Bishop Manogue Miners Season Preview
We are less than three weeks away from the start of high school football in the Silver State and I couldn't be more excited. Over the next few weeks we will be previewing over twenty teams in our local area as well as a few other surprises, before getting into football season full swing on Aug. 18th when the first games kickoff. Today's team: Bishop Manogue.
Bishop Manogue Miners
2022 record: 11-3 overall, 6-0 league
Head coach: Ernie Howren, seventh season at Manogue (49-20 overall, 26-5 league in six seasons at Manogue; 195-73 overall, 101-24 league in 22 seasons total)
Overview: The Bishop Manogue Miners are 'The Kings of The Hill' once again as we begin this season. They will look to defend their crown as 5A Northern Region champions after a 34-28 victory over Spanish Springs in the Title game last year. Coach Howren was able to rally the Miners last season with the help of some big time contributing seniors including his son QB Logan Howren (who has since walked-on at Nevada) and WR Marshaun Brown (also at Nevada, on scholarship to boot) to name a few en route to their 11-3 campaign.
Not to be outdone by the Miners superior senior leadership of last season, is this year's crop of big time gridiron greats the Miners will roll out, that include QB Philip Jacobs and WR Ben Scolari (who is headed to Nevada on a football scholarship next season) on offense and DE Salesi Manu (who reportedly has over a dozen official offers to play at the Division-I level) and LB Marrio Williams Jr. leading the defense.
Coach Howren had high praise for all the players listed above saying that they are "faces of our program, and high character young men." Coach Howren is looking forward to this coming season as he teased about his team's talent last season. The Miners goals for this year are to win the league, region and state championships for the newly created 5A, Division-II classification in the Silver State.
The Miners return 16 starters (eight offensively, seven defensively, and one on special teams) and will look to create positive momentum early in what looks to be another exciting season. Their offense will continue to be "Pistol/Spread" based with a few new wrinkles and fresh ideas coming this season. Look for QB Philip Jacobs to lead the offense this season. Coach Howren said he was "very lucky" to have had Coach Ault teach his staff 'The Pistol' years back.
Weapons Galore:
RB Cody Fleischmann, Senior: Talk about production when your number is called. Fleischmann began last season as the second, possibly third option in the backfield. By the end of the season he was the clear No. 1, having ran for 1,216 yards and 11 touchdowns on 168 carries during his varsity career. Coach Howren said "he is fast, and physical. Smart who has an unmatched attention to detail when it comes to what we expect him to do in our offense." He is poised for a huge senior season.
WR Ben Scolari, Senior: Scolari burst on to the scene last season, corralling 47 receptions for 1,242 yards and 17 touchdowns en route to being named 'Second Team All State' by The Las Vegas Sun. For his production he was rewarded by Nevada Coach Ken Wilson, who offered Ben a scholarship. Scolari was quick to accept and will hit the gridiron in Silver and Blue after he looks to complete some an unfinished business for Bishop Manogue this season.
WR/RS Domenic Marconato, Senior: In his two-year varsity career Marconato has racked up some impressive stats. They are as follows: 10 carries for 87 rushing yards and a touchdown to go along with 59 receptions for 1,168 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns (including the Miners lone score against Bishop Gorman in last year's state championship game). Lastly, he checks in with 419 kick return yards including a touchdown last year. All told, Marconato averages 19.92 yards every time he touches the ball and he scores once every four times the ball is in his hands. He has Tyreek Hill-like playmaking written all over him.
Win In The Trenches:
The offensive line returns four starters from last season, including Jackson Ramsey, Jay Pouono, Hayden Bacci, and Matt Harrington. All this for an offense that was clicking throughout the season averaging 439 yards per game to go along with 42.3 points per game.
DE Salesi Manu, Senior: Manu has the potential to make it to the NFL. He has had steady progression in his last three years, getting bigger, faster and stronger each year while not losing any of his speed or explosiveness. He currently has 110 Tackles, 35 TFL, 12.5 Sacks and Two Forced Fumbles to his credit for the Miners. It was reported that he sits at 12 Division-I offers right now including Nevada, Arizona State, Washington State, Colorado State and UNLV.
DT/LS Cian Stack, Junior: Stack has accumulated 70 Tackles, 16.5 TFL, 8.5 Sacks, and Two Forced Fumbles in two years on varsity. Coach Howren was quick to point out that he is a great "weight room guy." He also has the potential to be a high-level long snapper in college.
The second and third levels:
LB Gio Granata, Senior along with DB's Jadyn Buckner, Senior; and Tony Caramella, Senior are huge pieces to this season's Miners defense. Howren said "Granata is primed for a breakout season." Buckner and Caramella are "Leaders in our defensive backfield, and expected to be playmakers for us this season."
Senior Leadership:
TE/DL Carter Eck, Senior: Howren was to quick to rave about Eck, who he described as "a good receiver who blocks amazing and is a real technician of the game." He continued on, stating that he is a "Great football player and person - definitely one of our 'faces of the program.'" Eck has one touchdown offensively to go along with 26 tackles defensively for the Miners.
LB Marrio Williams Jr., Senior: A High-Motor Guy that is fast and violent. Williams has great cover skills with athleticism to boot. Coach Howren said "He outworks everyone, is one of the best defensive player in our league, and is a true D-I guy that will carve out his own path." A diamond in the rough he has 137 tackles, 28 TFL and 8.5 sacks in three years on varsity.
Last but not least, shoutout to RS/DB Lucas Shannon who averaged over 29 yards per kick return last season and was mentioned by Howren as a "kid we really like, who is dangerous in the return game and secondary." He is likely to take one to the house this season.
Season schedule:
Aug. 18 at Las Vegas (Nev.)
Aug. 25 at Jesuit (Carmichael, Calif.)
Sep. 1 vs. Central Catholic (Modesto, Calif.)
Sep. 8 vs. Galena
Sep. 15 at Carson
Sep. 22 vs. Spanish Springs
Sep. 29 at McQueen
Oct. 5 vs. Reed
Oct. 13 at Reno
Oct. 20 vs. Damonte Ranch
J. Ray Dockter has been covering high school sports since 2022. If you have a story worth telling let him know via Twitter @J_RayDoc.