Manatee defense immovable object
Hurricanes stingy in allowing points, stays unbeaten
SARASOTA - Always in a rush to bring down an enemy quarterback or ball carrier, Manatee defensive tackle Tyreek Robinson isn't in any hurry to make the unofficial nickname for the 2023 Canes defense suitable for Tshirts and backpacks.
The Dark Side.
The 320-pound senior simply doesn't think the moniker is unique enough.
“I'm pretty sure that most teams call their defense ‘The Dark Side,'” Robinson said.
It's just that so far this season, the Dark Side could refer to an opponent's side of the scoreboard. The Manatee Hurricanes are making their points, while not allowing opponents to do likewise.
Hearkening back to when Manatee head coach Joe Kinnan oversaw defenses both smart and tough, the Canes' 2023 unit displays some of those same qualities, an abhorrence at surrendering points chief among them.
At 6-0, Manatee is the area's last undefeated team, helped by a defense that's allowed just 98 points, an average of 16.3 per game, two points fewer than last season's final number.
Manatee averaging 38 points a game
And, in a textbook example of complementary football, Manatee's offense is averaging a robust 38.3 points per game, giving its defense plenty of margin for error. But whatever coach Jacquez
Green's team did to enter Week 7 of the regular season undefeated, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player has to know it probably won't suffice Friday night. Manatee's previous victories came against Lake Minneola, Sarasota, Charlotte, Braden River, Port Charlotte, and Lakewood Ranch, teams with a combined 12-22 record.
This week Venice will be lining up on the other side.
After opening the season with two losses, John Peacock's Indians have won three straight, scoring 152 points in victories over Northwestern, River Ridge, and Riverview, When Venice's offense squares off against Manatee's defense, it could be the irresistible force butting helmets with the immovable object.
“As a unit, we definitely have to be physical and disciplined,” said Robinson, whose job is to plug the gaps along the line of scrimmage, allowing Manatee's linebackers to make tackles. “We know Venice is a very well-coached and disciplined team, so we're going in knowing we have to be disciplined and all of us around the ball. As long as we're disciplined, we'll match up well against them.”
Added outside linebacker Damontez Mcdowell, “This week we have to trust each other as a team and bring each other up and be locked in. This is the big one. This is where we prove
ourselves. It will show us where we’re at. Are we ready for a playoff run? Do we have a good chance at the state run that we always talk about? This game means a lot. This shows us where we stand.”
In looking at film of the Cane defense, Venice will notice that little has changed, even with the addition of Travis Baity as defensive coordinator. Nine of the 11 starters from last season’s unit have returned, and Baity, who arrived at Manatee after serving as defensive coordinator for Parrish High, has been around football long enough to know what works, and what doesn’t. And what doesn’t, at least on the highschool level, is complicated schemes that force a player to think before reacting.
“That’s one thing I’ve learned,” said the North Carolina-born Baity. “Keep it simple, and kids buy into it. They don’t have to think a lot. It’s an opportunity for them to play ball. Without having to do a lot of thinking, it makes them fast. Our kids are pretty fast, and it gives them the opportunity to be faster.”
Said Mcdowell, “This is the team with the most speed I’ve ever been on. We have great speed at all positions. Speed and athletic ability. We just trust each other. I trust the defensive line to get pressure on the quarterback and make TFLs (tackles for loss), and I trust my cornerbacks on the deep ball. We all trust each other and hold each other accountable for things.”
“We’re friends off the field, and that brotherhood off the field carries over onto it,” said safety Christian Johnson, who’s returned two interceptions for touchdowns. “When you’re cool with someone on the field and off the field, you want to go your hardest for them. Just do everything to make them proud and happy.”