MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Manchester (Midlothian, Va.) Lancers have officially been named to the 14th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its fourteenth year honoring football.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For football, only 50 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 17,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Lancers ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Freedom 49-7 in the
VHSL Class 6A state championship contest on Saturday, December 8 marked the completion of an incredible 15-0 season — and earned Manchester an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
After spotting Freedom a first quarter score, the Lancers erupted for a 21-7 halftime advantage and tacked on four more second half touchdowns, scoring the final 49 points of the contest to claim their first state football title at Hampton University's Armstrong Stadium.
KJ McNeil evened the score at 7-7 when he hauled in a 46-yard Brendon Clark pass. Then, in the second quarter, Isaiah Todd scored on a 30-yard run and Brendon Clark took it to the house from his own 21-yard line. Collin Harding opened second half scoring when he hauled in a 32-yard scoring strike from Brendon Clark and a 27-yard toss from McNeil to put the champions up 35-7 after three quarters. McNeil scored from a yard out and Christian Williams picked off a pass and raced 20 yards for the final points.
Brendon Clark completed 12 of 20 passes for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns and ran for an additional 118 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Todd added 88 yards on the ground on 11 carries, while McNeil, who threw a touchdown pass, ran for one and caught one, hauled in five balls for 90 yards. Harding caught four passes for 86 yards and Kei'trel Clark reeled in one aerial for 34 yards. Jaden Davis led the Lancer defense with 11 tackles, while McNeil, Alston Robinson and Davis all made a pair of tackles for negative yards. McNeil, Kwame Dehaney and Williams each picked off a pass.
Manchester opened postseason play with a 49-0 shutout of James River. Then, following a 48-7 win over Dale, the Lancers kicked in the door to the Final Four with a 21-7 triumph over Colonial Forge. Manchester bumped Ocean Lakes from state championship contention with a 42-3 semifinal win to set up the championship bout with Freedom.
Tom Hall's club opened the season with a 75-0 thumping of Riverbend. Then, following a 49-6 win over Cosby, Manchester upended Monacan 62-9 to open the season 3-0. The Lancers did not lose all year and outscored their opposition 819-70. Manchester posted six shutouts and held 14 foes to nine points or less, while scoring a season-high 79 points in a win over James River.
Having won all 15 games in 2018, the Lancers set themselves up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only is Manchester the top-ranked team in
MaxPreps' Virginia Division 6A Rankings, the Lancers are the best squad in all of
Virginia. Manchester is ranked No. 105 in
MaxPreps' National Rankings!
These incredible season achievements have earned the Manchester Lancers an invitation to the 14th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us in the gymnasium as we celebrate with the football team, coaching staff, students and fans on Friday, February 1 at approximately 7 p.m. at halftime of the varsity boys basketball game.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.