BECKLEY — After approaching 400 passing yards last week in a win over East Fairmont, the word was out about Preston quarterback Slaton Manko.
He certainly had Woodrow Wilson’s attention.
The Flying Eagles defense never let the Knights passing game get on track, all the while forcing four turnovers in a 35-7 win Friday night at Van Meter Stadium.
Manko was coming of a game in which he completed 11 of 18 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-20 victory over the Bees, and he also ran for 124 yards and two scores.
That seemed to be Woodrow’s radar. The defense took the passing game out of the equation and held Manko to 59 yards on 6-of-17 passing. He ran for 53 yards on 15 carries.
“A very tough individual, man,” Woodrow Wilson coach Street Sarrett said of Manko. “(Manko) and 7 (Ethan Likens), very tough individuals for that team. They could have gave us some troubles. Our defense played extremely well. Kind of didn’t bow our backs there at the end and gave up that goose egg. We are always trying to get that. But super proud of our defense.”
The Knights fumbled on three of their final four drives of the first half and Woodrow (4-1) turned it into a 21-0 lead going into the break.
“That’s huge. You take that ball away from people, they don’t have a chance to score, it gives us another chance,” Sarrett said.
Already leading 7-0, the Flying Eagles did just that.
Keandre Goode fell on a loose ball to give them possession at their 40-yard line. A personal foul against the Knights (2-4) after a five-yard gain put Woodrow in Preston territory. The drive with M.J. Staples’ 1-yard touchdown run for a 13-0 advantage.
The Knights were able to move the ball two possessions later, but on second-and-7 from Woodrow’s 27, Manko was sacked by Konnor Ray and fumbled, and Jamarques Manns recovered for the Flying Eagles at their 44.
On second down, Christian Stewart leaped and made a big catch for a 37-yard gain to the Preston 10, and quarterback Gage Price threw to Landon Jones for the touchdown on the next play. Reeves ran in for two points and Woodrow led 21-0 with 38 seconds to play before halftime.
A.J. Thomas recovered a fumble on the Knights’ first play after the touchdown, then added his fifth interception of the season on their third play of the third quarter. That, too, set up a scoring drive, ending with Price’s third touchdown, a 19-yard pass to Ray for a 28-0 lead.
“Turnovers will kill you,” Preston coach Mark Deep said. “You’re not going to win football games against a good football team in Woodrow. You’re not going to win.”
Woodrow ran for 239 yards on 42 carries.
“It’s a different animal than what we see week in, week out,” Deep said. “We’re used to three, four wides every week. So it’s a mentality of physical football. And like I said, defensively, I thought we did some decent things. We got a few stops and that’s what we want. We got a stop in the third quarter. If we can move the ball, then we’re fine. That’s what we wanted. And I think we got quite a few stops.”
The Knights did stop Woodrow on two occasions, including at the Preston 7. But that was followed by Thomas’ interception.
Woodrow made it a 35-0 game on Reeves’ 1-yard run, and the fourth quarter was played with a running clock.
The Knights got on the board on Manko’s 16-yard TD pass to Ethan Likens with 3:35 to play.
Price 6-of-10 for 97 yards and three touchdowns for the Flying Eagles. His first touchdown came on fourth-and-11 when he threw a pinpoint pass to Staples from 22 yards.
“He’s growing, man,” Sarrett said. “I told him at halftime, ‘I want you to be the best to ever play here,’ and he’s got the eye for it. He’s growing, learning, doing some good things. Just clean some things up and move on.”
Deep stood by Manko on what was a rough night.
“Everyone knows about him now, right?” Deep said. “I said this this week, I’m not going to trade him for anyone in the state. He’s a fighter. It wasn’t our night. I mean, you know, we turned the ball over, yeah, but, hey, if we hit two plays early, that’s a different first half. But that’s it. We don’t talk about ifs in there. Message to the team is just not crumble. We need to stay together as a team. But he does a good job out there leading, and that’s what you want your quarterback to do.”
Preston is off next week before visiting Bridgeport on Oct. 18.
Woodrow will travel to Riverside next Friday.
— Story by Gary Fauber
