WINDSOR – Senior John Manning had six touchdowns and rushed for a career-high 302 yards Friday night in the Windsor High football team’s 53-26 season opening victory over East Hartford.
And as any good running back would, he gave credit to his offensive line.
“I owe them a lot,” Manning said. “I might have to throw a pizza party for them or something. I got to feed them.”
Manning saw some big holes Friday night and went through them. He had an 82-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a little over six minutes later, a 59-yard run into the end zone with no time left. He hauled in a pass from Windsor junior quarterback AJ Robinson in the second quarter and took it 66 yards for a touchdown. He also had a 27-yard run to score earlier in the second quarter.
John Manning scores again, this time a 59 yard run and Windsor leads 39-26 as time expires in the third quarter #cthsfb pic.twitter.com/s6Majr2exO
— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) September 14, 2024
“Today was one of those days that we saw something that was there, and we took advantage of it,” Windsor coach Rob Fleeting said. “We were trying to do other stuff, and it was like, ‘There’s no reason to do that, he’s wide open.’ That’s when we made mistakes, when we were trying to go outside of what a team was giving us.”
Manning, a two-year starter, led the Warriors in rushing last year with over 1,000 yards and had 17 touchdowns.
But Friday was the biggest night of his career.
“Very big holes, and I saw them, and I hit it,” he said. “Just put my foot on the ground and go.”
And once he got free, there was no stopping him.
For a while, East Hartford managed to counter Windsor’s scoring with senior quarterback Dravyn Roberts, who came up with some big plays of his own.
“Oh man, he’s something else – you can’t give him no time,” Fleeting said. “And don’t let him start running.
“We tried to fill the lanes, give him nowhere to run, try to flush him out – you can’t give him time. He’s too good.”
Roberts (25 carries, 146 yards, three touchdowns) scored on a 37-yard run with no time left on the clock to cut Windsor’s lead to 25-18 at halftime. He did it again with seven seconds left in the third quarter to cut Windsor’s lead to 32-26 on a 1-yard touchdown run.
But then Manning got loose on the very next play and took the ball in from Windsor’s 41-yard line and killed East Hartford’s momentum, putting the Warriors up 39-26 as time expired in the third quarter.
“We were kind of in a dogfight,” Manning said. “I felt like we weren’t playing our best. I feel like we got a lot to work on and a lot to do to get better.
Manning scored his final touchdown with 9:23 left in the fourth quarter to give Windsor a 46-26 lead.
“In the offseason he made a commitment to the weight room, made a commitment to track, made a commitment to his grades,” Fleeting said. “He’s one of the best. I’m very happy to have him on my team.”