Manning's Kennedy pleased with start of season
Monarchs allowed just eight points through first two games
Manniing – From the first play of the football game, Manning High School set the tone against Clarendon County School District rival Scott’s Branch. And it never changed.
Jamari Wilson returned the opening kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown, and the Monarchs never really took the foot off the gas in what ended up as a 50-0 victory at Spann Stadium on Friday, August 25.
“We preached on getting off to a good start. We wanted to get off to a better start than we did last week,” said Manning head coach Reggie Kennedy, whose team opened the season with a 24-8 victory over Kingstree. “I think we did. Defensively, we created a lot of turnovers. We probably scored more points on defense than offense tonight.”
It was actually a wash. Wilson’s return brought the only special teams points. MHS returned two interceptions for scores, had two scoring drives of 57 yards or more and had two TDs set up by a short field after a turnover.
Manning forced five turnovers, the two interceptions and three fumble recoveries.
After the kickoff return, Manning forced SBHS to punt and took possession at its 43-yard line. The Monarchs needed five plays to get into the end zone. Wide receiver Jeffrey Ceasar had a 12-yard reception from quarterback JaRae Mitchell, Jaylnn Coard had a 10-yard run and Wilson had a 17-yard run to get them to the Scott’s Branch 1-yard line. Running back Emmanuel Betrand scored on the next play and the 6-foot-2-inch, 260-pound Coard ran for the 2-point conversion to make it 16-0 with 7:03 left in the first quarter.
It took a kickoff and one offensive play from the Eagles for MHS to get on the scoreboard again. Freshman Quintin Jackson, one of three players to take snaps at QB for SBHS, was intercepted by linebacker DJ McFadden at the Scott’s Branch 28. He took it in for the score to make 22-0 with 6:38 left.
Kennedy was happy with the way his defense played.
“They played with their hair on fire tonight, and that's kind of what we wanted,” he said. “I thought we had a great week of practice. Our defensive staff did a good job of putting them in position to make plays and our kids made the plays. We turned the football over and scored off the turnovers. That's real big.”
Manning’s next score came off an interception as well. Junior Nigel Lawson had the football going forward when he lost it and Monarch defensive lineman Jontavious Canty grabbed it out of the air. He went 15 yards for the score and running back Triston Thames added the 2-point run to make it 30-0 with 1:17 left in the first quarter.
Scott’s Branch fumbled the ball away at its 16 and Coard went around left end with 7:42 left in the second quarter to make the halftime score 36-0.
The second half was played with a running clock. The Monarchs did put together a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive on its first possession of the second half. It ended with Thames scoring from three yards out and Coard running for two.
The final score came after the Eagles lost a fumble at their 25. Running back Emory Hampton scored from two yards out.
The Monarchs finished with 117 rushing yards which was deceiving because of the turnovers and the short fields. Against Kingstree, Thames ran for 145 yards and a score.
“I'm old-fashioned when it comes to offensive football,” Kennedy said. “I like to run the football, I like a little smashmouth. I think the game is won in the trenches on both sides of the football. In high school football, if you can run the football and stop the run your chances of winning are greater.”
` “I think we finally did find an identity for our offense. We've got to run the football first to set up our passing game. That's one thing we did late in the game tonight. We wanted to work on a few things passing-wise for something we're going to need a little later down the road.”
Mitchell was 5-for-9 for 46 yards.
“He did good,” Kennedy said. “He does pretty good when we move him out of the pocket. We've still got to find a few things he can throw from in the pocket. He's OK in our quick game, but he kind of struggled a little bit on the 5-step drop in the pocket. I think repetition and seasoning in the game, he'll get better at it.”
Manning’s starting wide receivers are Ceasar and Ryan Atkinson with Jarron Hammett the tight end.
Kennedy is excited about his offensive line. It has senior Javon Murray (6-feet-2-inches, 280 pounds) at left tackle, sophomore Ethan Canty (6-0, 250) at left guard, junior Mark Locklear (6-0, 240) at center, Jeremy Blanding (6-1, 240) at right guard and Jamon Brock (6-4, 280) at right tackle.”
“We're doing a good job,” Kennedy said. “We finally found the right combination. They're going to get better each week and that's going to be the key down the stretch when we get to region play.”
Starting on the defensive line are Murray, Coard, Hammett and Jontavious Canty (5-10, 205). The linebackers are juniors Lamar Hilton and McFadden along with senior Naiziah York. Wilson and Ceasar start at cornerbacks while Deyvon Jamison and Trayvon Bannister are the safeties.
Kennedy likes the toughness of his defense and the depth he has up front.
“One thing about the kids in Manning, they will hit you on defense,” he said. “I think we've got some depth up front on our D line. That's where we've got a little advantage. We can keep fresh guys up front, keep the pressure on an offensive line. That's good for us, that's a plus for us. That will help us out down the stretch.”
Jontavious Canty will handle the kicking chores.
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