STRUCK FOR 21 POINTS IN THE SECOND HALF.
SPARTANS TURN FOCUS TO NEXT WEEK’s DISTRICT OPENER AGAINST GREENWOOD; CRIMSONS REMAIN UNBEATEN IN FIVE GAMES
South Warren’s football team was looking for answers Friday night in a non-district showdown with another top-flight squad, Louisville’s DuPont Manual High School.
The Spartans didn’t find a lot of them.
In a battle of unbeaten teams, South Warren scored first, on Bryce Button’s 25-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Ayden Page in the end zone in the opening moments of the second quarter. The Crimsons — they wear L.A. Rams-inspired helmets and aren’t that much smaller up front than the Rams themselves — answered quickly, on sophomore quarterback Kaden Mack’s bomb to Manual teammate Willis Nofsinger that covered 79 yards to tie the game at 7.
From there, pretty much everything went downhill for the Spartans.
Manual’s Phoenix Perkins intercepted South quarterback Bryce Button on a quick slant pass in the second quarter, scoring on a 45-yard return, and the second half proved to be a nightmare for the Spartans, who stumbled to a 35-7 defeat. Manual gave South’s defense a steady diet of junior running back Gerian Traynor, and the Spartans offense could never sustain anything to stay within striking distance of the Crimsons.
“They’re not the kind of team where you want to fall behind,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said.
WHILE THE SPARTANS DROPPED TO 4-1.
WITH A 25-YARD TD CATCH IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
HIS TEAM ON THE ATTACK IN THE SECOND HALF.
SOME MISSED OPPORTUNITIES.
Manual, a KHSAA Class 6A squad, plays host to Louisville Christian Academy in a non-district game next week, while the Spartans (4-1) open KHSAA Class 5A, Second Region play against crosstown rival Greenwood High School. Greenwood (3-2) crushed Warren Central, 49-18, in a non-district game Friday night at The Swamp.
The Crimsons’ massive offensive line opened holes all night for Traynor, Mack and the other Manual backs, and the South Warren defense had trouble getting off the field after halftime. The game was delayed for considerable time in the final three minutes, when South Warren freshman Jamir Boards sustained a serious lower leg injury that required medical attention on the field.
Boards was transported off the field toward an ambulance outside the stadium, and players from both sides watched solemnly as medical personnel attended to him near the Manual sideline.
“That really put a damper on everything,” Smith said.
IN RESPECT FOR INJURED
SOUTH WARREN PLAYER JAMIR BOARDS.
AND THE SPARTANS OFFENSE IN CHECK.
FOR MOST OF THE SECOND HALF.
HAD TROUBLE GETTING OFF
THE FIELD IN THE SECOND HALF.
Sophomore quarterback Camden Page, Button’s backup, took the final few snaps for the South Warren offense, while Manual continued to strike for big plays in addition to Traynor’s presence with the ground game.
“The second half was really disappointing,” Smith said. “We kind of laid down and accepted defeat … We gave ’em the ball, in the red zone, multiple times. Special teams, we got our butts kicked …
“Defensively, I thought we played pretty well at times.”
Keith Eckloff, Manual’s first-year coach, was pleased with his team’s performance.
“We’ve got some size, for sure,” Eckloff said. “I’ve got high-character kids. They fight, they responded well tonight. We’re real pleased with the way we played in the second half.”
AN INTERCEPTION 45 YARDS
FOR A SECOND-QUARTER SCORE.
THREW THREE TOUCHDOWN PASSES.
HAD TO PUNT SEVERAL TIMES IN THE GAME.
The turning point, however, may have come midway through the second quarter, when South QB Bryce Button tried to find two-way star Colton Veltkamp in the left flat. Button appeared to force a pass into coverage, and the Crimsons’ Phoenix Perkins made a quick break on the ball before scoring on the 45-yard interception return.
“It probably wasn’t the best call from the sideline,” South coach Brandon Smith admitted. “Bryce was in the moment, trying to make things happen.”
South’s Ayden Page came up with a sack in the opening moments of the second half, but the Spartans’ offense went three-and-out before Manual’s Willis Nofsinger burned the home team with 37-yard punt return down the sideline. That put the Crimsons in the red zone, and Gerian Traynor scored on a draw play, a 13-yard run, to push the Manual lead to 21-7.
After the Spartans were hit with a personal foul for a facemask infraction, Manual QB Kaden Mack hit sophomore wideout Brayland Miles for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 1:35 left in the third quarter. The Crimsons scored their final TD with the passing game, too, with Mack taking advantage of good protection before unloading a 51-yard scoring pass to Nofsinger, leaving the Spartans behind by four touchdowns.
South coach Brandon Smith said he expected more from his team at the midway point of the regular season.
“It’s a little concerning,” he said. “It’s the fifth game. We just do things to ourselves. We probably outplayed them in the first half. The second half …”
South Warren will hit the practice field Monday with a collective eye on its district opener against Greenwood.
FOR ANSWERS NEXT WEEK AGAINST GREENWOOD.
ADDRESSES HIS TEAM AFTER THE GAME …
