Manhattan quarterback Finn Watson ran for two touchdowns and threw two TD passes to University of Miami commit JJ Dunnigan in a 27-0 victory over Olathe Northwest in the Kansas Class 6A football state championship game Saturday afternoon at Emporia State University’s Welch Stadium.
Manhattan, which also won state titles in 1974, 1988 and 2022, finished the season with an 11-2 record. The Ravens from Olathe Northwest, which made their first 6A state title game appearance, posted a 9-4 mark.
Olathe Northwest and Manhattan played a scoreless first quarter.
Watson scored on a 31-yard TD run with 6:27 left in the second quarter to give Manhattan a 7-0 lead.
After Manhattan held Olathe Northwest on downs, Manhattan’s JJ Dunnigan (a University of Miami commit who was the Sports in Kansas 6A Player of the Year in 2024) took a short pass from Watson, broke one tackle and sprinted 68 yards for a touchdown.
The extra point kick gave Manhattan a 14-0 lead with 15 seconds left in the first half. That was the halftime score.
Manhattan opened the second half with a 5-yard TD pass from Watson to Dunnigan, who bobbled it but was able to haul in the pass. The PAT kick was blocked. With 9:54 left in the third quarter, Manhattan led 20-0.
Watson capped a long Manhattan scoring drive with a 5-yard TD run for his second rushing TD of the game with 1:58 left in the contest. The extra point kick by Prescott Balderson gave Manhattan the 27-0 final margin. Balderson made 3-of-4 PAT tries.
Watson rushed for 132 yards on 17 carries and completed 2-of-3 pass attempts for 111 yards. He completed both of his passes to Dunnigan. Kha’Mario Davis rushed for 69 yards on 13 carries. McLain Aslin added 34 yards rushing and Ja’Marcus Vomes 29.
Manhattan rushed for 280 yards and passed for 111. The Indians’ defense held Olathe Northwest to 49 yards rushing and 83 passing.
Maximus Evans-Pryor led the Manhattan defense with 12 tackles, followed by Brady Durtschi with 8 and Nisbyc Johnson 7.
Tyler Briel led Olathe Northwest with 8 tackles and Jackson Connell had 7.
Manhattan 0 14 6 7 — 27
Olathe Northwest 0 0 0 0 — 0
M — Finn Watson 31 run (Balderson kick good) 6:27 2Q
M — JJ Dunnigan 68 pass from Watson (Balderson kick good), 0:15 2Q
M — Dunning 50 pass from Watson (Balderson kick blocked), 9:54 3Q
M — Watson 5 run (Balderson kick good) 1:58 4Q
