback Dayne Aschenbrenner. That put MHS up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and the Indians never looked back from there.

“I believe the main success consisted of multiple things, which consisted of how much focus we had throughout the week, how we loaded the bus, how we presented ourselves,” Bolte said. “All [of] which [we] would call small details helped us to the biggest success that night, which was the win.”

Aschenbrenner found the endzone two more times that night, which put him at four rushing touchdowns in the game. The second year starter will look to help the Indians against a similar opponent this Friday night.

The Manhattan Indians will return home this Friday night for the historical Silver Trophy Game against Junction City. The Indians will look to avenge a loss against the Wildcats last year at Bishop Stadium in front of the home crowd.

“Now that I am a senior, the Silver Trophy means more than ever,” Bolte said. “As a sophomore and a junior, I didn’t have a full meaning set in my brain on why it was so important. This game will not only determine what our playoffs will look like but it is a game our fans, students and teammates all expect in a different way of how we perform.”