Manhattan Indians football (4-1) hammered the Emporia Spartans (2-3) 41-6 on Oct. 3 at Welch Stadium in Emporia, bouncing back from a loss the week prior against Junction City. The win marked the Indians 11th-straight takedown of the Spartans.
“We patched up penalties and silly mistakes, mistakes that we didn’t need to make,” junior running back EJ Massenburg said. “Last week, our energy was down. We went in there thinking that we’re going to just run over JC. This week, we thought ‘we’re not going to beat ourselves.’”
Massenburg and junior Max Evans-Pryor, who also plays linebacker, filled a void at running back for senior Kha’Mario Davis, who was sidelined due to injury for a second-straight game.
“Mario went down. I got to be the next man up,” Massenburg said. “It’s just the job.”
All six of the Indians touchdowns were on the ground, split evenly between Massenburg, Evans-Pryor and senior quarterback Finn Watson. In addition to his strong performance in the run game, Evans-Pryor led the Indians with 13 total tackles, 1.5 sacks and 3 tackles for a loss.
“Max is a heck of a football player. He’s a lot of fun to watch. It doesn’t matter whether he’s on defense or offense, he plays the game the right way. He’s fast and physical and he plays with passion,” head coach Joe Schartz said. “I’m glad Max is on our team.”
Davis wasn’t the only starter inactive for the short-handed Indians.
“We came into this game minus nine starters with injuries and so, to be able to perform as well as we did, it speaks to the effort that these kids put in,” Schartz said.
On their first possession, Emporia turned the ball over on downs on their own 38-yard line. The Indians took advantage of the great starting field position, with a rushing touchdown by Watson. Emporia, though, clapped back with a 79-yard rushing touchdown.
“We slanted wrong and just opened up that gap,” Schartz said.
Little did the Spartans know, they wouldn’t score any more points for the rest of the game, as the Indians won by 35 in dominant fashion.
“We did the things that we needed to do to win, just come out and take the heart away from the opponent, and [we were] able to run the ball pretty good,” Schartz said. “And once again, the defense continued to play really well.”
The Indians’ 28-14 loss a week prior against JC in the Silver Trophy game at Bishop Stadium, was the first and only loss of the Indians season so far. The loss broke the Indian’s four-game winning streak in the rivalry.
“They’re definitely the fastest team that we’ve played. It’s a different look,” Watson said.
Junction City intercepted the Indians five times, four of which were thrown by Watson.
“My wife, she coined the term that it’s a ‘throw-up-in-your-hands day,’” Schartz said.
After a rollercoaster of outcomes in the last few games, the Indians will play a second-straight road game this week, facing off against the Wichita Northwest Grizzlies (4-1), who’s a spot ahead of the Indians in the 6A west bracket standings.
“They’re very talented and they have size and speed on both sides of the ball,” Schartz said. “Hopefully we get a few guys back healthy and add to our roster a little bit, and take a good team down there and give them a good competition.”
