Vince Manalla - November 1978 Athlete of the Month
Football, Chalmette High School
Manalla, the outstanding senior quarterback for Chalmette High School, was selected as the Sugar Bowl Athlete of the Month for November of 1978. Manalla had a pair of big November games with a 41-0 win over De La Salle and a heartbreaking 20-19 loss to St. Augustine. In the De La Salle win, he directed the Owls to six touchdowns as he completed 7-of-11 passes for 157 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown pass to Burt Pereira. Chalmette had 364 total yards in the win. In the season finale against St. Aug, a game the Owls needed to win to make the playoffs, Manalla brought the Owls back from a 20-13 halftime deficit to almost pull the game out in the final quarter. He opened the comeback with a nin-yard strike to split end Mike Burns, then he scored on a seven-yard ru to make it 20-13. He added a third touchdown on a one-yard run and coach Bill Chimento went for two and the win, but this failed and delivered a share of the District 11-AAAA title to St. Aug. Manalla finished 10-of-13 for 127 yards as the Owls ran for 210 yards and passes for 127.
