When Manhattan High football junior backup quarterback Blake Wewer took the field Friday night against Highland Park, little did he know he’d end up with two rushing touchdowns in the game. The Indians throttled the Scots 54-0, allowing them just four first downs on the night.

“Everyone did their job and [executed],” Wewer said. “That’s all it ever comes down to.”

The first eight drives of the game resulted the same way: A Highland Park punt followed by an MHS touchdown. The Indians led 28-0 at the end of the first frame, aided by senior Chris Martin’s three touchdown runs and Wewer’s 59-yard sprint to the endzone.

“Blake is very talented,” head coach Joe Schartz said. “He’s a conscientious young man. It’s important that he gets some game reps to get ready for the future.”

The second quarter proved much of the same. The Indians widened their lead to 35-0 with senior quarterback Eric Prockish’s eight-yard touchdown run, and Wewer’s four-yard score gave MHS a 42-0 lead at intermission.

“The first-stringers are executing better,” Schartz said. “We’re making progress. We need everyone to step up and get better.”

The second half did not open the way the first did. Highland Park recovered its own kickoff due to senior Kaden Frasier’s assumption that the ball was going out of bounds. It didn’t, and the Scots started their drive deep inside Indian territory. However, despite its excellent field position, Highland Park was unable to take advantage as confusion struck. Initially, the Scots converted on a 30-yard field goal, but a late penalty negated the three points. Highland Park then turned the ball over on downs.

“[Highland Park] had 12 guys on the field,” Schartz said. “They were trying to run an offensive play and one of the receivers didn’t get off [the field].”

After sophomore Keadrian McDonald’s touchdown run to push the MHS advantage to 48-0, the Scots converted their first first down with 2:20 in the third quarter on a drive that ended without HP points. Senior Brian Coughlin later scored Manhattan’s final touchdown, capping off the Indians’ rout with a 78-yard burst to the endzone.

“I’m very proud of Brian Coughlin,” Schartz said. “He’s the consummate team player. Brian has a great attitude every day in the weight room; every day at practice. It’s really special to see him have a performance like that tonight.”

Manhattan will travel to Topeka West on Friday to take on the 1-3 Trojans.