Posted: Saturday, October 25, 2003 12:00 am
Published in The (Sumter, S.C.) Item
I remember having to follow someone from a grocery store to the high school because I was lost. Also, I had to drive about an hour back to the Manning bureau and file the story in about 20-30 minutes. I think this was the game where I had the exact halftime statistics as the statistician for Manning High School. Ah, the joys of covering high school football.
Wolves edge Manning 25-21
By BEN LEDBETTER
Item Sports Writer
ST. STEPHEN -- Manning High School's football team started out strong Friday against Timberland Friday at the Timberland field, but it wasn't enough.
The Wolves used three fourth-quarter touchdowns to defeat the Monarchs 25-21 and win the Region VIII-3A title for the second consecutive year.
The loss also ends Manning's 5-game winning streak as the Monarchs drop to 5-4 overall and 3-1 in the region. Timberland remains undefeated at 8-0 and 3-0.
Manning actually led 21-7 at halftime, but not sustaining drives and being flagged for eight penalties for a loss of 70 yards doomed the Monarchs, according to head coach Robbie Briggs.
"We had three separate times where we were getting eight, nine, 10 yards on first downs and we would hold them," Briggs said. "Three drives in a row that really hurt us. We just can't overcome those things. Penalties killed us. We really outplayed these guys tonight, and penalties and special teams killed us."
Manning scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, one on a Larki Parks 35-yard run at the 9:40 mark and the other from Josh Miller three minutes later with a 29-yard run to put the Monarchs up 14-0.
Following a Miller score in the second period, the Wolves got on the board when Patrick Speights went in from four yards out at the 6:53 mark.
Speights finished the night wth one touchdown and 119 rushing yards on 17 carries. Parks, who also ran for 54 yards and a touchdown, had four catches for 74 yards. Miller finished the night with two touchdowns and 74 rushing yards on 18 carries.
That drive started after Ryan Moultrie scored the last of Timberland's three fourth-quarter TDs with 1:21 left when he ran in from five yards out.
"I'm proud of our guys," Briggs said. "They've overcome a lot of adversity, and we'll go back to the drawing board."
Another thing that doomed the Monarchs were mistakes such as dropped passes, Briggs said.
"We dropped some key passes down here on a vertical route that would have been a first down," Briggs said. "We just didn't take over when he had to. We had missed opportunities. You have to give those guys (Timberland) a lot of credit."
Different offensive formations did help the Monarchs in the early part of the game, Briggs said.
"I think we showed them some different formations early they weren't expecting. We had them off guard," Briggs said. "Like I said, we had three drives in a row, if I'm not mistaken, where we're getting seven, eight, nine yards, first downs and we're getting a 10- or 15-yard penalty. You just can't do that and win."
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