FAIRMONT – It was bound to happen.
Led by senior quarterback Slaton Manko and a defense which rose to the occasion by shutting out host East Fairmont’s offense in the second half as the Knights came away with a 49-31 victory at East-West Stadium Friday night.
“Too long,” Preston head coach Mark Deep said. “It’s been since last year since we have been able to enjoy a victory.
“Credit goes to our defense. We’ve been waiting all season for it to show up and it did in a big way in the second half.”
Interceptions by Ryder Kilkenny and Kaleb Stone turned into 14 points as Preston improved to 1-4 on the season with a home game against Woodrow Wilson slated for next week.
“Those (the interceptions) were huge because they gave us short fields and Slaton (Manko) made them pay for each one. You really can’t say enough about that kid. He gets hit play after play and continues to play. All he wants to do is win.”
Friday night’s Big 10 Conference showdown between winless Preston County and homestanding East Fairmont pitted two quarterbacks which used contrasting styles to lead their respective teams on offense.
The Knights’ Slaton Manko used his arm to get the visitors into the endzone on three occasions during the first 24 minutes of action, completing 12 of 18 attempts for 216 yards and three touchdowns with the lion’s share going to senior Aiden Schmidl (8 catches, 203 yards and 2 scores).
East Fairmont, which was trying to right the ship after dropping a heart-breaking contest at Lewis County a week ago, relied upon the legs of senior signal-caller Anthony Corwin and senior running back Adrian Fleming, who combined for 25 carries for 173 yards and all three six-pointers scored by the hosts in the first half.
Fleming rushed for 113 yards on one score on 14 carries while Fleming added 60 yards and two six-pointers on 11 totes of the pigskin.
The difference at the intermission proved to be a 27-yard field goal by senior Karson Church as the Bees headed to the locker rooms holding a slim, 24-21, advantage.
East Fairmont opened the second half with an 80-yard kickoff return by Gavin Murphy to up its lead to 31-21.
Manko answered with a pair of touchdown passes to senior Easton Hayes. The first one covered 25 yards and brought the visitors back to within 31-28 in the third quarter and then a 39-yard bomb to open the fourth to push the Knights in front, 35-31.
However, the senior hurler wasn’t finished as he connected with Schmidl, who finished with 12 catches for 247 yards and a trio of touchdowns.
Strawser closed out the scoring with a 16-yard dash to paydirt with 50 seconds left in the game.
Manko finished the night with 20 completions on 29 attempts for 389 yards and five scores and added 65 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.
Corwin was the primary weapon for the Bees, amassing 150 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries while adding 58 yards through the air.
“Huge,” continued Deep. “Just huge. We had so many obstacles facing us this week with the Buckwheat Festival, but the kids came together and every one of them made the difference for us tonight.”
— Story by Jim Butta
