Manning hopes Jontavious Canty's return spurs team in second half

       Manning – The Manning High School football team got Jontavious Canty back on defense in a September 26 game against East Clarendon after he missed the first four games with a dislocated hip. The linebacker, who led the Monarchs in tackles last season, had 19 tackles, albeit in a 26-12 loss.

           The Monarchs got Canty back on offense against Kingstree in an October 3 game, and he again had a huge impact. Canty, the leading rusher last season, had 148 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in a 38-16 triumph.

           Needless to say, Manning head coach Reggie Kennedy is happy to have Canty back at full strength.

           “Jon is our team captain and brings a lot of experience and energy to our team,” said Kennedy, whose team evened its overall record at 3-3 and its Region 7-AA record at 1-1with the victory.

           Kennedy said he was tempted to play Canty on offense against East Clarendon but chose not to as to not overload him in his first game back. He was at full tilt against the Blazers, however.

           Canty had eight tackles, a tackle for a loss and returned a fumble 39 yards for another score to lead the defense.

           Isaiah Baxter had a strong game running the football with 11 carries for 79 yards. Quarterback Lovell Stevenson completed 4 of 6 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver CJ Robinson had two of the catches for 52 yards and the score.

           After winning the region title last season with an undefeated record, Manning lost its opener against East Clarendon. Kennedy made sure his team didn’t panic after the loss, instead assuring it all of its goals were still in front of it.

           “I don’t think anybody’s going to go undefeated in winning the region this year,” Kennedy said following the EC game. “I think it’s going to be a tossup this year.”

           Kingstree was undefeated in region play before losing to the Monarchs. The other undefeated region team, Mullins, lost to Lake City 30-28, leaving six of the seven region teams with one loss. Kingstree, Mullins and Lake City are all 2-1, while Manning, East Clarendon and Atlantic Collegiate Academy are each 1-1.

           Kennedy said the formula for the Monarchs to have success is continued improvement, especially in one area.

           “We have to continue to get better each week, especially on defense,” he said.

           Without Canty, Manning had just one returning starter on defense. Just his presence on the field makes a huge difference, according to Kennedy.

           “He’s a leader for us,” Kennedy said after the EC game. “He’s our leader on defense. The guys tend to play harder around him. We haven’t had that the first four ball games. It was good to see that tonight.”

           Linebacker Dontavious Canty, Jontavious’ brother, led the Monarchs with 10 tackles. Linebacker Lovon Stevenson had seven tackles, three of them for a loss, and a quarterback sack. Cornerback CJ Robinson had an interception.

           Entering the Kingstree game, Ethan Lowder was the leading tackler with 46 and had 6 ½ tackles for loss. Lovon Stevenson had 31 tackles. Defensive lineman Ethan Morales had 22 tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks, and defensive back Tyresse Bennett had 22 tackles and two interceptions. Dontavious Canty also had 22 tackles along with four tackles for a loss.

           Lovell Stevenson had completed 32 of 60 passes for 589 yards and eight touchdowns. All of his touchdown passes had gone to CJ Robinson, who had 25 caches for 483 yards.

           Daniel Robinson, who got injured against EC and had no carries against Kingstree, had 610 yards and five touchdowns on 73 carries. Baxter had 323 yards and four scores on 60 carries. Lovell Stevenson had 132 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries.

`The Monarchs still have an opportunity to defend their region title. If they win out, they will have a tremendous opportunity to gain the No. 1 seed from the region in the AA playoffs. They will just have to see where the chips fall around them at that point.

           Manning, which played for the lower state title last year and finished with an 11-2 record, plays at Mulllins on October 10 followed by a trip to Conway on October 17 to face Atlantic Collegiate. The Monarchs close out the season with home games against Marion, which is winless at 0-7 and 0-3 in region play, and Lake City.

           MANNING CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS DEVELOPING

           Veteran Manning cross country coach Kimberly Ferrari likes where both the boys and girls teams stand after three meets.

           “Overall, both teams are performing at expectations, and we are continuing to grow each week as a team, not only in our stats but in our numbers as well,” Ferrari said. “I’ve been especially encouraged by the steady progress and resilience shown week to week. The focus this season has been on building consistency, and the kids are rising to the challenge.”

           The boys team returns four runners from last year in junior Jorden Hilton-Kelly, sophomore Bryce Kinard, sophomore Jesse Robinson and sophomore Tony Tran. Hilton-Kelly easily has the best time on the team this season in 21 minutes, 18 seconds.

                       Junior Mehki Anderson has a personal best on the season of 26:24, while Kinard’s is 26:27. Junior Amyr Brooks has a 28:54, Robinson a 32:48, Tran a 32:56, sophomore Gabriel Schneider a 35:19 and freshman Bobby Vaughn a 35:33.

                       The girls team returns sophomore Savannah Halstead and freshman Emma Leon. Freshman newcomer Cierra Utterback has the Monarchs’ best time at 30:52. Junior Sahira Montanez has a best of 33:25. Halstead’s best is 35:47, Leon’s best is 33:27, and sophomore newcomer Abigale Barrett’s best is 35:02.