Before Friday night’s road opener, Manhattan High coach Joe Schartz talked about the importance of finishing games strong. The Indians did just that in a convincing, 41-13 victory over Seaman.
Daniel Izquierdo rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown, linebacker Adam Al-Soltani added two defensive scores and Manhattan used a complete performance in all phases to stay unbeaten in 2014.
“We made a lot of big plays,” Schartz said. We took advantage and did some things on offense to get a couple scores.”
After a scoreless first quarter, MHS opened the scoring when QB Erik Prockish connected with RB Chris Martin from 12 yards out. Later in the quarter, Izquierdo broke through the middle for a 64-yard touchdown run, the longest for an MHS player since 2012.
“We needed him to be big for us at the fullback spot,” Schartz said. “He gives us another weapon people need to be aware of.”
MHs led 14-0 at halftime and let its defense put the game away. With the Vikings on the verge of pulling within a touchdown, Al-Soltani scooped up a fumble and returned it 85 yards for a score. He capped the game with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown in the final minutes.
Seaman committed three turnovers, two of them deep in MHS territory. The Vikings were held to just 190 yards of total offense.
MHS RB Chris Martin added 54 rushing yards for the Indians while Prockish finished the game 6-of-10 passing for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Gus Pease led MHS with two catches for 56 yards.
The Indians will host 2-0 Hayden next week in a battle for the top spot in the Centennial League. Schartz said the team still has a lot of improvement to make.
“We need to get better at tackling and blocking,” he said. “Just some fundamentals. But we have our second game under our belt, the kids are doing a nice job and I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
