Manor Downs Stony Point

By Chris Doelle
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Updated: November 5, 2022

Manor vs Round Rock Stony Point by Steve Thomas

photos: Steve Thomas

Manor Dominates Round Rock Stony Point to Earn Playoff Berth

Three teams, two playoff spots. Entering the final week of the regular season, the Manor Mustangs (6-3, 3-3) were tied with the Round Rock Cedar Ridge Rangers (4-5, 3-3) for fourth-place in District 25-6A. The two teams had met earlier in the season with the Rangers prevailing 22-0. In third place in the district, the Leander Vista Ridge Rangers (5-4, 4-2.) had lost to Manor earlier in the season; and the Rangers faced a tough contest against the Round Rock Dragons (8-1, 5-1.) As a result, the potential existed for Manor, Vista Ridge, and Cedar Ridge to finish in a three-way tie for the district’s last two playoff spots. Because of UIL rules for seeding in Class 6A, the tie-breaker would be determined based on point differential.

With their playoff destiny partly out of the team’s control, Head Coach James Keller and the Mustangs still had control over a crucial piece of the puzzle, their game Friday night against the Round Rock Stony Point Tigers (5-4, 2-4.) As if the chaos in the standings wasn’t enough, lightning in the area delayed the start of the game for two hours. Regarding the potential tie-breakers and playoff scenarios, Keller said that he told his players, “Worry about what we can control.” The Mustangs heeded that advice and put together a complete performance for a 45-10 win.

Regarding his team’s performance, Keller said that his team exceeded his expectations for the game. Star running back Quinten Joyner rushed for 325 yards and four touchdowns. Receiver Sean Harris also caught a 17-yard touchdown pass, and running back Ian Collins returned a kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown. On special teams, kicker Omar Otero netted a 27-yard field goal. Defensively, the Mustangs forced three interceptions and recovered a fumble. Joyner pointed to the team’s performance in the first quarter as a major factor in their dominance. The Mustangs scored 21 points on their first three drives and led 27-3 at the end of the first quarter.

For Stony Point, running back Cameron Cook rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers managed just 215 yards of total offense with 145 on the ground and 70 through the air. The defense recovered a fumble in the first quarter but also gave up 472 yards of total offense. 422 of those yards were on the ground. Kicker Hayden Cartwright-Shirey also netted a 32-yard field goal.

At the end of the game, the Mustangs had added cause for excitement as Round Rock McNeil was beating Cedar Ridge 28-20 late in the fourth quarter. A loss for Cedar Ridge would have eliminated the Rangers from the playoffs and made the Mustangs the higher seed in 6A-D2 with Vista Ridge as the lower seed. Unfortunately for Manor, Cedar Ridge rallied to tie the game near the end of regulation and prevailed 34-28 in overtime. With that result combined with Round Rock’s 51-10 victory over Vista Ridge, Cedar Ridge qualified for the playoffs in 6A D1 along with Round Rock. This meant that District 25-6A champion Leander Vandegrift (9-1, 8-0) became the higher seed in 6A-D2 with Manor the lower seed. As a result, the Mustangs will now travel to District 26-6A runner-up Dripping Springs (9-1, 7-1.) Stony Point, meanwhile, finishes the season at 5-5 overall and 2-5 in district.

by Steve Thomas

Players Pictured

Manor