For the first time all year, Manhattan High’s air attack was on full display.

“Every week we try to add just a little bit to our arsenal offensively,” head coach Joe Schartz said. “We’ve been able to put in a few more things. We did see that we felt like we could really challenge Emporia’s secondary, and we did a nice job.”

MHS (6-1) followed senior quarterback Talon Claussen’s arm to a 38-7 victory over Emporia (3-4). Claussen was 10-20 passing, recording three touchdowns on 187 yards, all career highs.

“Any chance I get to throw the ball, I’m completely fine with that,” Claussen said. “It’s really fun to throw the ball, give a chance to get our receivers the ball.”

Coming in, the Indians had an idea they would favor the passing game.

“There’s always the possibility of throwing,” Claussen said, “but I think this week, he emphasised passing a little bit more.”

Emporia wasn’t left out. Junior quarterback Jace Stewart threw the ball 38 times, completing 28 for 239 yards and a touchdown.

“[Coming in,] we expected them to throw,” senior Caleb Payne said. “A lot of the teams have been running on us, so it puts a lot more pressure on us.”

Payne recorded Manhattan’s only takeaway of the night, intercepting Stewart in the second quarter for his third of the season.

“[Payne’s] just steady and consistent,” Schartz said. “He’s somebody you can always rely on. He’s always going to go out there and give his best effort, did a nice job out there getting an interception.”

MHS capitalized on Payne’s interception, turning it into a 68-yard touchdown run by junior Kevontae McDonald. McDonald had another big night, rushing 15 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns.

“[Having big nights is] kind of what we need [McDonald] to do,” Schartz said. “The O-line continues to progress and he’s the guy that we need to get the ball to. We give him the ball, we expect him to make plays, and he did that tonight.”

The Indians even got McDonald the ball through the air, including a hook-and-ladder play in the fourth quarter. On fourth down, Claussen threw the ball over the middle to sophomore Tyce Hoover, who lateraled it to McDonald. McDonald finished the run in the endzone, scoring his first receiving touchdown of the season.

“The kids did a nice job of listening in the huddle,” Schartz said. “Earlier, we had a third-and-long play and saw where they just bailed on us, so we knew we could go ahead and complete the curl. We worked that just a few times, and not a lot, but talked about it during the timeout and was able to execute it to perfection.”

McDonald’s touchdown helped Manhattan push its lead to 38, its biggest of the game. Though it was up big, MHS was still concerned about the score.

“Initially, the goal was to win,” Claussen said, “then once you win, the goal is to get to 21 points, because win first, then the 21 points really helps with our seeding in the playoffs.”

Manhattan’s concern was well evidenced on the next play, as Stewart hit a streaking Spencer Stewart, junior, who outran MHS 80 yards for Emporia’s only score.

“[Losing the shutout] was disappointing,” Payne said, “but what are we going to do about it? Oh well.”

Securing a 21-point victory was important to the Indians thanks to playoff seeding. If two or more teams are tied in records, they are separated on point differential. Right now, Manhattan sits in fourth in the West division, just two points behind Topeka High.

“We needed [that final touchdown],” Schartz said. “This playoff point system’s crazy. We still had a lot of time left there, we hadn’t done anything, Emporia was moving the ball on us, so we needed to get another score, and lo and behold, they come right back and get another one, so the game wasn’t over at that point, we needed a big play.”

Manhattan looks to maintain its playoff seeding next week, as it takes on Blue Valley Northwest (2-5) in Overland Park, KS. The Indians’ goal this week is to continue to improve.

“We challenged them last week to see if we can’t get better,” Schartz said, “and that’s the challenge this week. We as a coaching staff, we want to coach these kids like champions, and that means that we have extremely high expectations for them and these kids are really living up to that. It’s difficult at times, but they’ve done a nice job this season and I hope they continue it.”