Duluth Denfeld's Brooks breaks out aerial game against rivals
DULUTH — It's not if Duluth Denfeld's Taye Manns is going to break a long run, it's a matter of when he does it.
That's how Duluth East coach Blane Tetreault approached the Greyhounds' game against the Hunters Friday at Marv Heikkinen Field at Walt Hunting Stadium.
With nearly 700 yards rushing and 14 total touchdowns through three games, Manns has emerged as one of the best running backs in Minnesota.
"He swings for the fences, he's going to hit a home run," Tetreault said. "How can we limit that? Can we then counter with some base hits — slow the game down a little bit, keep our offense on the field, running the clock and not making mistakes. But we failed to do that."
It is certainly easier said than done. Manns ran for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns and caught another in a 48-14 win for Denfeld.
While the score looked lopsided, it wasn't the best week of practice for Denfeld coming in, but a scheduling change helped the Hunters focus on East this week.
With temperatures rising into the low 80s early in the week, Denfeld's midseason practice was starting to feel more like preseason camp and the Hunters were a little sloppy Wednesday.
Thursday, Denfeld hosted a C-squad football game right after school and a girls soccer game was scheduled in the evening, forcing the football team to practice Thursday morning.
It turned out to be their best practice of the week, according to coach Erik Lofald.
"I loved it," Lofald said. "When you get your practice in early in the morning, they have freedom after a long day at school to chill. They had a pizza dinner here at school and then they were able to just go home and relax and I think that was a difference-maker."
While Lofald was happy with the practice, quarterback Lee Brooks wasn't quite so excited about the 6:30 a.m. start time. Some players were even asleep in the hall outside the locker room before practice, he said.
"There were a lot of tired faces," Brooks said. "But it was a team bonding thing, we were all getting through it together."
Whether it was the early practice or just the right time, the game did give the Hunters a chance to show off another aspect of their offense — Brooks' arm. With Manns averaging more than 200 yards a game rushing, there hasn't been much need to throw the ball. With a matchup looming with North Branch next week, it showed what can happen when teams load the box to stop Manns.
Brooks tossed second-half touchdowns of 52, 72 and 25 yards to three different receivers Friday. More importantly, he made the throws with confidence. He gave the credit to his offensive line.
"I have time back there, I don't have to worry about pressure in my face," he said. "I have to to make a read and get it to my guys. They work every day in practice to get open, run great routes and know the hot calls."
Lofald said they know that teams are going to move more guys up to defend Manns.
"This is the offense we deemed about having when we first installed it, to have a quarterback who would make those throws," Lofald said. "We talked this week to Lee about, if the box is heavy and he sees that, he has to be able to make those throws...We had to do it tonight and it really opened the game up because now you can't just focus on Taye."
East turned the ball over on the first two drives of the game, giving Denfeld a quick 14 points. The Greyhounds recovered to cut the lead to 14-6 after big runs from senior running back Micheal Lewis. East was able to move the ball in the first half, but turnovers and mistakes cost them early.
"We're killing ourselves," Tetreault said. "We're turning the ball over, we're making little mistakes. It feels like there's a lot of holes in this dam right now. We're trying to put fingers in them, but we do see those flashes of success. We need more of them — we need more consistency — but you see the potential."
Denfeld (4-0) will play at North Branch at 6 p.m. Friday.
East (2-2) will host Grand Rapids at 6 p.m. Friday.
