BRADENTON — Manatee spent the final moments before kickoff toasting its storied past.
Then the Hurricanes, thanks to a heavy dose of depth, spent the rest of the night bettering the present.
Manatee knocked off visiting Riverview 27-16 on Friday night, improving to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in Class 5A-District 10. Most importantly, the Canes put themselves in position to win their first district title since 2006, which they can clinch next week with a win over Venice.
The night began on a nostalgic note, with Manatee honoring the 20th anniversary of the 1989 state championship team by introducing more than a dozen members of the team prior to the game. A digital video screen near the entrance played highlights of that season, when Manatee won the third of its four state titles.
The current Canes kept the positive vibes flowing courtesy of Craig Carnes, Manatee’s reserve running back who finished with 112 rushing yards — his first 100-yard game — and a touchdown in spelling Mike Blakely, who left the game in the second quarter after taking a hit to the head.
Blakely, who rushed for 131 yards — 70 of which came on a first-quarter touchdown run — walked off the field on his own and was taken to an area hospital to get checked out. “We hope he’s going to be OK,” coach Joe Kinnan said.
Enter Carnes, whose 17-yard scamper around the right end gave the Canes a 27-10 lead with 4:31 left in the third quarter.
Strong safety Shaunski Lawrence helped set up the score by blocking a Riverview 25-yard field goal attempt and carrying the ball to the Rams’ 47.
“It was my time to go out there and do my thing,” said Carnes, who had 17 carries Friday night after carrying the ball 25 times in Manatee’s first six games.
“He stepped in and did a good job,” Kinnan said. “He ran hard.”
Yet he wasn’t the only Hurricane to make some noise. Brion Carnes, a relative of Craig’s and Manatee’s senior quarterback, shook off a wobbly start — he threw incompletions on six of his first seven attempts — to throw for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
Both touchdowns went to receiver Quenton Bundrage, who finished with 102 yards on six catches.
“We picked it up,” Brion Carnes said. “I knew we had to fight hard and do what we had to do.”
Manatee’s defense bottled up Riverview’s ground-oriented attack, keeping the Rams off the scoreboard in the second half until they scored a meaningless touchdown as time expired in the fourth quarter.
“We did some good things,” Kinnan said. “Our defense, the second half, shut them down.”
The performance sets up next week’s clash with the Indians, who rolled over Sarasota on Friday to up their district record to 3-0.
“That’s for the district championship,” Kinnan said.
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