Leaving a Lancer legacy
Manne is a Lafayette alum who graduated in 1987 after starring in football, basketball and baseball. He went on to play baseball at STLCC and SIU-Carbondale, where he earned a degree in education.
“That was the goal. To come back here, it was great. This high school was great to me,” Manne said. “I was even the head baseball coach for five years, and I sit back and think about doing both of those, and I’m like, wow that was pretty intense.”
He began his head coaching career at Parkway West High School, where he led the Longhorns to three consecutive winning seasons and two District championships.
“We had a group of kids that didn’t win a lot of games in their earlier years… we had a really good team that went 9-3 both years,” he said. “We made it to the State quarterfinals back when it was 64 teams in the playoff system and you would play a playoff game on a Wednesday then come back and play on a Monday then come back and play on a Saturday.”
Interestingly, Parkway West was once Lafayette’s fiercest rival.
“To go from your home school and where you grew up and then now your coaching as the head football coach at your arch-rival school, that was interesting,” Manne said.
In the spring of 2004, Manne returned to his alma mater to replace longtime head coach Mick Picataggio. His first game as head coach was eventful, to say the least.
“Our lights didn’t work here, so Coach Miller went to turn them on… and they blew, like the circuit blew,” Manne said. “So we couldn’t have our first home game here, and then we played the following day I believe at 6 p.m. at Pattonville.”
Despite the rough start, Manne and the Lancers won that game 40-20 and went on to finish the season with a 7-3 record.
Throughout two decades of change in the high school football landscape, one thing remained consistent for Manne.
“The kids have always been the same. They want to compete, they want to win,” he said. “You try to instill a culture of working extremely hard, caring for one another, committing to one another… this group that just finished up, it was an extra special season.”
Among the many teams he coached, Manne names the 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2024 squads as his personal favorites.
“The 2007 group was really, really special. Matt Brewer, Caleb Welchans, Garret Millman, Dan Holliday—those four, I still talk to those kids and still have positive relationships. We’ll still go out and grab dinner sometimes,” Manne said.
But perhaps nothing compared to the seasons between 2011 and 2013, when he got to coach his sons—Tyler and Corey—and bond more deeply with Ryan, his oldest son.
“Ryan’s been on the sidelines, zipping up and down in his wheelchair. Tyler and Corey were a part of some great football teams here from 2011 to 2013,” Manne said.
Ryan, born with Cerebral Palsy and legally deaf, has been involved in the Lafayette program since 2007 and graduated in 2011. He now works as an office aide at the school and plans to move to Washington with his parents.
“Ryan has been here since 2007 when he was a student,” Manne said. “It’s been awesome, he’s really proud of Lafayette and what this school is about, and he’s excited about his opportunities at St. Francis Borgia too.”
“I am looking forward most to meeting their football players and hopefully I can work at St. Francis Borgia soon,” Ryan added.
Tyler, who played from 2008 to 2011, said being the coach’s son made him push even harder.
“There’s this constant internal drive to prove yourself—not just to the team, but to everyone watching,” Tyler said. “It often felt like I had to earn everything twice… my dad made sure I worked just as hard, if not harder, than everyone else.”
He fully supports his dad’s new opportunity.
“The opportunity for my dad to take the next step at St. Francis Borgia is something he’s dreamed about for a long time,” Tyler said. “There’s some sadness in leaving, but knowing he’s following a dream makes it all feel right.”
Corey, a 2014 graduate and former Lancer football player, echoed that sentiment.
“He spent 20 years at Lafayette and was ready for a new challenge,” Corey said. “He was a part of so many great teams and coached a lot of talented players.”
Corey also recalled one lesson that has stayed with him: “The best piece of advice from my father is to always take care of family first.”
Your donation will allow our student journalists to continue their work. You may become a PATRON by making a donation at one of these levels: White/$30, Black/$50, Gold/$100. Patron names will be published on the website and once per quarter on our social media accounts.
