Laurence Manning football team having a roller coaster season

          Manning – There have been some very good moments for the Laurence Manning Academy football team this season. And, there have been plenty of not-so-good moments as well. That’s what happens when you own a 3-4 record.

           “It is a roller coaster, lots of peaks and valleys,” Jimmy Noonan said of his first season as the Swampcats head coach. “Every single team faces adversity at some point, whether you’re on the top or on the bottom. It’s more of a mental thing.”

           Laurence Manning opened the season with a 37-0 win over John Paul II before falling to Heathwood Hall 14-7. The Swampcats then suffered a 48-9 loss to Northwood Academy. However, they bounced back from that with a 14-13 victory over archrival and 2-time SCISA AAA state runner-up Wilson Hall.

           Laurence Manning got the defending AAA state champion Pinewood Prep the next week, losing 50-25. The Swampcats bounced back though, shutting out Ben Lippen 41-0 for their first AAAA victory in three games.

           The seventh game came against Hammond, which has won eight straight state titles. The Skyhawks won 37-8.

           Noonan pointed out no matter who the Swampcats have faced, the effort has been there each week.

“Physically we don’t match up with some of the people we play against,” Noonan said. “Nonetheless, I think we’re getting good effort. Against Northwood, our team was battling all the way until the end. Right now, I’d say they’re the standard in AAAA.

“We’re figuring it out as we go. We’ve having great effort and preparation and we’re where we need to be. We’re having a good, solid approach every Friday.”

           Junior quarterback Grainger Powell is the leader of the offense. The 3-year starter had completed 91 of 136 passes for 1,247 yards and eight touchdowns against just three interceptions though the first six games.

           Powell has done a tremendous job distributing the football. Five different players were in the teens in receptions, and Powell had thrown touchdown passes to five different receivers as well.

           The leading pass catcher was tight end Asher Sanders. He had 19 catches for 248 yards, but he had no scoring receptions. Wide receiver Zy Dennis had 18 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown while his brother, Scoop Dennis, had 17 catches for 340 yards and four scores, both team highs.

           Wide receiver Payton Brown had 16 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown, and wide receiver Rob Briggs had 14 catches for 236 yards and a touchdown.

           The other touchdown reception belongs to running back Pierson Gamble, who had four catches for 45 yards.

           The Swampcats have struggled to run the football. Through the first five games, they were averaging just over 113 rushing yards a game. Running back Eli Sandifer was leading the team with 150 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries. Gamble had 108 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries. Powell had 131 yards and three touchdowns on 69 carries.

           Senior left tackle Tristen White is the leader of the offensive line.

           “He’s there for a reason,” Noonan said of White. “He’s a returning starter who has picked up where he left off. He’s one of the guys who’s able to anchor down. He’s very athletic. He runs well and has great feet.”

           White had four rhino blocks and six pancake blocks on the season.         There is a distinction between a knockdown block and a rhino block.

According to White, a knockdown is when a linebacker steps into a hole and a lineman is able to put him on the ground. A rhino block is when a lineman locks up a defender, drives him five to 10 yards and “plants” him on the ground.

“I pride myself on rhino blocks,” said the 6-foot-1-inch, 265-pound White. “I love those.”

           Sophomore placekicker and punter Daniel Vargas is having a strong season. He was averaging over 38 yards a punt and had connected on four field goals. He hit on field goals of 45 and 40 yards, respectively, in the win over Ben Lippen.

“He has a lot of potential,” Noonan said. “He handles all of the kicking duties. He’s in the upper 30s range (in yards per punt) in punting, and it’s golden when you know you’ve got a kid who can knock it out of the end zone. That’s a great luxury to have.”

LMA VOLLEYBALL TEAM STILL DEVELOPING

           The record may not say as such, but first-year Laurence Manning volleyball head coach Alexus Carter believes her team is growing and developing.

           “I think they're coming along,” Carter said of the Lady ‘Cats, who won four of their first 12 matches and started 1-5 in Region 3-AAAA. “We’ve changed a lot and started back at Square 1. I think they’ve come a tremendous way from the start of the season.”

           The regular starters are senior Anjolina McBride, junior Gracie Lyles, senior Abigail Voll, sophomore Emily Frierson, sophomore Cydney Cassell, junior Caroline Barkley and sophomore Irelynn Connors. However, due to an injury and a family matter sidelining a couple of players, senior Autumn Bryant, senior Jayden O’Mara and junior Ella Kay Jackson are getting some starts as well.

           Lyles was leading the team in kills with 79, digs with 110 and service aces with 28 to go along with 11 assists. Barkley had 41 kills, 70 igs, five blocked shots and 14 aces, Connors had 42 kills, 78 digs, seven blocks and 18 aces, Cassell had 28 kills, 23 digs, eight aces and nine assists, McBride had10 kills, 69 digs, 13 aces and 43 assists, and Frierson had three kills, 44 digs and four aces.

           Other members of the team are senior Paisley Newman and senior Hollie Mae Self.

           Carter, who was the B team head coach the two previous seasons, said her team is still absorbing the ins and outs of the game.

           “I feel like we’ve made the most progress just learning the game of volleyball,” Carter said. “It takes a lot to put it all together. From where we came from to where we are now in the knowledge of the game is tremendous.

“We’re trying to teach them all of that. If they apply everything they’ve learned we’ll be good. I’m very hopeful.”