How did Derby dominate Manhattan in the 6A playoffs on Friday? It started on Monday
On Friday, the most dominant high school football program in Kansas steamrolled its way to another playoff victory in what seems like yet another run to a state championship.
Manhattan came to Derby ranked as the fourth-best team in Class 6A and figured to at least push the No. 1-ranked Panthers, whose offensive starters haven’t played in a fourth quarter all season. They still haven’t after Derby defeated Manhattan 56-0 on Friday to advance to the 6A semifinals next Friday against Topeka.
It was the third straight postseason Derby has eliminated Manhattan, which has a combined record of 27-3 not counting those games. And this time Derby’s defense shut out a Manhattan offense that entered averaging 45 points, the first time the Indians have been shut out since Week 2 of the 2012 season — a string of 82 games.
So how is Derby so dominant on Fridays? The engineer behind the machine, Brandon Clark, says it’s because the winning for Derby doesn’t start on Friday.
“Everybody enjoys Friday nights, especially when you win, but this team is unique,” Clark said. “They enjoy Mondays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“I don’t know if I’ve coached too many teams that are as focused as this team is. From Monday’s film preparation to our Thursday night movie, those guys are like a pack of hungry dogs. They’re so focused and they want it so bad. And we just saw what happens when we’re focused on Friday night.”
Derby has won four of the last six Class 6A championships, including two undefeated seasons, and is a heavy favorite to win again this season. The Panthers have won 93% of their games since 2013, haven’t lost since 2017, and are currently on a 24-game winning streak with an average margin of victory of 40 points.
Yet, there are no egos in Derby.
Senior running back Tre Washington has rushed for 1,334 yards, a figure that could be doubled if he played past halftime. Lem Wash is averaging 11.7 yards per carry and has 19 touchdowns, but on only 70 touches. Even the defense probably doesn’t receive the credit it deserves, overshadowed by such a high-octane offense, despite the starters having only allowed two touchdowns this whole season.
“I want to cry right now because I’m looking out at my brothers, my seniors,” Washington said. “It’s amazing to be apart of this family. It’s crazy we only have one more game left on this field. It’s special. I’m so blessed to be apart of this team.”
The disease of more does not exist in Derby. Clark and his coaching staff have created a culture where winning on Monday and Tuesday is celebrated just as much as winning on Friday.
“We love the first four days of the week because that’s what makes us so good: our preparation,” senior defensive lineman Tyler Dorsey said. “We’re one big family and we love being around each other and working hard together. And then on Friday, we get to show everyone else what we’ve been cooking up in the lab.”
No one has had an answer for what’s cooking in Derby’s laboratory this season.
Manhattan trailed on Friday less than 65 seconds into the game, as Derby’s backfield tandem of Washington and Wash sprinted, juked and spun their way all over the field. Washington scored three touchdowns in the first quarter, then Wash added touchdown runs of 40 and 31 yards before halftime.
It feels almost unfair when defense finally do sell out to stop the run, then Derby goes to the air to its wealth of talented receivers for big plays. On Friday, Derby scored touchdowns on all three of its completed passes to Reid Liston (54 yards), Cavion Walker (39) and Dylan Edwards (24).
“We just make one big play after another and that starts to beat a team down,” Clark said.
“You can tell they want to stop playing after a while when we start scoring that fast,” Washington said. “If it was happening to me, I would probably do the same too.”
It’s even less fun for the opposition when it can’t do anything against Derby’s defense. On Friday, the Panthers constantly stopped Manhattan’s rushing attack on first and second down to force them to play in uncomfortable third-and-longs. The result was Manhattan averaging just 3.6 yards per play and finishing with 193 total yards.
Clark has seen his fair share of dominant teams in Derby. The 2019 team is proving on a weekly basis that it’s different.
“You ask any one of these kids, they’re not going to talk about their stats or about how many times they touched the ball,” Clark said. “They’re in it for the final score and the brotherhood.
“We had a Thursday night meeting this week and the vibe in there, the kids just love each other. You can preach family all the time, but you can’t preach how big of a family they really are. It just naturally happened and it’s really cool to see.”
| Manhattan (9-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Derby (11-0) | 21 | 21 | 14 | 0 | — | 56 |
D—Washington 12 run (Simmons kick)
D—Washington 35 run (Simmons kick)
D—Washington 2 run (Simmons kick)
D—Liston 54 pass from Adler (Simmons kick)
D—Wash 31 run (Simmons kick)
D—Wash 40 run (Simmons kick)
D—Walker 39 pass from Wash (Simmons kick)
D—Edwards 24 pass from Thatcher (Simmons kick)
Rushing—Manhattan, Aschenbrenner 17-46, Young 10-37, Flores 1-2, Wilhoite 1-1, Team 1-(-2); Derby, Washington 11-142, Edwards 5-90, Wash 4-84, Adler 5-40, Thatcher 3-(-6), Hamblin 1-(-10).
Passing—Manhattan, Aschenbrenner 5-21-1-110; Derby, Adler 1-2-0-54, Wash 1-2-0-39, Thatcher 1-3-0-24.
Receiving—Manhattan, Higgins 1-43, Reid 2-38, Wilhoite 1-31, Young 1-(-2); Derby, Liston 1-54, Walker 1-39, Edwards 1-24.
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