Checking in at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, Oswego’s Teddy Manikas doesn’t stand out in the crowd when his team takes the field. But just wait until the game begins.
It’s early in the regular season, but it seems fitting that Manikas, a senior receiver in his third year on the varsity for the Panthers, is sporting a new jersey. He’s switched from No. 11 to No. 1.
What’s the best thing about him, according to junior quarterback Drew Kleinhans?
“He’ll get open,” Kleinhans said while heaping praise upon Manikas. “They might double team him, but he’s gonna get open. He’s a dog. He’ll find ways to make a play.
“We throw a little screen out there and he’s covered. He’ll make a play. I know in big situations, he’s going to be there, so that’s where the ball is gonna go in critical situations.”
Manikas was there again Friday night for Oswego, catching four passes for 44 yards from Kleinhans during a 35-6 nonconference win over visiting Geneva at Ken Pickerill Stadium.
Two of those plays went for touchdowns of 22 and eight yards in the first half.
“He may not be the tall, lanky type, but he can do a little bit of everything,” Oswego coach Brian Cooney said of Manikas. “My job is to take advantage of that every Friday.
“If the ball is in the air, Teddy can be in the conversation for getting it. He can can also return kicks and punts.”
It’s the second straight week Manikas caught a pair of TD throws from Kleinhans for the Panthers (2-0). They covered 14 and 53 yards in a 31-15 season-opening win over Naperville Central.
“It feels awesome,” Manikas said. “This is just all I’ve wanted since being on varsity as a sophomore. I didn’t imagine me, two years ago, looking at myself now and doing this.
“It’s all I’ve worked for in the offseason, just to be ready for this moment.”
Mariano Velasco, Manikas’ running mate on offense and lifelong friend, set the tone early for Oswego. He picked off a pass on the second play of the game and returned it 25 yards for a TD.
Velasco is in his third year at defensive back for the Panthers but splits his time on offense. He caught four passes for 40 yards against Geneva (1-1), last year’s Class 6A state runner-up.
“He’s phenomenal,” Manikas said of Velasco. “I’ve been playing with him since fourth grade. I’m not surprised by anything about his performance.”
Velasco works on offense two days a week in practice and on defense two days a week.
“Defense is his main position,” Manikas said of Velasco. “But I mean, you can see what he can do on offense, so why not use him?”
Velasco credited mentoring from Manikas for his speedy acclimation to the offensive role.
Kleinhans, meanwhile, completed 11 of 17 passes for 112 yards Friday night. That included a third TD of 41 yards to junior tight end Ryan Wynn.
It came on a fake rollout to the opposite side of the field where Manikas and Velasco were lined up, drawing scrutiny from Geneva’s defense.
“You can’t go to your well every single time,” Cooney said of using Manikas as a decoy for the TD that boosted the lead to 28-0. “We put that play in two weeks go and it looked absolutely terrible.
“But we worked on it through the week and Wynn was right where he needed to be. It was a great job on the fake by Drew.”
Ben Peterson, who completed 10 of 21 passes for 132 yards, scrambled nine yards for Geneva’s lone TD late in the third quarter.
Manikas, however, hopes the attention he draws from opposing defenses will translate to equal attention from college scouts. He has no offers but wants to play at the next level
“I saw some double teams,” he said. “They definitely game-planned against me because I could see it and overheard one of their coaches saying, ‘Follow No. 1 wherever he goes.’
“That just makes me play harder and amp my game up a little bit more.”
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