Manhattan overwhelms Garden City 43–13 behind two-QB punch and explosive run game

MANHATTAN, Kan. (Western Kansas News)

Manhattan opened its 2025 season with the kind of clinical, fast-starting performance that makes a preseason top-three ranking feel prescient. Using a true two-quarterback rotation and a burst-play ground attack, the Indians controlled the night at Bishop Stadium and beat Garden City, 43–13, in the KSHSAA Week 1 matchup.

The tone-setter arrived early: senior running back Kha’Mario Davis knifed through the left side and sprinted 65 yards for a first-quarter touchdown — the spark that put Manhattan in front and on schedule. From there, the Indians layered in tempo, designed QB runs and high-efficiency throws to stretch the Buffaloes horizontally and vertically. They never looked back.

How Manhattan Won

If there was a preseason question for Manhattan, it centered on how head coach Joe Schartz would deploy his quarterbacks. The answer, at least in Week 1: with conviction — and success. Senior Finn Watson and sophomore Mclain Aslin split duties and punished Garden City in different ways. Watson was sharp and patient, completing 8 of 10 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown and adding a rushing score. Aslin tilted the geometry of the game with his legs, piling up 108 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, and keeping the chains moving with 4-of-5 passing for 36 yards. That’s 169 combined passing yards at an 80% completion rate, plus three rushing TDs from the QB spot — a nightmare to match personnel against in Week 1.

The rotation did more than rack up stats; it forced Garden City to declare defensive intentions pre-snap. When the Buffaloes crowded the box to account for Aslin’s QB run game, Manhattan used quick perimeter throws and play-action with Watson to find space. When the Buffaloes loosened, Aslin and Davis attacked downhill behind a veteran front. The sequence around Davis’s 65-yarder crystallized it: Garden City tightened its edges after the score, so Manhattan countered by getting Watson on the move, then used Aslin’s read game to outnumber the point of attack. The result was a multi-score cushion that allowed the Indians to play on their terms for the rest of the night.

Manhattan’s roster also showcases two all-class headliners who shape everything, even when they’re away from the ball. JJ Dunnigan — a Kansas commit and one of the state’s most versatile juniors — draws safety help and alters coverage structures thanks to his résumé as a lockdown corner, explosive returner and the Indians’ leading receiver last season (556 yards, 5 TDs). Meanwhile, defensive tackle Evan Middleton (42 tackles, 9 TFL, 5 sacks in 2024) collapses pockets from the interior, letting the Indians spill runs to pursuing linebackers. Neither player needed gaudy Week 1 counting numbers to influence the feel of this game; their mere presence and leverage discipline helped Manhattan win the hidden-yardage battle on special teams and first down. 

Garden City’s first step under Joe Price

For Garden City, this was a baptism by fire for a group undertaking a reset under first-year head coach Joe Price. The Buffaloes return just three offensive starters and five on defense, and one of the newcomers is Price’s son, Jhett Price, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound tight end/linebacker who transferred in from Plainview (Ardmore, Okla.). The staff’s emphasis on physicality and structure showed in flashes — particularly in how the Buffaloes rallied to stack fits better as the night wore on and built two scoring drives — but the learning curve against a top-tier 6A opponent on the road was steep. Manhattan’s early explosives forced Garden City to chase the game script instead of dictating it.

This opener also came against a program that entered the season ranked No. 3 in Class 6A by KSHSAA Covered, a backdrop that matters when evaluating where the Buffaloes are and where they can go. There were glimpses of identity — heavy use of H-back looks, attempts to establish the edges to set up inside zone, and a willingness to take shots when Manhattan’s safeties rolled down — but sustaining drives against Manhattan’s length and speed proved difficult in the first half. 

1) Davis goes 65 to the house (1st quarter). Before either offense had fully settled, Kha’Mario Davis turned a crease into six points. Beyond the scoreboard impact, it forced Garden City to overplay perimeter speed, which Manhattan exploited later with quarterbacks on designed keepers and constraint throws.

2) Two-QB rhythm takes hold (midgame). With Watson dictating from the pocket and Aslin stressing scrape-exchange rules, Manhattan’s pace and multiplicity produced back-to-back touchdown drives that put the game out of reach. Watson’s passing TD plus rushing TD and Aslin’s pair of rushing scores accounted for the bulk of the separation.

3) Field position tilts to Manhattan. Dunnigan’s reputation as an elite return threat and the Indians’ coverage discipline flipped hidden yards; Garden City too often faced long fields, while Manhattan started several possessions in plus territory, making a 40-point night feel almost procedural.

Final Game Numbers

• Final: Manhattan 43, Garden City 13
  
• QB efficiency (Manhattan): 12-of-15, 169 yards, 1 TD passing (Watson 8-10/133/TD; Aslin 4-5/36) — 80% completions. Add 3 rushing TDs from the QB room.
  
• Explosive play: 65-yard Davis rushing TD set the tone.
  
• Preseason context: Indians started 2025 at No. 3 in 6A per KSHSAA Covered Preseason Rankings
  
• Program snapshot (GCHS): New HC Joe Price; 3 returning starters on offense, 5 on defense; senior Jhett Price steps in as two-way leader.
  

Matchup Breakdown

Manhattan’s multiplicity vs. Buffaloes’ retooling. The Indians didn’t just toggle quarterbacks; they toggled identities. With Aslin, the QB was the extra hat in the run game, forcing Garden City to decide whether to squeeze down on the dive or widen for quarterback keepers. With Watson, Manhattan feasted on leverage — outs and quick hitters when cushions grew, seams off play-action when safeties flew downhill. That constant identity shift meant Garden City seldom got two consecutive identical pictures, a tough ask for a defense still establishing its communication and checks.

Edges and fits. Garden City’s edge defenders improved their “contain then squeeze” mechanics after Davis’s long run, and the Buffalo linebackers’ triggering got faster as the game progressed. But Manhattan’s front won enough first-contact moments to keep the Buffaloes in second-and-medium or better. When Garden City did create negative plays, the Indians’ quarterbacks answered with on-schedule throws that protected field position.

Star gravity. Dunnigan’s presence as a receiver/DB and Middleton’s interior disruption bend game plans. Garden City avoided testing Dunnigan’s side in obvious passing downs and paid attention to Middleton on slide protections, but that attention creates opportunities for Manhattan’s supporting cast — the textbook definition of “star gravity.”

Garden City Takeaways

The scoreboard stings, but the tape offers constructive material. Up front, Garden City rotated bodies to find combinations that could anchor inside and handle Manhattan’s pull schemes. The offensive staff did well to mix personnel — H-back attachments, some condensed splits to aid the run — and the Buffaloes finished two scoring drives despite the uphill script. As Jhett Price acclimates and the younger core gains reps, Garden City’s physical profile should translate better in league play than it did against a top-three state power on the road.

Manhattan Takeaways

It’s hard to script a cleaner opening statement. The two-quarterback system looked cohesive, not cluttered, thanks to defined roles and series-by-series intent. The run game now threatens in three directions (tailback, QB keep, QB scramble), and the pass game is efficient enough to punish heavy boxes. If the Indians continue to marry personnel with tempo and keep forces like Dunnigan fresh for high-leverage snaps (offense/defense/returns), their ceiling is exactly where their preseason billing suggests. 

Up Next

Both teams dive immediately back into a Class 6A gauntlet in Week 2 on Friday, Sept. 12:

• Manhattan hits the road to face Free State in Lawrence — a program with speed at the skill spots and a history of early-season momentum.
  
• Garden City returns home to host Olathe Northwest, a meaningful barometer as the Buffaloes settle into new roles under Joe Price.
  

Rapid recap / key performers

• Manhattan: RB Kha’Mario Davis (65-yard TD run); QB Finn Watson (8-10, 133 yards, TD; rushing TD); QB Mclain Aslin (13 rush, 108 yards, 2 TD; 4-5, 36 yards). Multipliers: JJ Dunnigan (all-phase threat), Evan Middleton (DL anchor).
  
• Garden City: Program debuts under HC Joe Price with two scoring drives and a heavy dose of personnel experimentation; Jhett Price profiles as a two-way cornerstone as the Buffaloes integrate new starters.
  

Final: Manhattan 43, Garden City 13. A decisive opener for the Indians, and a first data point for a Buffaloes team that should improve as reps and continuity arrive.