Manatee High manhandles Southeast in latest chapter of rivalry, 47-0
BRADENTON -- There is a growing sentiment in the local community that Manatee-Southeast is no longer a rivalry.
One person who doesn't hold that belief is Kavious Price.
The Manatee High jack of all trades played as if he was going against Southeast legends Peter Warrick, Adrian McPherson, Jon Dowling and Brian Poole all in one night and led the Hurricanes to a 47-0 victory over the Seminoles on Friday night at Joe Kinnan Field at Hawkins Stadium.
It was the ninth straight victory in the series for Manatee and third meeting in the last four years that finished with a running clock.
"This game means everything to me," Price said. "It's something I can tell my grandchildren about someday. We dominated them tonight and I beat them all four years I was in the game. We will never forget this 30 years from now. This is something you cherish forever."
Price showed his explosiveness in the second quarter, when he caught three touchdown passes and sparked Manatee to 39 points in the period.
The Canes (8-2) led 47-0 at halftime and, for the seventh game in a row, went to running clock, which occurs when one team gets a 35-point lead.
Price caught three passes for 73 yards and had a 24-yard run in earning the MVP award in the Great American Rivalry Series that has promoted the game as one of the top rivalries in the country.
"Kavious had a phenomenal game," Manatee head coach John Booth said. "He is so dynamic and so explosive. Anytime he gets the ball, you never know what you are going to get."
Southeast pinned a lot of its hopes on running back/quarterback Kevin Johnson, who came into the game as the area's leading rusher. Manatee held him to 29 yards on 12 carries in the first half. He injured his shoulder in the second quarter and did not return.
"First quarter, I thought we held our own and then we gave up that punt return and it's all downhill from there," Southeast head coach John Warren said. "When you are limited without your best player on offense, it's a long night. Kevin hurt his (left) shoulder and we will see how it affects him next week."
Last year, Southeast (5-5) made a game of it and trailed by a touchdown late in the second half before losing 39-26. Manatee won the prior three games by an average margin of 47 points.
"I was happy the way we executed in a good environment for us," Booth said. "We wanted to fine-tune some things as we get ready to go into the postseason. We talked to our kids that this is a dress rehearsal for us playing a good football team in a rivalry environment and we got what we wanted.
Southeast played Manatee even in the first quarter until Tarique Milton returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown. The Canes got a two-point conversion on a Price run.
Then Manatee exploded in the second quarter. Price caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Colagiovanni. After a Southeast punt, Colagiovanni ran 58 yards to give the Canes a first-and-goal from the 2 and then tossed a touchdown pass to Price.
"It happened fast," Warren said. "They are quick-strike offense and we were punchless without Kevin."
Colagiovanni ran 20 yards for a touchdown and then then hit Price with a 37-yard TD strike to push the Canes lead to 37-0 with 1:34 left in the first half. The final points came on a 40-yard run by Lorenz Allen.
Colagiovanni completed 7-of-11 passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 87 yards and another score. The junior quarterback came into the needing 55 yards to break the 2,000 passing-yardage barrier.
"It means a lot to get that, it was one of my goals," Colagiovanni said. "It's great to have a receiver like (Price). He makes things a lot easier. This game will help us for the playoffs."
This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Manatee High manhandles Southeast in latest chapter of rivalry, 47-0 ."