Varsity Football heads to playoffs

Cole Schmitt, Social Media Manager
October 28, 2019

The Manhattan High football team (7-1) is heading into the playoffs feeling confident after six consecutive wins, dating back to week three.

The most noticeable win? The Silver Trophy win against rival Junction City with a last second field goal by sophomore Grant Snowden.

Junior ? performs with the MHS Big Blue Marching Band during their halftime show. The performance featured country music and band students dressed in classic blue jeans and flannels to sell the show. Photo by Hailey Eilert
Senior Maggie Fontinini snaps to the beat as the MHS Big Blue Marching Band heads off the field at the end of their halftime performance. Fontini is a second-year drum major, other drum majors for the band this school year are seniors Jayna Schwartz and Josh Brandt. Photo by Hailey Eilert
Senior Jacob Hirschey plays defense during the Junction City game in attempt to stop Junction City’s advancements towards the endzone. The rivalry game decides which school gets to claim the silver trophy until the next football season. This year the MHS Indians took back the trophy after defeating JC 31-28. Photo by Hailey Eilert
Senior Mya Brown cheers on the MHS Indians on the sidelines of the Junction City game. The cheerleaders took a break from their normal uniforms to stay warm for the cold game on Oct. 11, wearing instead pullovers, sweats, and gloves. The final score of the game was 31-28 another win for the MHS varsity team. Photo by Hailey Eilert.
Senior BJ Young runs towards the endzone to score a touchdown for MHS. MHS and school rivals Junction City competed at Bishop Stadium on Oct. 11. The Indians won the game 31-28 after a very close match. Photo by Hailey Eilert
Senior BJ Young drives down the field as his opponets attempt to end the play. Young and the MHS team battled for another team win on Oct. 11 against Junction CIty. The close game came to an end when the Indians scored in the last moments of the game, securing the bag for MHS and the return of the silver trophy. Photo by Hailey Eilert
Seniors Mady McCollough and Madeline Crocker cheer in voctory after the MHS Indians scored the final point of the rivalry game against Junction City. The student section stayed loud and proud during the high-stakes game. Students like Crocker and McCollough bundled up and dressed in red to stay warm and school spirited. Photo by Hailey Eielrt
Senior Mitch Munsen cheers and hollers in the MHS student section at Bishop Stadium during the highly anticipated football game against their school rival Junction City. The Friday night game brought out a large crowd of MHS students and staff to cheer on the MHS Indians as they competed for the silver trophy. MHS won the game 31-28 taking back the silver trophy to the halls of MHS. Photo by Hailey Eilert
Senior BJ Young holds up the silver trophy and teammate senior Sam Shields raises his arm in victory. Manhattan High School and Junction City competed for the trophy, rivalry award and bragging rights on Oct. 11 at Bishop Stadium. The game was neck-and-neck going into the fourth quarter but MHS pulled ahead 29-28 after making the extra point in the final moments of the game. Photo by Hailey Eilert
Junior Dayne Aschenbrenner sprints with the ball, dodging his Junction city opponets. Manhattan High School took home the silver trophy on Oct.11 after the MHS Indians won the game. The final score of the rivalry game was 31-28, leaving the Indians with a 5-1 record so far this season. Photo by Hailey Eilert

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“It felt incredible,” Snowden said. “Just to bring the Silver Trophy back to Manhattan is amazing. It’s a big deal around here, but for these seniors, it’s a first time thing. [Senior] Tyce Hoover said before the game in the huddle how important this is [to him because] he never got to touch that trophy. So to be able to do it for all of them was amazing.”

The Indians were up early on Junction but the Jays fought back making it a close game. When the time was right, Snowden would run onto the field with only a couple seconds left to clinch the game for the Indians.

The Tribe would keep that momentum going into the next two games, against Topeka West at home and Highland Park on the road. The Indians combined to score 130 between the two games and allowed zero points. 

“Well we saw a few things where we’re going to have to make some changes,” head coach Joe Schartz said. “We continue to work at them and they continue to not be very good and so we’re going to have to make some changes heading into the future.

Going into the playoffs, the Indians hope to be well rested as they played many players against both West and Highland to make sure of no injuries or anything too serious heading into the playoffs.

“We have a lot of guys that are a little bit sore, and that’s not uncommon at this time of the year,” Schartz said. “We’ll give some guys a couple days off and see how they respond and see if we can get our legs back underneath us before the start of the playoffs.”

The last regular season home game against Topeka West marked the annual senior night for the 2020 class. Schartz is proud of what they’ve accomplished over the years going through this program.

“[These seniors have] come a long way and we’ve been through a lot together,” Schartz said. “I’m just extremely proud of how far they’ve come and how much improvement they’ve made not only as football players, but more importantly as people, and that’s why we do this. To try to better ourselves and prepare ourselves for the future.”

The Indians (4-seed) will play host to Hutchinson High (13-seed) this Friday night in the first round of the playoffs. If they move on from that, they will play host to either Lawrence Free State (5-seed) or Wichita South (12-seed).

“I think we have nothing to lose. This is a team this year that I believe can go very far into the postseason,” Snowden said. “We just [got to] keep our heads on straight and eliminate any silly mistakes going forward. Effort has to be there in practice going forward.”