FAIRPLAY – Anyone familiar with the Mancos brotherhood mentality knew that they Jays wouldn’t stew on their opening season defeat for very long.
Mancos adjusted their approach from Week 1 and turned up the defensive pressure in a comprehensive domination of Sedgwick County in their second straight neutral site contest of the season. The Mancos defense pounded the Cougars all afternoon Friday while the offense found the end zone four times in a 26-8 victory.
The Bluejays (1-1) duplicated their 2023 state quarterfinal victory over the Cougars (1-2), dictating the line of scrimmage on defense while the ground game took care of the rest.
Mancos scored first through junior Jonah Ritter’s first score of the season, while junior Jacob Martin ran rampant in the Sedgwick backfield on the other side of the ball, part of a 6-0 first-half shutout. Two scores in quick succession midway through the third quarter put Mancos in firm command, with senior Brandon Vannest capping off an emphatic drive with a 1-yard charge, followed by senior Kaiden Wyatt diving in from 2 yards out to build the lead to 20-0.
Sedgwick scored early in the fourth quarter to break up the blanking, but Mancos answered with one more Wyatt score – a 20-yarder that capped the scoring.
The Bluejays secondary, led by sophomore Michael Resner and senior Tilden Begay, kept the Cougars passing attack under 60 yards for the afternoon.
Mancos looks forward to driving the well-worn path to Fairplay for another weekend in the central mountains, as another Plains League power awaits on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. when Mancos faces Merino.
