MANNFORD — You could feel it in the air Friday night. Half the crowd rolled down from Cleveland, the other half from Mannford, and they all had to squeeze their trucks into the same asphalt lot that always overflows when these two face off. At stake here isn’t just a football game — it’s bragging rights at the gas pumps, bait shops, and boat ramps of Keystone Lake. Also at stake was the Mannford Pirate’s no-loss record, which they protected for one more week.
By the time the concession stand grill had cooled, the Pirates had turned this cross-lake rivalry into a 33–16 win, moving to 2–0 for the first time since 2007. That year they reached 5-0 before being knocked off by Glenpool, but this isn’t history class. This is today, and Pirate Head Coach Kenny Gooch is over the moon.
“It’s an awesome start to our season going 2–0. First time that has happened here in quite some time. I’m just really excited for our players and our school,” he said.
The Pirates hit the field like a kid on a rented Jetski coming out of the Pier 51 docks, fast and hard. Sophomore Luke Naylor ripped off 135 yards on just eight carries (a ridiculous 16.9 yards a pop) and found the end zone once. He also hauled in Mannford’s lone catch, a 17-yarder. Junior J.J. Hindsman churned out 105 yards and a score on 11 carries.
“Our offense got off to a really fast start,” said Gooch. “JJ and Luke really set the tone with some big plays in the first quarter. Anytime you can have two people over 100 yards rushing is a good thing.”
But it wasn’t just those guys. Senior quarterback Max Moore shared the love with 80 total yards — 47 through the air and 33 on the ground — plus a touchdown. Senior Brayden Rodriguez ran for 58 yards and a TD, senior Ricky Morgan and sophomore Keegan Arndt chipped in steady carries, and before long, Moore and his Mannford offense had piled up 392 yards, 345 of it on the ground.
Meanwhile, the defense was as tight as the line at the Friday night Steer Inn Buffet.
Rodriguez and senior Trey Scott led the way with eight tackles apiece. Hindsman and Moore chipped in six each, Morgan, Naylor, and Bailey Westcott finished with five, and sophomore Cooper Dodd threw in a sack for style points. Morgan picked off a pass, Rodriguez scooped up a fumble, and Zane Upton fell on another loose ball to keep Cleveland off-balance all night.
“Defensively, we also got off to a fast start,” said Gooch. “We created some turnovers and limited their running game all night long. So that was a good sign,” Gooch said.
Not only were the special teams special, they were spotless. Sophomore kicker Alex Guzman was money — three PATs and two field goals, including a 25-yarder that sent the Mannford stands into a frenzy you could hear all the way to Feyodi Creek.
“Special Teams were fantastic. Guzman hit two field goals. It was huge for our team in keeping momentum on our side,” Gooch said.
The only lull came late, when Cleveland trimmed a 33–8 deficit to the final 33–16 margin. Gooch was quick to note it. “We must be better in the second half. A little of that is shape and that will improve, but we must remain tough mentally throughout four quarters of a game,” he said.
Give credit to Cleveland, they kept fighting to the end. They know in a rivalry like this, nobody wants to lose the right to tell fish stories come the weekend.
Now Mannford gets ready for its first road trip — a visit to Sequoyah.
“This week the goal is to get better be in better shape and play four tough quarters against a Sequoyah football team,” Gooch said.
For now though, the western shores of Keystone belong to the Pirates. Across the lake, Cleveland licks its wounds. Around the lake, neighbors swap stories over breakfast pizza at the In-n-Out and Tasha B’s. Back home in port, the Pirates are 2–0.