Manchester’s huge second quarter brings down LaBrae

November 11, 2018 at 12:00a.m.

By BOB ETTINGER

LOUISVILLE

John Armeni took over the LaBrae High School football team six years ago, the same year his current seniors were starting junior high.

Those seniors saw their varsity careers end in a 56-14 loss to Akron Manchester in Saturday’s Division V, Region 17 semifinal at Louisville High School.

“We were just talking to the kids,” Armeni said. “We had 10 turnovers in 11 games. We had seven tonight. That writes the story.

“When you dig yourselves a hole against a team of Akron Manchester’s caliber, sometimes it’s too much to ask of the kids [to dig back out].”

The most elder of Vikings (10-2) had a special run come to a close.

“They’ve left an awfully nice legacy,” Armeni said. “They’re the winningest senior class in LaBrae history. They made three playoff appearances.

“The core group of seniors has been with us six years, since they were in seventh grade. It hurts an awful lot. They have a lot to be proud of,” Armeni said. “I don’t want to say goodbye.”

The Vikings got touchdown receptions from Colton Stoneman (54 yards) and Tyler Stephens (38 yards) and 256 yards through the air from quarterback Dominic Harris.

LaBrae led, 14-7, through the first 12 minutes.

The bottom fell out, however, in the second quarter when the Vikings surrendered 28 unanswered points. It was not something the LaBrae players are accustomed to experiencing.

“I think we had a good gameplan,” Armeni said. “We showed we were very capable of competing with a program of the stature of Akron Manchester. Unfortunately, they stole the momentum from us. We just didn’t protect the football.”

Armeni knows the final score leaves a bad taste, but he’s looking at the big picture.

“Only one team in Division V will win its last game,” Armeni said. “Everyone else will fall short of their goal.

“Anybody looking at the season can see this was something to be proud of. We accomplished a whole lot.

“There are a lot of unhappy teams that don’t reach their goal at the end of the season. We are one of those teams, but there’s an awful lot to be proud of,” Armeni said.

Those seniors who ended their careers have built a program Armeni has great pride in.

“When I took the job six years ago, I asked a lot from them,” Armeni said. “I asked them to work. They jumped through every hoop, met every expectation. When you’ve got kids who are hungry, you can change the culture and that’s what we were able to do.”