Manual Stuns St. Xavier on Final Play for Thrilling Victory
In front of a raucous crowd at DuPont Manual Stadium, Manual scored a touchdown on the final play of regulation to stun rival St. Xavier 37-36 Friday night. Manual’s thrilling victory marked just their fifth over the Tigers since 1973. Three of those five victories have come by just one point.
The final five minutes of regulation were a whirlwind, with the lead changing hands three different times. Sophomore running back Gerian Traynor scored his second touchdown of the game from four-yards out with just over three-and-a-half minutes remaining, giving Manual a 31-30 lead. All the Crimsons had to do was prevent St. Xavier from getting into field goal range and they’d lock up one of the biggest wins in school history. St. X kicker Logan Zoeller was a perfect 3-3 on field goals on the night, hitting with ease from 37 (twice) and 24 yards.
The resilient St. Xavier offense would convert on 4th & 12 twice on their final possession, with both balls going to Kentucky target WR Marlon Harbin. Harbin made a great catch on a knee on the first fourth down attempt, keeping the Tigers’ hopes alive near midfield. Once the St. X QB Trevor Havill was dropped by a sack bringing up yet another 4th & 12, Harbin nearly single-handedly notched a miracle St. Xavier victory.
Havill dropped back three steps and lofted a 50-50 ball to Harbin. Harbin jumped up with Manual DB Dequoria Warner, tipping the ball to himself, which he hauled in and ran to the end zone for an unbelievable touchdown. As Harbin taunted in the faces of the Manual faithful, the same thought began to creep into the minds of Crimsons fans in attendance; “This can’t be happening again, can it?”
After years of devastating losses to their neighbors down the road, a collective silence overtook the stadium. The Manual Student Section, which had cleared out ready to rush the field prior to the fourth down attempt, slowly began to creep back to the bleachers. However, hope was not lost for Manual. A shanked kickoff attempt gave the Crimsons possession at midfield, and a sliver of hope slowly crept back onto the Manual sideline.
Having just 22 seconds to work with, Manual QB Elijah Creech hooked up with TE Cameron Jessee for a near 30-yard gain to put them on the 10-yard line. This is when controversy struck.
On the ensuing play, Traynor took the handoff from Creech and was immediately met in the backfield. Traynor juggled the ball before going down hard, leading the Tigers to jump on what they thought was a fumble. However, Traynor was ruled down and the Crimsons kept possession. The play has seemingly divided X/Twitter, so take a look and decide for yourself whether it was a fumble or not.
Since they regained possession, Manual was down to their final play. Creech attempted a pass to the right corner of the end zone, but it was incomplete. However, pass interference was called, giving the Crimsons a free play with no time in regulation remaining.
In 2022, RB ZahRon “Zeek” Washburn was one of the best in the state, totaling 1,388 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns as a junior. However, Washburn had not played in 2023 since Manual’s week two victory over Central Hardin. Luckily for Coach Josh Gillispie and the Manual faithful, Washburn was back for their big game against St. Xavier and made one of the most important plays in the history of the program.
On the final play of the game, QB Elijah Creech drifted to his left and lofted a pass to the corner of the end zone while being hit by a St. Xavier defender. Washburn had somehow gotten himself wide open, and after what seemed like an eternity of the ball hanging in the air, hauled in the game-winning touchdown while making sure to keep both feet down in the end zone.
Bedlam ensued, as Manual had finally defeated St. Xavier. Washburn was filled with pure joy after the game.
When asked what he was thinking about while the ball was in the air, Washburn responded, “It was Zeek the Freak time. I had to go get it.” Washburn continued, saying “It means a lot, for me especially. It’s my Senior Night and I’ve never beat St. X. This is a great opportunity. We worked as a team and got the job done.”
With the win, Manual improves to 6-1 and are now in the driver’s seat for a home playoff game. St. Xavier falls to 4-3 with the loss.
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