Shakir’s first game as Manatee head coach ends with 19-0 loss to Armwood
Sure it’s preseason, but Friday night’s Kickoff Classic at Lyle Flagg Field between visiting Manatee and Seffner Armwood, two perennial powerhouses with eight state championships between them, proved to be anything but classic.
While Armwood overcame 130 penalty yards in its 19-0 win, Manatee struggled throughout, turning the ball over four times and winding up with a paltry minus-6 yards rushing and just 68 yards on offense behind quarterbacks Ryan O’Neill and Sir Williams. If not for the Hawks shooting themselves in the foot with an alarming 16 penalties for 130 yards, the final margin likely would have been even wider.
Afterward, new coach Yusuf Shakir challenged his players to check themselves and correct their mistakes.
“Attitude, attitude, attitude,” he emphasized.
This week’s practices could be an eye opener and wakeup call for this young team that struggled mightily on offense yet held their ground on defense, for the most part.
“We’re going to see who’s willing to step up and who’s going to separate right now,” Shakir said. “The only way to go from here is up. Everybody has to stay positive. We can learn from this.”
The learning curve for two Manatee quarterbacks could be tough with O’Neill and Williams failing to mount scoring drives. For his part, O’Neill, a senior transfer from Lakeshore who was intercepted three times, sacked three times and completed just three passes for 74 yards, was honest in his postgame assessment and vowed to make things better in next week’s season opener.
“Terrible,” is how he aptly described his debut with the Hurricanes, adding that he plans “to watch more film and work harder in practice.”
In limited action, Williams led Manatee for just two series and had one incompletion with a lost fumble. His second drive ended in Julian Rodriguez’s blocked punt.
The lone bright spot for the Hurricanes came on the second possession of the third quarter when Josh Booker took a swing pass from O’Neill in the right flat and rumbled down the right sideline for a 60-yard gain.
On that explosive play, the second-longest of the game after a 65-yard run by Armwood’s Brian Snead, Manatee’s senior running back, caught O’Neill’s rollout throw on the run and broke three tackles before being caught from behind at Armwood’s 10-yard line.
The Canes’ best scoring chance, however, went awry when a 32-yard field goal attempt by Rodriguez was blocked.
This story was originally published August 19, 2017 at 12:28 AM with the headline "Shakir’s first game as Manatee head coach ends with 19-0 loss to Armwood."