The Manhattan Indians (3-0) outlasted the Hays Indians (2-1) 10-8, in a tooth-and-nail defensive battle on Sept. 19 at Bishop Stadium that was headlined by an 86-yard punt return touchdown by senior JJ Dunnigan.
“Hays is a fantastic football team,” head coach Joe Schartz said. “They’ve already beat Derby and Choctaw, the defending state champ from Oklahoma who’s a very talented team. So it just proves that our kids can step up and and we can compete with whoever’s on the field.”
Hays featured a big-bodied offensive line, which was highly touted as one of the best in the state coming into the game, but the Manhattan defense broke through, pressuring the quarterback on multiple occasions.
“We might not be the biggest. But man, we’ll find a way to get around,” junior linebacker Max Evans-Pryor said.
Penalties piled up for both teams and particularly for Manhattan who had a touchdown wiped off the board on their second offensive drive because of a block-in-the-back penalty. That drive for Manhattan resulted in a turnover on downs.
“It’s horrible. I think we had 16 penalties [in the game],” Schartz said.
Both teams were left scoreless in the first quarter, trading punts.
With less than a minute left in the half, Hays, set back by penalties, turned the ball over on downs giving Manhattan a chance to score before half.
Following a first down by senior wide receiver Ja’Marcus Vornes, Dunnigan bobbled an on-point pass and Hays intercepted it, giving them the rock right before halftime.
But for the second straight drive, Hays got into the red zone but failed to score, as Manhattan blocked Hays’ field goal attempt in the final seconds before halftime, ending the half with the score knotted up at zero.
“I had to explain to our kids that 0-0 at half time is a good place,” Schartz said. “The glass is half full.”
MHS went into the second half looking for something, anything, to give them the momentum. They found it. After being crowned Homecoming King at halftime, Dunnigan took his throne to the end zone with a punt return touchdown, redeeming himself for his first half miscue and putting Manhattan up 7-0.
“I was very surprised that they kicked the ball to JJ, but they did and caught a few blocks, and then the rest was just speed,” Schartz said.
The touchdown turned the tide for MHS.
“We had no points on the board,” Dunnigan said. “It felt good to get my team some energy, get us going.”
Dunnigan, a four-star recruit, is committed to play football at the University of Kansas where he intends to play both sides of the ball like he does as a defensive back and wide receiver on the Indians.
“I just feel like I’m an athlete and I can help in multiple ways,” Dunnigan said. “So that’s what I bring to the table.”
Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, senior kicker Prescott Balderson nailed a field goal through the uprights making it a two-score game, with MHS up 10-0.
Then Hays, not willing to let the game go, drove down field and scored a rushing touchdown and added on a two-point conversion, building up the intensity as Hays trailed by just two, 10-8 with just under five minutes left in the game.
Manhattan went into the ensuing drive with one goal: to run as much time off the clock as possible and stay undefeated on the season.
A clutch pass from senior quarterback Finn Watson to senior tight end Greyson Wassenberg on third-and-eight gave Manhattan 17 yards and another set of downs, helping them shave some time off the clock.
“Proud of Finn there at the end there. We did a little read play, and he hit Greyson to convert on the first down,” Schartz said.
But, later in the drive, MHS ended up having to punt after being set back by even more penalties, giving Hays the chance to take the lead with 1:55 left in the game and no timeouts.
The Hays offense made it to midfield and ultimately, the whole game came down to fourth-and-eight. The Manhattan defense held firm, sealing the win, as MHS players jumped for joy.
“They’re a really good team, but to come out here and just prove everyone wrong, it means a lot,” Evans-Pryor said. “We just do it for each other.”
Manhattan is right back at it, for a second-straight home game at Bishop Stadium on Sept. 26, in the fight for the Silver Trophy against the Junction City Blue Jays (2-1), who they beat 52-0 on the road last season.
