Manatee gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Friday. They breezed by the Lake Minneola Hawks at home to the tune of 57-19. With the Hurricanes ahead 36-13 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Kei?Shawn Smith went supernova for Manatee, rushing for 169 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.4 yards per carry. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Heidel, who threw for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was Manatee's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. In that department, Ean Johnson-Kelley was the leader with two. Another thorn in Lake Minneola's side was Ronin Dangler, who picked up a sack, forced a fumble, and made six total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Lake Minneola's loss ended a four-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 0-2.
Manatee will be playing at home against Southeast at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Lake Minneola, they will head out on the road to face off against Vanguard at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
