MANHATTAN — The showdown lived up to the hype Friday night.

In front of a packed house, No. 2 Manhattan built a 13-point halftime lead then held on to beat No. 3 Three Forks in a Southern B clash.

Both teams entered the contest unbeaten, but it was the Tigers, the state Class B runner-up the past two seasons, who made a defensive stand in the final two minutes to secure a 28-20 victory. It was Manhattan’s 16th consecutive win against their longtime rival dating back to the 2010 campaign.

“This is a big win. Three Forks is a great team this year. We knew they had some guys over there,” Manhattan head coach Wes Kragt said. “Watching (Kanon) Reichman dominate everybody all week, we knew it was a big week and for us to come out and get the win against Three Forks is huge.”

Reichman, a 6-fo

See Full Page