The Manual football team had a close 21-20 win over Central high school late last night.
With an early touchdown being called back three minutes into the first quarter, the Crimsons had to keep their heads up and focus on scoring once more.
With 8:56 left in the first quarter, Marcis Floyd (2,11) ran 69 yards to give Manual the lead. Nick Kopp (9,11) scored an extra point putting Manual at 7-0 over the Yellow Jackets.
Central quickly fired back getting the ball into the Crimson’s territory. They were forced to punt the ball, allowing Bryce Cosby (7, 12) to rush to Central’s 43 yard line.
Manual was stuck on fourth down with 2:36 left in the first quarter. Will Britt (17, 12) found Aidan Robbins (29, 10), for a 25 yard touchdown and the extra point by Kopp was good, putting Manual 14-0.
After a series of incomplete plays and penalties, Manual receives the ball but struggled to hold on to it. Central gained possession and scored a touchdown and extra point with 0:33 seconds left in the first half. The half ended with Manual up 14-7.
While the offensive end for manual showed out and proved why they were here, the defensive end struggled to find their way.
“I think the offensive line is the strength for our team this far,” Coach Horton said, “They’re the most solid unit that we have, they are the most cohesiveness.”
Manual continued to struggle in the beginning of the second half, giving Central possession of the ball after a lousy fumble.
“Players all over the field were dehydrated, cramping up, and getting injured, a lot of us went down like flies, with cramps,” Will Cissell (89, 12) said, “I know every time I went in, I had a cramp, and came out with a cramp.”
After a 30 yard run, Central successfully scored a touchdown and the extra point tying the game with 4:36 left in the third quarter.
In a constant up and down battle of who wanted it more, both teams fought hard and never gave up.
With 8:30 left, Jaelin Carter (11, 12) received a pass from Britt and ran 80 yards for a touchdown. After Kopp knocked down another extra point the Crimson’s had a seven point lead, 21-14.
With Manual’s defense still having a tough time, Central earned possession and ran 33 yards to put themselves at first and goal. On the next play Central drove into the endzone to score; however the missed the extra point, giving the Crimson’s a shallow 21-20 lead.
With three minutes left in the game Central received the ball again at Manual’s 23 yard line.
With only 0:57 seconds left on the clock, the Yellow Jackets set up for a field goal, but failed to complete, leaving Manual with possession of the ball.
With a last second punt down the field, the Crimsons walked away from the first game of the season with a tight win.
“I think we need to work on our conditioning, drinking water and staying hydrated,” Robbins said after the win.
The Crimsons will host Fern Creek next friday at Manual Stadium for the first home game of the season.
