Blanked! Central's "Dark Side D" turned out the lights on Manual 18-0
For the second straight season Central shut out the Manual Crimsons, this time 18-0.
Manual was without their starting quarterback Zach Recktenwald and 2019 Louisville commit Aidan Robbins was bottled up all night. After forcing a punt late in the fourth quarter senior linebacker Durrell Howard sauntered back to the sidelines shouting "That's that darkside!" which is the new moniker for the Yellow Jackets' defense. A fitting one for sure, considering the Crimsons didn't see much daylight in this one.
There was some scoring in this one, as sporadic as it was and it started early with U'Kari Baker taking the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and that would have been enough for the win. The Yellow Jackets would cross the plane two more times on the night with Baker scoring on a 49-yard catch and run, then in the fourth, quarterback Malik Goodall would scamper fifty yards on a keeper on fourth and inches.
But scoring wasn't the story of the game, it was the lack thereof.
Manual had three prime opportunities to score and came up blank each time. On their first drive they started on their seventeen, driving all the way to Central's five-yard line only to see Aidan Robbins stopped on 4th and 2 at the eight. In the third quarter, Central fumbled on their first play of the third quarter and Manual recovered on Central's 30-yard line. They couldn't capitalize however and went four and out. The Crimson's held on the ensuing drive and blocked U'Kari Bakers punt which was recovered on Central's 12-yard line. The proceeded to turn it over on downs at the eight-yard line and that was it for Manual's scoring chances. The Yellow Jackets closed it out to win 18-0 and go to 1-0, dropping Manual to 0-1 with a shutout loss, it's second to the Yellow Jacket in as many years.
Players of the game:
While Baker was clearly the offensive and special teams MVP, 2020 defensive end Aiden Moore anchored the line of scrimmage and wreaked havoc in the Manual backfield most of the night. Senior linebacker Durrell Howard also flew around like a wild man and unleashed a few hits that sent echoes out to Muhammad Ali Blvd., the most notable was a bone cruncher that laid out Aidan Robbins on the edge. Malik Goodell also deserves some recognition with for his 50 yard dash to the end zone on fourth and inches that turned the lights out for any hopes of a Manual comeback.
There were some positives for Manual to build upon especially at corner. Sophomore corners Bryce Yates and Darius Brown showed promise in their first varsity starts. Yates broke up two fades to U'Kari Baker in the end zone and Brown knocked down a couple deep passes as well. As quiet as Manual was on offense the whole night, sophomore running back Raymont Townsend flashed at times and ripped off an impressive 25-yard tackle breaking run up the middle.
Next week:
Manual faces Fern Creek (1-0) on the road and Central will stay home to face Western (0-1).