NORTH PORT — He had just watched his team zip up and down the field, stopping only when it reached the end zone.
Yet after Manatee’s 71-0 pounding of North Port on Friday, Hurricanes coach Joe Kinnan turned the praise toward his defense.
“When the defense steps it up and gets some three-and-outs,” he said, “offensively, we get more touches.”
Friday night, touches were synonymous with points.
Manatee (8-1, 3-1 Class 5A-District 10) exploded against a North Port defense that allowed 300 points over the previous eight games, taking a 43-0 lead into halftime.
Consequently, no Hurricanes starter was in on any second-half snaps from scrimmage — though they got plenty accomplished during the first three quarters.
Quarterback Brion Carnes completed 12 of 14 attempts for 159 yards and two touchdowns, adding a rushing score, as well.
Versatile skill player Mike Blakely who quarterbacked a pair of Manatee series, rushed for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while receivers Quenton Bundrage (six catches, 100 yards) and Ace Sanders (six catches, 67 yards) teamed for two scores.
Meanwhile, Manatee’s defense never allowed North Port to cross midfield during the first half, giving the offense ample time to work.
“This is a fast track,” Kinnan said, “and we’ve got some fast players. We’ve shown signs of this, when we don’t turn the ball over and those types of things. We’re pretty explosive when we’re hitting on all cylinders.”
The comfortable lead allowed Kinnan to not only play his second team, but some junior-varsity guys, as well. In fact, Manatee had seven JV players on the field during its final offensive series.
Freshman quarterback Cord Sandberg, who helped the JV team wrap an undefeated season, was under center the entire second half and completed both passes for 78 yards, one of which fullback Brandon Kull turned into a 68-yard touchdown.
Sandberg also ran for two touchdowns. His older brother, Chase, converted the extra points on both of Cord’s scores.
Kull added a touchdown run to go with his catch,
“We’ve been in some close games — a lot of these guys never got off the bench,” Kinnan said.
Manatee, however, still has plenty to play for this year — following next week’s regular-season finale at Booker, the Hurricanes begin the Class 5A-Region 3 playoffs Friday, Nov. 20 at St. Petersburg Gibbs.
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