GAME OF THE WEEK: Monarchs, Panthers renew rivlary

By: | SCNOW
Published: September 18, 2008

Manning coach Robbie Briggs remembers a budding rivalry between Lake City and the Monarchs during his playing days in the late 1980s.

He saw the rivalry grow from the sideline in the mid-90s as the two teams battled it out every year until 2003.

Now, for the first time in four years, Manning and Lake City will square off in the Morning News Game of the Week.

“We’ve played in some games against Lake City in the past, like the ’94 lower state final,” Briggs said.

“We’ve played them a number of times in the third round of the playoffs, so it’s always a big game for the coaches here who remember those battles.”

Manning (2-1) is coming off its first loss of the season, a 28-14 decision against Crestwood.

The Monarchs did not play particularly well on defense, Briggs said, and will have to correct their mistakes against Lake City.

“We gave up a couple of big plays that allowed them to score or set up a score,” Briggs said. “They’re a very physical team with a big offensive line that their backs love to run behind.”

One of those backs is sophomore Shon Carson, who had 272 rushing yards against Kingstree last week.

“He’s a great back, but they’ve got a couple of good backs,” Briggs said. “In the last couple of years, they’ve always seemed to be able to turn their game up a notch against good opponents, and I expect them to do the same against us.”

The Panthers (2-1), also lost their first game last week — an 18-12 overtime defeat. But Lake City will get a boost with the return of more than a dozen players who were suspended after the Lake City-Wilson brawl.

“Sometimes you have to be able to turn a negative into a positive,” Lake City coach Justin Gentry said. “Before this season, I thought we might have been one or two key injuries away from becoming a mediocre team.

“Now with all of the JV players we’ve used, I know that we have some depth and some kids capable of stepping up and making plays.”

While the first practice back for a lot of the players was a little rusty, Gentry said, he doesn’t expect the team to show too many signs of layoff.

Gentry said he’s more focused on getting his team prepared to face Manning’s balanced attack. Monarchs running back Jason Witherspoon has rushed for more than 300 yards this season and wideout Marcus Lloyd has 100 receiving yards.

“We’re going to have our work cut out for us,” Gentry said. “We’re going to have to use our speed and defense and give a lot of different looks to try to confuse and slow down their offense.

“Their quarterback is always a threat to run too, so we have to make sure our defense is prepared and is able to contain him.”