By Anthony Gorges
JC Post
After four years of handing the Silver Trophy to Manhattan, the Junction City Blue Jays stun number one Manhattan and take back the Silver Trophy, winning 28-14.
Junction City went three-and-out to begin the game, and the Manhattan Indians scored on their first drive to take a 7-0 lead. Similar to last week, the Blue Jays responded and drove down the field to tie the game at 7-7 on a three-yard touchdown run by senior Lance Norris.
The game then turned into a defensive battle. Manhattan was driving when senior Marshall Karmann made his first of two interceptions. JC stalled out on their drive, and then Karmann intercepted his second pass toward the sideline late in the second quarter.
After a targeting penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, the Blue Jays were on the move at the end of the first half. On a crucial third down, senior quarterback Conrad Gomez hit senior Jamarcus Tyson over the middle and took the ball down to the 18-yard line, six (0:06) seconds remaining in the half. After timeouts by both teams, Junction City Head Coach Randall Zimmerman left his offense on the field. Gomez dropped back to pass and hit senior Lovell Autry in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown connection with one (0:01) second left in the half.
Junction City led 14-7 at halftime.
To open the second half, Manhattan took nearly five minutes off the clock and scored a touchdown on a 14-yard touchdown run by EJ Massenberg. The score was all knotted up at 14-14.
The Blue Jays responded just two plays later. Senior quarterback Conrad Gomez hit senior receiver Lovell Autry for a 77-yard touchdown connection on a deep pass down the sideline. Autry stayed on his feet, tightroped the sideline, and put JC back up in front 21-14 with 6:54 to go in the third quarter.
Then, the Blue Jay defense came up big once again. Senior linebacker Jamarcus Tyson intercepted a pass and returned it all the way down to the Manhattan one-yard line. Gomez scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak, and Junction City led 28-14 late in the third quarter.
Both teams lost a fumble on the next two drives of the game, but neither team capitalized. At the end of three quarters of play, Junction City led 28-14.
In the fourth quarter, the Blue Jay defense was again up for the challenge. JC turned away Manhattan on fourth and goal from the nine-yard line, senior Lovell Autry intercepted a pass in the endzone by Manhattan quarterback Finn Watson on the next drive, and then a late interception by junior linebacker Khaliel Walker sealed the deal for the Blue Jays.
Junction City knocked off the Manhattan Indians by a final score of 28-14. Manhattan was ranked number one in all of Class 6A. The Blue Jays snapped a four-game losing streak to Manhattan and regained the Silver Trophy for the first time since the fall of 2020.
“I just love these kids, man,” Junction City High School Head Football Coach Randall Zimmerman said. “Everything we’ve talked about from the beginning of the summer came to fruition here tonight. These kids came together and responded very, very well.”
The Blue Jay defense, led by defensive coordinator Ty Zimmerman, forced six turnovers on the night and also forced three turnover on downs during the game as well. “Ty and our whole staff just work so hard,” Zimmerman said. “Our kids have really bought in, and man, that’s a really good Manhattan football team. We came away with a huge win!”
“I am very, very proud of that defense, and very, very proud of our team and all our kids.”
With the win, Junction City improves to 3-1 on the season and plays at Hays next Friday. (As always, you can hear all Junction City games on 107.9 FM / 1420 AM KJCK Radio).
Manhattan falls to 3-1 and plays at Emporia next Friday.
Two player of the game cards were awarded on our KJCK Radio broadcast. Defensively, Marshall Karmann was named Player of the Game, and offensively, Lance Norris received the award. (Our player of the game sponsor is Blu Restaurant in Junction City).
** Photos courtesy of Callie Jones.