MANHATTAN, Kansas (WIBW) – The Manhattan Indians are nothing new to high expectations on the football field.

Manhattan has been one of the top-ranked teams in 6A football year after year. After last season’s 9-2 record and trip to Sectional, Manhattan expects to remain at the top of the 6A rankings.

Head coach Joe Schartz says it was a busy summer for the Tribe.

“The summer was pretty typical. There were a lot of team camps in June, we went to Washburn University and had a great team camp there and saw a lot of good competition,” Schartz said. “It was a busy summer and the kids did well.”

Schartz said he was pleased with the work his team, and especially the executives, had done over the summer.

“I’m really happy with our leadership,” Schartz said. “Some of the guys that are coming back and have some experience have done a good job all summer providing that leadership.”

Tight end Rylan Vikander, safety Hunter Austin and middle linebacker Colby Altevogt are three of the senior leaders mentioned above. They have big goals for their final season at Manhattan High.

“We definitely have a chip on our shoulder now,” Vikander said. “We just want to go out and get another state championship.”

Austin hasn’t forgotten the feeling of how last season ended. And neither has Altevogt.

“I remember seeing the seniors’ faces when it was over,” Austin said. “You just want to keep that feeling going as long as possible.”

“When you see all the older players you’ve played with for so long leaving like that, you want to come back next season and do better for them,” Altevogt said.

For the three seniors, it is not a goal to get further than they did on last season’s sectional trip, but rather an expectation.

“I think we can win the state championship,” Austin said. “We have produced a lot of young people over the summer,”

Altevogt agreed.

“I agree with that, we simply need young people to step in and fill the gaps,” said Altevogt.

Even though they set big goals, players are more interested in what lies immediately ahead.

“We’re just focused on going 1-0 and beating Garden (City) in the first game,” Austin said.

Coach Schartz said this year’s Tribe team will differ from the teams in the preview season in one thing: certain players will play both offense and defense.

“We may have to have some kids play both ways,” Schartz said. “We’re lacking a little bit of size and we need to develop some young kids to fill some of those gaps. So in that regard, we may have to ask a little bit more of some kids than we have in the past, but these kids are capable.”

Schartz says that the fact that they underestimate their opponents than usual is no excuse for not meeting Manhattan’s high expectations.

“One of our slogans is DMGB – Don’t Matter, Get Better. We just have to take it day by day, strength training session by strength training session, and we just have to work on getting better,” Schartz said.

With expectations higher than ever, Schartz believes a 6A state championship appearance is not impossible.

“We have some things to work in our favor, but this team is just as capable of going deep into the playoffs and earning a state championship berth,” Schartz said. “If everything goes in our favor and we stay healthy, I think this team is very capable.”

Manhattan High School will open the 2024 season on September 6th away against Garden City High School.

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