TECUMSEH — Manhattan High coach Joe Schartz didn’t know how his young football team would handle a season-opening road trip to league rival Shawnee Heights.
It took just two quarters for his Indians to make quite a statement.
Led by junior quarterback Ian Trapp, MHS blitzed Shawnee Heights for 20 points in the second quarter before rolling to a 47-0 victory.
“I’m pleased with the outcome,” Schartz said. “The kids played really well for a first game. There were plenty of mistakes we need to clean up, but we handled Shawnee Heights up front really well.”
The two teams appeared evenly matched through most of the first half. Trapp’s 22-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter was the only breakthrough for either team until the 3:36 mark of the second quarter.
That’s when the game took a drastic turn in the visitors’ favor.
Keadrian McDonald added a two-yard touchdown run to double the Indians’ lead. After a quick Thunderbird punt, Trapp connected with McDonald on a 68-yard touchdown pass.
Shawnee Heights immediately fumbled the ball, and McDonald added one more score, a three-yard run, with less than a minute remaining in the half.
At the end of the onslaught, MHS had scored 20 points in just over three minutes, and Shawnee Heights never recovered.
“We were opportunistic,” Schartz said. “We hit them with a big pass to take a three-touchdown lead. I thought that was the biggest play of the game.”
Trapp, who transferred to MHS from Ellsworth over the summer, provided two exclamation marks on the game in the third quarter. He started the second half with a 55-yard touchdown run, then added a 60-yard score just minutes later to give the Indians a 41-0 lead.
He did not play in the fourth quarter and finished with 177 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries.
“Ian did a nice job,” Schartz said. “He’s done well picking up the offense so quickly. I’m pretty sure he was nervous in his first game here, but he performed well.”
McDonald complimented Trapp in the ground game with 52 yards on 11 carries and three total touchdowns.
On the defensive side, MHS was just as impressive. The Indians held the Thunderbirds to just 65 yards of total offense, including -1 in the second half. Shawnee Heights was unable to get anything going, despite an offensive line that had a significant size advantage over the MHS defensive line.
Schartz said athleticism is what made the difference in that department.
“The kids are well-conditioned,” Schartz said. “They played hard and got off the ball quickly. They sustained it for four quarters.”
Manhattan registered its first shutout in a season opener since 1996 and largest win over the T-Birds since 1963.
The Indians will now turn their attention to the Seaman Vikings, who will be in Manhattan next week for MHS’ home opener.
