‘They didn’t quit.’ Manatee football team a title contender after 0-3 start to season
It was a slow start, but it wasn’t foreign to Yusuf Shakir.
Manatee High’s third-year head coach has experience guiding a team that loses its early games into a state championship contender.
At his alma mater Tallahassee Lincoln in 2010, Shakir led the Trojans back from an 0-2 start, where they didn’t get to a winning record until November of that season, to the Class 4A state championship over Seffner Armwood.
So when this year’s Manatee team started 0-3 with losses to last season’s 7A state champs Lakeland and perennial playoff contenders Palmetto and Braden River, the season wasn’t in peril.
The Hurricanes were saddled with injuries all over the place. Running backs Napoleon Harris and Tyson Phelps were out, defensive lineman Ryan Ives missed a game. Defensive back Shemar Williams and others missed time, too.
Dealing with injuries is normal for every football team each season, but the ones that hit Manatee didn’t help the Hurricanes coming out of the gate in 2019.
Now they’re facing Venice High for the second time this season when they lock up Friday in the Class 7A-Region 3 championship at Joe Kinnan Field at Hawkins Stadium.
“It’s exciting, because that’s the expectation here at Manatee,” Shakir said. “So it’s exciting to be back where everybody expected us to be.”
The Venice Indians have shifted into a ground-and-pound team during the first two rounds of the playoffs. North Port High transfer Steffan Johnson keyed Venice’s demolition of the region’s top seed, Palm Beach Lakes High, last week. Johnson tallied 387 rushing yards and five touchdowns at the quarterback position during Venice’s 62-35 win.
Johnson did play against Manatee High in the district championship game, which the Hurricanes won 30-13 on the road, and was limited to four rushing yards on 13 carries after replacing Ryan Overstreet under center.
“They’re good running the ball, physical up front,” Shakir said. “They try to get you with numbers on one side and then just come back away from you and just try to get in one-on-one matchups, and just have their guys be better than your guys.”
Manatee and Venice have met four times in the playoffs. The Hurricanes have won three times, including the last three playoff meetings held from 2010 to 2012.
But that history means nothing to this year’s game as none of the players this season were in high school then.
The regular-season meeting at Venice on Oct. 25 saw the Canes gouge the Indians on the ground with the returning backfield duo of Harris and Phelps. The two ran behind Ives and linebacker Justin Porter, who were inserted at fullback to open more running room.
“Over the years, I’ve always done, always have (but) my first couple years, we just didn’t have the depth to do it when I first got here,” Shakir said. “But I always would have a D-lineman or linebacker come over and play, and those guys love it when they get over and just run through people. That’s what they do on defense.”
To get to the brink of the state semifinals, Manatee hit the weight room hard after Shakir’s arrival following the 2017 spring game. Not having a spring or offseason to acclimate to things, Shakir’s really in his second full season with the Hurricanes. They’ve added size through conditioning, and it’s paid off with physical football on Friday nights after shaking off the early season start that was riddled with injuries.
It’s a situation that is eerily similar to Shakir’s 2010 season at Lincoln, where many veterans were out injured early in the year and young players were suddenly relied on in big spots.
Patience and realizing the team was good once it got healthy turned into reality as the Hurricanes have won eight of their last nine games, including capturing the program’s first district title since 2015.
“The biggest thing I’m happiest about is that the kids hit adversity and they didn’t fold,” Shakir said. “They didn’t break. They didn’t quit. It’s so easy to quit now. So many people are like, ‘Oh, I’ll try something different.’ But they were faced with adversity, and they just kept pushing through. ... It’s a great life lesson for them and I think that’s why I love football so much.
“Because everything they go through out here is all about really preparing them for life; the hard work, the dedication, the commitment, the pushing yourself to do more than you did before. And sometimes you’re not going to see the success you worked for, but if you keep going at it, it will eventually pay off.”
