Seiling runs past Velma-Alma, 48-16, to claim Oklahoma Class B state title
BETHANY, OKLAHOMA — Coach Gary Manuel had something important to say.
Despite having just been drenched with a Gatorade bath in 40-degree weather, the Seiling football coach wanted to make sure everyone heard what he had to say.
After his Wildcats defeated Velma-Alma, 48-16, to win the Class B state championship at Southern Nazarene University, Manuel gathered the team together for a quick speech. And as if on cue, the blow horns fell silent, the fans stopped screaming and his words could be heard on the field and in the stands.
‘I told them when they were in the third and fourth grade that one day we would do something special,” an emotional Manuel told his team. “Well, here is our special moment. I told you when the season started, everything in Class B had to come through us.”
The Wildcats finished the season with a perfect 15-0 record. They outscored their opponents by 576 points on the year as they won the third championship in the program’s history, and their first since 1988.
“When I first moved to Seiling 13 years ago, me and my buddy Big John, we started a third or fourth-grade football program and those kids started with me, with my seniors I had last year,” Manuel said. “And it was just something about those group of kids, the way they worked when they were third and fourth graders.
"I told them one day, you guys are going to do something special. And I just felt that in my heart and I was blessed to become the head coach seven years ago, and we just kept working until we got to this point.”
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However, according to Manuel, this season actually began last season when Seiling lost, 36-28, to Laverne in the title game. Since that moment, the Wildcats have been on a mission.
“The defeat we had last year in the state championship game, it was kind of a moment that our kids, the guys that were coming back, realized how it felt,” Manuel said. “Coming into the season, I didn't know how good we could be.
"I thought we could be pretty good, but our kids continue to get better and better each and every week. And man, here we are right here. We finished the deal off and we were blessed. We stayed healthy.”
No one took the loss in last year’s title as personally as Manuel’s son, Kaden. As the starting quarterback and linebacker, he put most of the blame on his own shoulders for the loss.
Not wanting to ever have to feel that stinging loss again, Kaden Manuel decided he was going to do everything possible to end the season as the last team standing.
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“First off, in the off-season, I started off not playing baseball,” Kaden said. “That is something that I had done in the last couple of summers and I really sacrificed that to make sure we get this done out here.”
With the season on the line, Kaden Manuel had a game for the ages. The senior signal caller finished with more than 300 total yards and seven touchdowns. That included five trips to the end zone in the first half.
“He's a total dog,” Seiling sophomore Rush Hunt said. “That's all I have to say about it.”
Velma-Alma actually led midway through the first quarter after Kaiden Lyle scored on a short touchdown run up the gut of the Wildcats' defense. The ensuing two-point conversion gave them an 8-6 advantage.
However, that would be the end of the Comets' good vibes as Manuel took over the game. On the next possession, he reeled off a 25-yard touchdown run.
Kaden Manuel then proceeded to score on runs of 1, 78, 55, 6 and 30 yards.
“I just got to thank my Lord Savior, Jesus Christ for that,” said Kaden Manuel, who is uncommitted. “I mean just for being able to come out here and do that.”
It also meant a lot for Gary Manuel to be able to watch his son excel on the biggest stage.
“He meant a lot to this program. Not just because not only is he my son, but the work ethic that he's bringing each and every day to practice and in the film room, trying to teach these young guys how to study the game,” Gary Manuel said.
“He's truly a blessing and I couldn't be more happy for him because he really wanted this because he felt like last year that he didn't play his best in the state championship game. He felt like he let his team down and he really wanted this (Friday) and he was bound and determined to make sure we went home with the gold ball.”
But more than anything, the elder Manuel wanted the championship for the entire team.
“I'm so happy for these kids,” coach Manuel said. “It's not about me. I've won championships in high school and college. I've coached in the national championship game. I wanted it for these kids.
"That's what it's about for me. It's about these kids. This is not about me. I'm so happy for these kids. That's what it's about.”
-- Michael Kinney | @SBLiveOK
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