MANNFORD — On a night painted purple and gold, the Mannford Pirates gave their town a win that felt bigger than football. It was senior night — but above that, it was Leland’s night.
Prior to kickoff, the team gathered in quiet reverence around a single, purple-painted hashmark, the 34-yard line, under the lights. The Pirates presented Leland Geary’s parents with his jersey, and retired the number 34 — the number he would have worn this season. When the game was over, with a fitting 34-point victory on the board, the Pirates returned to that 34-yard hashmark to offer up another prayer of remembrance for their fallen teammate, and give silent thanks for the kind of poetry that only Keystone Lake Friday nights can write.
“It was a great win for us on senior night,” said Head Coach Kenny Gooch. “We finished the regular season 5-0 at home. We needed that one to give us a shot at making the playoffs. We need one of the last two and I believe we will have a real good chance to get in. Brayden, Luke, and JJ all had great games running the ball. Luke really set the tone early with some big plays.”
By halftime, the Pirates were giving full broadside to Victory Christian, who was taking on water and starting to list. The sideline mood was all business. The Pirates weren’t running up the score; they were running for Leland.
On the other side of the ball, the Mannford defense was merciless.
“Defensively, other than two plays in the first half, we really shut them down,” Gooch said. “It was a team effort. The defensive line was great. Max was all over the field.”
Max Moore racked up 11 tackles — teleporting to wherever the ball went. Rodriguez and Trey Scott each notched seven stops, while Hindsman and Ryder Tidwell added five apiece. Senior lineman Kendal Howard had two sacks, sharing top billing with Hindsman, who matched him in the behind-the-lines takedown department.
By the time the exclamation point was put on the last sentence, the scoreboard told a clean story — but the night held deeper meaning. The Pirates had played for their coach, their fans, each other, and for #34. They had honored a missing classmate, were embraced by their town, and through it all, kept their playoff hopes alive.
“We are really looking forward to going to Seminole next Friday night,” Gooch said with a grin.
If heart is keeping score, Mannford won the night. The rest — the standings, the stats, the playoff math — it can wait. For now, the Pirates are 5-0 at home, 1-0 for Leland, and undefeated in heart.
This team isn’t finished yet.