Manteno High School's Mike Benegas runs the ball during Saturday's football playoff game against Peoria Note Dame High School.
It has been a trying week for Manteno High School.
The tragic loss of the school’s assistant football coach and head wrestling coach Cory Blanchette has made the mood heading into Saturday’s second-round playoff game against highly touted Rochester understandably somber.
But while Manteno coach R.J. Haines mourns his colleague and friend along with the coaching staff and team, he’s quick to point out that even with the loss of Blanchette, the expectation to perform hasn’t changed.
“I feel like there is a lot of stuff on our hearts and minds. You have to understand what coach Blanchette meant to us and what he stood for,” Haines said. “Everybody knows that he would want us to perform, and he’d be awfully dang disappointed if we didn’t. We feel like we owe it to him and his honor to do so.”
The challenge that faces the Panthers (9-1) is big. By seed alone, the Panthers should be the favored team in this second-round matchup with the fifth-seeded Rockets (8-2). By reputation and pedigree, Manteno is squarely the underdog.
Rochester is led by sensational quarterback Wes Lunt. The senior is rated as the top quarterback in the state and is committed to attending Oklahoma State University in the fall.
The 6-foot-5 gunslinger missed the first four games of the season with a broken foot, but returned to the lineup with a flourish, throwing for nearly 2,200 yards in just six games. Lunt has thrown 22 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
The quarterback has talented targets. Zach Grant is one of the few receivers in the state that can boast better numbers this season than Manteno’s lead pass catcher J.J. Witherow. Grant has caught 91 balls for 1,575 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Rochester is no slouch on the ground, either. Garrett Dooley (720 yards, 17 touchdowns) leads a running attack that can move the football effectively.
“Well, it’s probably going to be a very long football game,” Rochester coach Derek Leonard said. “You give either of us too many chances, I think both teams are going to find ways to score with the players we both have at the skill positions.”
Manteno will try to counter that explosive Rochester offense with some fireworks of its own. Quarterback Ryan Sample has thrown for more than 2,000 yards as well, and Witherow erupted for more than 300 yards receiving last week and set a Class 4A playoff record.
Manteno coach Haines knows what to expect.
“They want to run a fast break offense, and they want to dictate the tempo of the game,” Haines said. “In most games, we want to do that, too. But we feel like we might be able to go a different tempo and force them to do some things that they aren’t comfortable doing.”
This kind of pass-happy offensive attack preferred by Rochester more often than not puts a strain on the deepest of teams. Manteno features a number of players who start on both sides of the football.
“We actually feel like we match up well with them,” Haines said. “And we’re as healthy as we’ve been all season.”
Like the Panthers, Rochester has several who play both ways.
“We aren’t as deep as last year’s team,” Leonard said when comparing this year’s group to the 2010 state title team. “But we’ve got guys that have been playing a lot on both sides of the ball, just like they do. I’m not sure that will play much of a factor.”
