With the arrival of the new Manatee High School Football season, so return our Manatee Hurricanes! After a long, rainy summer, our players stepped back onto the field and ran through the Hillsborough High-School Terriers for the first game to kick off the season. In a powerful display from our team, Manatee decimated the Terriers 40-0, sending the Terriers back to the kennel. Students dressed in their favorite summer attire for the Splash-Zone theme, cheering on as the Terriers were washed away. With the new year means new strategies, new players, and hopefully new trophies to take home for the team! 

With our powerful head start in the season, some of our players shined through these games, racking up some extremely impressive stats! Manatee’s own #1 Kei’shawn Smith, who plays running back and corner back, runs an outstanding 104 rushing yards per game, proving himself as a powerhouse and a pure asset to the team by also leading our Touchdown Total with 5. Also leading the team in Receiving Yards, #6 Torey Gilley leads the team with 56 per game. Then, on our defensive side, the notorious Big Chicken, #55 Ean-Johnson Kelly has had 3 sacks so far in the season, as well as the other half of the dynamic duo #56 Alvoid Kennon winning defensive player-of-the-game against Hillsborough and leading the team in tackles is #8 Ronin Dangler, who leads as defensive player-of-the-game when faced with Lake Minneola. 

Following the Hillsborough game, Manatee returned once again to the familiar Hawkins stadium field to defend their winning streak against the Lake Minneola Hawks. After a nerve-wrecking performance by the Hawks in the first half, our Manatee Hurricanes made a powerful comeback in the second, ending the game in a dominant 57-19. In regular Manatee fashion, all students showed up in blue for the Blue-out theme. Having “Blue” the Hawks out of the water, we still seem undefeatable. 

Then, our cross-town rivals the Southeast Seminoles came to our school stadium to end our undefeated streak. With the Canes donning our stars-and-stripes to pay homage to American veterans, Southeast failed miserably to push through our Cane’s impenetrable defense and unable to defend against our all-star offense, with an amazing catch-and-touchdown from Jaylen Bryant, and a flawless performance on offense by Torey Gilley. Manatee High sent the Seminoles back home with a whopping score of 41-0, becoming the best performance Manatee has had so far this season. 

What’s next for the Hurricanes? Manatee is going to Georgia to face off against the also undefeated Lowndes High School Vikings. Will the Manatee Hurricanes be able to continue their dominant undefeated streak? See you in Georgia!