It’s not often a player can only touch the football a handful of times and have a huge impact on a game, but that’s exactly what I saw Friday night from Lee’s Summit junior wide receiver Joshua Manning.
The 6-foot-3 Manning showed off his speed and athleticism on numerous plays, first of which was an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter that was about the only good thing the Tigers did for the first quarter and a half.
I was waiting for more touches for Manning, and for a span of about a quarter – from the second quarter into the third – he was dominant.
After a short 6-yard gain on his first catch and second touch of the game, Manning took a wide receiver screen, shed a tackler and got a couple of nice blocks to slide his way into the end zone from 22 yards out.
With time winding down before halftime, quarterback Alex Benassi saw Manning one-on-one and knew just what to do. He threw a perfect jump ball for him for a 32-yard gain, and then a play later he did it again and found Manning in the corner of the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown.
Manning’s sixth and final touch came on the first drive of the third quarter, another jump ball, this time in the front corner of the end zone, that Manning once again retrieved for a 16-yard score.
I remember letting out a little chuckle after that one. At that point it felt like Manning could do this on every play if he wanted to.
So, if you are scoring at home, that was six total touches and four touchdowns. A pretty solid efficiency rate. And while the final statistics weren’t overwhelming, it was one of the more dominant performances I’d seen from a wide receiver in a while. I’m excited to see what kind of player Manning turns into during his senior season. He is one to watch.
Lastly, I got a chance to look over the playoff brackets, a fun exercise as you start to think ahead to some potential matchups. The one I went to first was the possible rematch between Lee’s Summit North and Liberty North, which would have to come in the state title game. After a look at the bracket, it’s hard not to think the Broncos have a tougher draw to get to a potential revenge game. The Broncos will have to go through teams such as Ray-Pec, Joplin, Nixa and then top-ranked Christian Brothers College.
It’s no guarantee those are the matchups, but some combination of those teams seems likely. I’m not sure I see anyone that can put much of a challenge into Liberty North on its side of the bracket, but this is the playoffs, so anything can happen.
Class 5 feels like it’s completely up for grabs on the Kansas City side. The likely candidates to find their way to the semifinal game are Platte County, Fort Osage (who I said people should keep an eye on earlier in the season, so it’s nice to get one right on occasion), Grain Valley and Raytown. Platte County and Fort Osage are the hottest of those teams right now and could meet in the district championship game. My hat goes off to David Allie and the Eagles, as they have overcome a 1-2 start and the loss of a strong senior class to graduation to have an impressive season.
I believe Class 4 is all about how far Smithville can go. The Warriors have been ranked No. 1 since the preseason and have dominated all season. This regular season was just a warmup for the playoffs. Other than a 20-10 win over Platte County, their closest game was 44-12. Sixth-ranked Lincoln College Prep and second-ranked MICDS loom as potential quarterfinal and semifinal opponents.
Class 3 feels similar to Class 5 in that Odessa and St. Pius X are the favorites and would be a fun clash in the state quarterfinals. Teams like Center and Summit Christian will be trying to play spoiler.
I haven’t had any close looks at Class 1 or 2 teams this season, but I fully expect some familiar faces like Maryville, Richmond and Lafayette County to make a deep run in Class 2, while Mid Buchanan and East Buchanan are set up for a potential second-round battle, with the winner on track to make some serious noise in Class 1.
Most importantly, I hope teams make it through the playoffs without any COVID interruptions and everyone can enjoy the craziness that is sure to ensue the final month of the season.
