L-R: Manual defensive back Keon Farris, Manual outside linebacker Andre Teague, Jr. and Manual defensive back Bryce Cosby can’t catch Male wide receiver Nathan Hobbs who scores the only touchdown of the 1st half with just 23.4 seconds to play.
21 October 2016
Male High School football coach Chris Wolfe could handle an early-season defeat to Trinity and was beginning to get over the sting of last week’s loss to St. Xavier.
But a loss to rival Manual on Friday?
“Then we would have had no confidence,” Wolfe said of the impending playoffs. “It was a big game.”
And the Bulldogs made just enough big plays, getting three touchdown passes from T.J. Thomas and a game-ending interception return for a touchdown from Nathan Hobbs to beat visiting Manual 27-14 in front of an estimated crowd of 7,000.
No. 6 in the state in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings, Male (7-2) won for the fourth straight time in the Old Rivalry and took an 84-45-6 lead in a series that dates to 1893. The Bulldogs also clinched a home game in the first round of the Class 6-A playoffs in two weeks, while the Crimsons will have to go on the road.
Thomas, batting a back injury that kept him out of two practices during the week, completed 22 of 31 passes for 330 yards. Senior B.K. Smith was the top receiver with eight catches for 175 yards and a touchdown.
“(T.J.) played well enough for us to win, and that’s the main thing,” Wolfe said. “He can play better, and he has played better. At the end the quarterback has to find a way to win, and he did.”
MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
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Manual (7-2) trailed 7-0 after a dismal offensive showing in the first half, managing just one first down and going 0 for 4 through the air.
“The first half we just had terrible field position,” Crimsons coach Scott Carmony said. “We just never could get going. But we came out and fought our butts off in the second half. But every time they had a third-and-long, they’d get just enough. That makes it tough.”
After the teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, a key play call to start the fourth turned the game. On fourth-and-one on its 36-yard line, Manual attempted a fake punt but Aidan Robbins was stuffed for no gain.
Male needed just four plays to take advantage, getting a 24-yard touchdown pass from Thomas to Smith for a 21-7 lead with 10:01 remaining.
“I felt like we needed to get something going,” Carmony said. “That’s a great all when it works, and it’s a terrible call when it doesn’t.”
Manual answered on its next drive, converting three fourth downs and getting a 5-yard touchdown pass from Britt to Jaelin Carter to pull within 21-14 with 4:02 remaining.
The Crimsons got the ball back with 17.3 seconds left after a Male punt, and Britt completed a 13-yard pass to Matt Motley to get to the Male 39-yard line. On the final play, Britt lofted a pass toward the end zone that Hobbs picked off and returned 95 yards for a touchdown.
Manual coaches said they were told by officials that the final touchdown didn’t count because of a penalty. Male coaches said the penalty was on Manual, and Hobbs’ return did count.
The final scoreboard read “Male 27, Manual 14,” and that’s what mattered most to the Bulldogs.
“I got scored on the drive before and was like, ‘I’m not going out like that,’” Hobbs said. “When the ball was in the air I knew I was going to get it. I had to take it to the house.
“… We know we have more playmakers than them. We knew we had the speed and the talent.”
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.
| Manual | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | – | 14 |
| Male | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | – | 27 |
MALE – Nathan Hobbs 25 pass from T.J. Thomas (Erik Sorennson kick); MAN – Will Britt 2 run (Nick Kopp kick); MALE – Deion Montgomery 44 pass from Thomas (Sorennson kick); MALE – B.K. Smith 24 pass from Thomas (Sorennson kick); MAN – Jaelin Carter 5 pass from Will Britt (Kopp kick); MALE – Hobbs 95 interception return.
MAN MALE
First downs 17 19
Total yards 211 341
Rushes-yards 36-152 16-11
Comp-Att-Int 4-12-1 22-31-0
Passing yards 59 330
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Punts-avg 4-33.5 5-27.4
Penalties-yards 2-8 13-111