The Manzano Monarchs will head out to take on the St. Pius X Sartans at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Having struggled with three losses in a row, Manzano turned things around against Silver on Saturday. They walked away with a 36-25 victory over the Fighting Colts.
Broden Price had another great game (as he tends to do), rushing for 170 yards and one score. Aiden Erickson made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Manzano was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 215 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since the start of last season.
Manzano didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Erickson and Justin Duran. Erickson got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask St. Pius X). They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Valencia 62-12. The Sartans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by 20 points or more this season.
St. Pius X's win came from a few key players Manzano will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Isaiah Carpenter, who threw for 200 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 passes, and also punched in one TD on the ground. He is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in each of the last three games he's played. Curtis Flakes III did his part for the team as well, scoring a TD off of 115 receiving yards.
St. Pius X's record now sits at 7-1. As for Manzano, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
Manzano came up short against St. Pius X in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, falling 16-7. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Sartans' Hershul Olloway Jr, who rushed for 121 yards and one score while picking up 7.1 yards per carry, and also caught one touchdown. Now that the Monarchs know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
