Hays and Manhattan battled to the final seconds of Friday's game at Lewis Field Stadium with the visitors striking last.
Manhattan scored on big plays through three quarters. They opened the scoring with a 79 yard touchdown pass. Hays responded back with the next 14 points. Holden Lind scored on a run of 30 yards on 4th down carry to tie the game with 4:25 left in the first quarter.
Hays took their first lead in the second quarter when quarterback Carter Graham found Lind for a 28 yard score and a 14-7 advantage. Manhattan answered back six minutes later with a 78 yard pass. Their extra point was wide right, leaving Hays with a 14-13 lead. Before halftime Graham found Jarek Purdy for a 27 yard advantage. The extra point was no good and Hays led 20-13 at halftime.
Highlights
Hays built double digit lead on a short field score. Carson Moore nailed a 34 yard field for a 23-13 lead with 6:09 left in the third quarter. It was his first career attempt.
Manhattan struck with back-back-back scores. The first on a fumble returned for a touchdown. It was Manhattan's turn on a short field and a quick 40 run to take a 27-23 advantage with 1:07 remaining in third quarter.
There was no scoring until the final two minutes of the game. Lind raced in from 26 yards out with 1:47 remaining and a 30-27 lead. Manhattan used the next 1:45 to score the game winning touchdown on a one yard pass with :02 left and a 34-30 victory.
Coach Tony Crough
Lind ran for 124 yards and Graham threw for 193. Hays had 386 total yards. Tanner Geist recovered a fumble, Caleb Thompson picked off a pass and Jackson Chartier deflected a punt. Manhattan totaled 393 yards. Three of their scoring plays made up 197 of those yards.