The second quarter was all Manhattan needed to win.

The Manhattan High football team earned its second win of the season Friday night, a 49-21 win over Seaman in the Indians’ home-opener. MHS tallied 35 points in the second frame, a feat head coach Joe Schartz was quick to credit to both his defense and offense.

“Everything was going right,” Schartz said. “The defense played a great game tonight. [Seaman] was having a hard time moving the ball, and we were getting the ball…. Things really started happening for us, and I think what really broke it up was the plays in the passing game.”

Also in the second, junior Zephry Killham picked off Seaman quarterback Dalton Cowan, setting up junior quarterback Trapp’s seven-yard touchdown run. Manhattan’s lead was then 28-0, and Schartz was content with his team’s two forced-turnovers on the night.

“That’s the game of football — if you can protect the football and you can create turnovers, you have a great chance to win,” Schartz said. “I think so far, we’ve done a nice job of that.”

Trapp racked up 120 passing yards to go along with 138 rushing yards, and accounted for five total touchdowns. He exited the game following a 29-yard strike in the third frame to junior Parker Beer to push the Indians’ lead to 49-0, a play he attributed mostly to Beer.

“They were trying to guard two guys with one guy,” Trapp said. “So whoever they went with, I could just throw to the opposite. Parker crossed his face, and I hit him, and the rest was all Parker.”

Trapp explained that the work the team did in practice allowed for the margin to be anticipated to a certain extent.

“We’ve done a lot of preparation over the summer and the first weeks of school, and we practice so hard,” Trapp said. “Any result, we’ve definitely worked for. So I guess it’s to be expected a little bit.”

Seaman’s offense came primarily via Cowan and running back Colton Moranz, the latter of whom contributed 127 total yards. Schartz was pleased with how his defense contained the duo.

“They basically have one quality run play, and that’s the inside zone,” Schartz said. “Our guys were doing a great job of holding the line of scrimmage and gang tackling.”

Schartz also praised the defense as a whole.

“They’re doing a great job in preparation and listening to the coaches,” Schartz said. “We’re getting lined up, and we’re getting to the football. We’re playing great defense.”

After Manhattan went into the locker room at halftime with a 42-0 lead, the scoring slowed down for the home team in the third, save for Trapp’s touchdown pass, but the Vikings got on the board. Cowan punched it in from a yard out, but MHS entered the final period with a 49-7 advantage.

Seaman went on to score twice in the final quarter, both courtesy of Cowan, but Manhattan hung on to improve to 2-0 on the young season.

Absent from the game was junior running back Keiadrain McDonald, who sustained an injury last Friday, Sept. 4, against Shawnee Heights. Schartz was cautiously optimistic about the situation.

“He’s going to be out for some time,” Schartz said. “The good news is that he will be back this season.”

The Indians now turn their attention to Hayden next Friday in Topeka. Trapp was optimistic about his team’s chances on the road.

“We’ve had a couple great games coming out,” Trapp said. “I think we’re going to be really excited going into this next week in practice, and we’ll be working hard.”