Manor Self Destructs After 2nd Quarter Lead and Shadow Creek Stays Undefeated

San Antonio, TX — An action packed and evenly matched first half started off a bit slow.  Manor’s speedy return man and offensive athlete Che Nwabuko caught the opening Shadow Creek kickoff near the goal line and made it to the 8 before being chopped down by Terrance Cooks.  

The loaded Shark defense gave up one first down until they forced Manor off the field.  On 2nd and 9, Nwabuko ran for 10 yards to the 19, but Shadow Creek stopped two Jeremiah Thompson runs and wide receiver screen to Darian Fletcher for minimal yards.

The ensuing punt gave Shadow Creek good field position at their 47.  They tried to hit a home run on the first play, but junior quarterback Kyron Drones overthrew an open Jared Jackson on a post route.  SC handed off to 5’10”, 190 pound running back Jay’Veon Bell on the next play.  Bell followed great downfield blocking by his receivers for a 39 yard run up the middle to the Manor 14.

Drones then hit Jackson on a play action slant pass that put the ball at the 3.  The Mustangs held strong on the next two plays but could not keep Drones in the pocket on 3rd and goal from the 2.  He scrambled to the right side and into the end zone for six.  7-0 Sharks halfway through the first quarter.

Manor answered right back, though.  Running back Journey Thompson took the kickoff out of the end zone despite his teammates telling him to take a knee and returned it to the 37.  On 2nd and 10, QB Matthew Hill’s pass was grazed at the line by SC but it was still caught by Lavonte Benford who turned the short completion into a 23 yard gain to the SC 40.

Manor gained three yards on the next two plays, setting up 3rd and 7.  SC jumped the snap and gave Hill a free play.  Hill lofted it up to Carl Chester, and he out jumped his defender for a 27 yard gain to make it 1st and goal from the 10.  Two plays later, Nwabuko took a handoff out of the Jeremiah Thompson led wildcat formation and raced toward the left pylon.  

The touchdown tied the game at 7 with 4:22 in the first quarter.  

The Mustang defense kept the momentum from their offense’s touchdown going.  SC started at their 40 and Kelvon Brown took a handoff across midfield to the Manor 39.  

From there, defensive tackle Tyler Guyton flung Drones down in the backfield for a 5 yard sack.  An illegal man downfield on the next play was declined because of incompletion, making it 3rd and 15 from the 44.  SC gained 10 yards on a hook to Seth Jones.

Now 4th and 7, Drones scrambled around in the pocket before heaving it downfield to a receiver at the goal line.  The scoring play was called back for holding, and SC punted on 4th and 17.  

The SC secondary made one of many outstanding plays on the next drive.  On 3rd and 8 from Manor’s 22, Hill rolled to his right and threw a comeback at the numbers.  His receiver fell down on his break; however, and SC’s Chanceller Byers made a diving interception at the 32.

The Shark offense made it to the one yard line before being stonewalled by Manor’s front seven.  Defensive back James McDonald popped Bell in the backfield, and his teammates helped clean it up for a four yard loss at the 5.  Two Drones incompletions later, and Eric Landaverde drilled the drilled a 22 yard field goal to go up 10-7 at the start of the second quarter.

Manor’s offense tried to answer, but the drive stalled after making it to the SC 35.  The Sharks wrapped up Thompson for a loss of 4 on 2nd and 5, and Hill followed it with an incompletion.

SC started at their own three after the dangerous return man Vyntrael Bruno went backwards on a return that also had a SC holding penalty.  Princely Umanmielen, one of the most sought after recruits in the nation, was called for a face mask penalty at the end of a Drones run to put SC at the 24.  SC had a loss of one and two Drones’ incompletions that ended the drive.

Manor took their first lead of the game two plays later on a remarkable play from Benford.  Hill lofted a throw that was either a designed back shoulder pass or an under throw, and Hill pinned it against his back hip, broke his defenders tackle, and jogged into the end zone for a 47 yard touchdown.  14-10 Manor with 5:10 to go.

From here on out, Shadow Creek dominated and took the fight out of the Mustangs.

SC marched down the field thanks to a Manor defensive pass interference call and 37 yard catch and run by their 6’4”, 210 pound tight end Trent McGaughey.  On the play right after McGaughey’s catch, Drones hit a wide open Brown on a wheel route to the right side out of the backfield.  

Brown went into the end zone untouched to retake the lead a minute and a half after Manor did.

The Mustangs went three and out on the next drive, giving the ball back to Shadow Creek with 2:24 left in the first half.  They started at the Manor 48, and a sack at the SC 40 by the Mustangs was negated by another Umanmielen face mask on Drones.

Now at the Manor 29 with a fresh set of downs, Drones found C.J. Guidry on a crossing route at the 10 yard line.  Guidry made a man miss and dove across the goal line with another Mustang around his legs for a touchdown.  

24-14 with 1:25 left in the half.

SC was not done, though.  On the ensuing Manor drive, Hill badly missed an out breaking Benford on the right side of the field.  The pass was under thrown and behind him, maybe a miscommunication, and made for an easy Jaylen Lane interception.  

Lane ran it all the way back with 0:09 to play before the break.  31-14 Sharks through two quarters.

The 21-0 run with less than five minutes until halftime broke the will of Manor, and both teams seemed to know how the game would end when they came back onto the field.  

The two teams traded punts until Shadow Creek extended their lead on their second possession with another Drones TD run.  The 4 yard scamper capped a 70 yard, three minute drive for the Sharks.  Manor had a chance to get off the field early on the drive and blitzed on 3rd and 6 from the SC 49.  SC converted, however, by calling a bubble screen to Jones that went to the Manor 18.  

Drones scored a couple plays later to make it 38-14 halfway though the third.

Manor punted on the next possession, and SC scored again with 3:41 in the third quarter.  Drones threw a beautiful pass to Jones on a comeback route at the front left pylon for a 16 yard scoring toss.  45-14 Sharks.

Shadow Creek would score two more times before everything was all said and done.  Bell got a touchdown of his own on a 22 yard touchdown run with 50 second left in the third, and defensive back Thomas Davis joined in on the fun with a pick six to add an exclamation mark to things towards the end of the fourth quarter.

Shadow Creek is now 14-0 on the season and will play 13-1 Wagner in the 5A DI State Semifinal next week.  Wagner destroyed CC Veterans Memorial 74-14 Friday night. 

You can follow this link for a photo gallery from Saturday's game in the Alamodome.