3 observations: How Manual football's Zah'Ron Washburn shredded PRP for 200 yards in win

“Best Running Back in Louisville” may never be completely settled this season, but Zah'Ron "Zeek" Washburn’s out-of-nowhere candidacy gained even more momentum Friday night.

The Manual High School junior carried 22 times for 211 yards and four touchdowns as the host Crimsons overcame a slow start to beat Pleasure Ridge Park 28-19.

Washburn scored on runs of 51, 53, 13 and 17 yards and carried a Manual offense that got little from its passing game.

“I can’t wait to get done here so I can just hug and love on that guy,” Manual coach Donnie Stoner said. “He’s just awesome. It’s about time we give him a break. We try to manage his reps to keep him healthy. But if you take him out of the game, we’ll probably have a scuffle on the sideline. He’s just that resilient.”

Washburn was a back-up running back as a freshman at Manual and then transferred to Evangel Christian as that school looked to start a football program during the 2021 season. When Evangel shut down its program before the season started, Washburn went to Valley for his sophomore year and did not play a sport.

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Manual welcomed him back this school year with open arms.

“Before I came back to Manual, my head was in the wrong place and I had to take a step back,” Washburn said. “I think I made the right move back, and I’m doing my thing.”

Manual (7-1), ranked No. 2 in Kentucky’s Class 6A, bounced back from last week’s loss to St. Xavier. PRP dropped to 6-3.

Here are three observations from the game:

Zah'Ron Washburn carries the load

Manual had just two first downs in the first half, but both came on Washburn’s long touchdown runs that kept PRP from taking control.

“We were taking advantage of the inside and the outside,” Washburn said. “We were working on everything. I felt like we needed that loss from last week (to St. X) in order to bounce back.”

Washburn’s third touchdown run on the opening drive of the third quarter — a 13-yarder — gave the Crimsons the lead for good at 21-19. His 17-yard score capped the scoring with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter.

Stoner said Washburn plays with purpose after missing his sophomore season.

“He plays with a chip on his shoulder and rightfully so,” Stoner said. “He just wants to get what he deserves.”

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Manual's defense steps up

After allowing 19 points and 244 yards in the first half, Manual’s defense held PRP scoreless in the second half.

Stoner said one key was slowing PRP senior wide receiver Jakob Dixon, who had seven catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

“They threw the whole kitchen sink at us, and we got things figured out at halftime,” Stoner said. “We just had to make some personnel adjustments and tweak some things. (Dixon) is a bad dude, and he gave us a lot of fits in the first half.”

Senior defensive back Jeremiah Blakey made a key play for the Manual defense in the fourth quarter, intercepting a Kayden Anderson pass with 4:45 remaining.

“We’re a team that has to play four quarters,” Stoner said. “It comes down to stamina.”

Manual has won 10 of the past 11 meetings in the series. PRP’s last victory came in 2017 by a 14-7 score.

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PRP runs out of gas

The loss overshadowed big performances from PRP’s offense.

Anderson completed 24 of 38 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns. Dixon had 12 catches for 99 yards, and Santana Crayton added seven receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown. Robert Fuller carried 21 times for 114 yards.

Panthers coach Tommy Williams said his program’s lack of depth showed in the second half.

“It was a matter of execution and us running out of a little bit of gas,” he said. “We play a lot of guys on both sides of the ball, and credit to our kids because they kept fighting and swinging. Just didn’t have the same burst in some of those plays to turn 4 yards into 15 yards.”

Down 21-19, PRP drove to the Manual 19-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Williams decided to go for it on fourth-and-4, but Anderson’s pass to Dixon was caught out of the end zone.

Williams noted Fuller played every down of defense at linebacker to go along with his 21 carries.

“If we got to play a half of football against anybody, sign me up for whoever you want to play,” Williams said. “(Manual) is the second-best team in Kentucky … so I think we at least threw our hat in the ring tonight.”

PRP                      7            12          0            0 - 19

MANUAL            7            7            7            7 – 28

First quarter

PRP – Santana Crayton 53 pass from Kayden Anderson (Victor Sanchez kick)

M – Zeek Washburn 51 run (Parker Friedman kick)

Second quarter

PRP – Jakob Dixon 7 pass from Anderson (kick blocked)

M – Washburn 53 run (Friedman kick)

PRP – Dixon 12 pass from Anderson (pass intercepted)

Third quarter

M – Washburn 13 run (Friedman kick)

Fourth quarter

M – Washburn 17 run (Friedman kick)

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA football: Zah'Ron Washburn leads Manual's victory over PRP