Bracing for No. 13 University, No. 17 Manatee quietly back on national scene

No. 13 University at No. 17 Manatee
Location: Hawkins Stadium
Kickoff time: Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET
Live scoring: Via Qwixcore
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Last year, entering its playoff showdown against St. Thomas Aquinas, Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.) head coach Joe Kinnan admits that his players started comparing scores.

Manatee, the nation's No. 1-ranked team all season long up until that point, needed a running clock in an early-season victory against Miramar, a squad that stunned St. Thomas Aquinas in the regular season.

If Manatee blasted Miramar, and Miramar had beaten Aquinas, the logic dictated that Manatee should have little trouble with St. Thomas Aquinas.

The exact opposite happened. St. Thomas Aquinas dominated then top-ranked Manatee and won 35-18.

Heading into Friday night's showdown with No. 13 University (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), this year's Manatee squad has a much different, less heralded, feel to it.

That's fine with Kinnan.

"There hasn't been as much hoopla because we weren't preseason No. 1," he told MaxPreps.

The lack of hype should not suggest a lack of talent. Despite disappearing from the national rankings at the start of this season and losing the likes of Cord Sandberg, Anthony Mauro and Derrick Calloway to graduation, Manatee actually returned eight starters on offense from a year ago, including multiple key offensive linemen.

That seasoned unit is now perhaps the strongest offensive line Kinnan has had, and it has helped first-year starting quarterback Joshua Meyer.

"We knew we didn't have the great quarterback (like Sandberg), but we had a guy who is a 210-pound quarterback that has some skills," Kinnan said. "We felt he could do some things that Cord couldn't do."

Only a junior, Meyer has thrown for 847 yards while also rushing for 505 yards.

The offense has no shortage of skill players, led by running backs Trevon Walters, a senior, and Johnnie Lang, a sophomore that Kinnan believes has major BCS potential.

Junior Kelvin McKnight, the team's leading receiver, already has six touchdown catches.

Defensively, last year's line was among the strongest in the country. With Calloway, Blake Keller and Marquise Dawsey all gone, the lone returning starter is Demarcus Christmas, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound tackle that Kinnan says can run in the 4.8 range and is even capable of playing the end position.

His leadership and work ethic have impressed Kinnan this year.

"He's been a role model for the younger defensive linemen to see how it gets done," he said.

Kinnan said that when his team's most talented player is also its hardest working, as was the case with former Hurricane Tommy Frazier, it provides no excuse for less talented players to not give full effort.

"How can a less talented guy slack off?" he said.

While the defensive line was heralded last year, the linebackers and defensive backs were younger and possessed less cachet. This year, those units are leading a team that has allowed only 75 points.

According to Kinnan, three of those touchdowns came on either special teams or by opposing team's defenses.

That will be tested on Friday, as University comes to town boasting Auburn quarterback commit Sean White, ranked No. 302 in the 247Composite, and running back Jordan Scarlett, a junior ranked No. 30 in 247Composite.

University has averaged over 51 points per game and is ranked four spots higher than Manatee in the Xcellent 25.

That makes Manatee an underdog — an unusual position for Kinnan's squad — which quietly has the potential to eclipse last year's squad.

"We felt coming in we wouldn't have the notoriety, but we have a chance to be as good or better than last year," he said.

A win against University would go a long way toward that end.