Kennedy Manning took the snap and ran straight for the end zone.

Needing a one-point conversion in the fourth overtime period to clinch a pivotal Fox Valley Conference game against McHenry, Cary-Grove put the ball in its senior quarterback’s hands. With her team’s undefeated conference record on the line, Manning delivered in the game’s biggest moment, winning a race to the pylon and sealing a 21-20 victory.

“It was really scary and nerve-racking,” Manning said. “I knew we needed to complete the play there because I don’t know how many times we could’ve kept going. Our defense was getting exhausted, but I trusted that my teammates would block and we got the job done.”

The play capped off a stellar effort from Manning, who ran 26 times for 145 yards and a touchdown while completing 13 passes for 179 yards and two more scores. Manning, who also plays safety for the Trojans (10-1, 5-0 FVC), intercepted three passes and returned one for a 50-yard touchdown during the final seconds of the first half.

“I saw the end zone and I ran as fast as I could,” Manning said. “Our confidence level has really helped us improve... We looked back to what we’ve done in practice and we knew what we were doing was good. It’s a confidence builder and we can’t wait to play Huntley on Thursday.”

Manning led the Trojan offense down the field late in the first quarter, running in a 5-yard touchdown before breaking loose off the right side for the two-point conversion. The drive featured multiple key receptions by wide receiver Sofia Seaburg, who had five for 67 yards in the game.

The Warriors (7-4, 3-3 FVC) threatened on their ensuing possession, moving the ball into the C-G red zone, but Manning intercepted McHenry quarterback Brooklyn Anderson to end the drive. The Warrior defense answered with a turnover of its own, taking advantage of a bobbled pass that landed in the arms of linebacker Natalie Corona.

Looking for a spark on offense, McHenry turned to its quarterback Anderson, who escaped pressure and sprinted down the sideline for a 22-yard touchdown in the second quarter to make it an 8-6 game. Anderson led the charge for the Warriors, running 11 times for 104 yards while completing 12 passes for 187 yards and two scores.

McHenry had a chance to take the lead before halftime. Anderson fired a deep ball to midfield in the closing moments of the second quarter, but Manning made a leaping interception and outraced an army of Warriors to the end zone to give Cary-Grove a 14-6 advantage.

“I thought we started really slow,” McHenry head coach Dennis Hutchinson said. ”Defensively, they didn’t give us much short and we didn’t take advantage. We finished the game really hard. We gave them a touchdown late in the first half and we could’ve gone into the half down two, but instead we were down eight. But the girls battled back."

The Trojans extended their lead early in the fourth quarter, where Manning bought time in the pocket and fired a 19-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Aria Stanton. Stanton finished with 66 yards on four catches for the Trojans, who appeared to be well on their way to victory after Manning recorded her third interception of the game.

But the Warriors fought feverishly over the final six minutes, stringing together two scoring drives and converting a critical 2-point play to tie the game with 1:49 remaining. With McHenry trailing 20-6, Anderson delivered a well-timed ball down the far sideline and connected with sophomore running back Addison Hoffman for a 28-yard touchdown.

A three-and-out gave the ball right back to the Warriors, who clawed to within two after Anderson floated a 30-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Morgan Frederick. Anderson lofted a 50-50 ball to the end zone on the 2-point play and after mixed signals from the officials, the ruling of a completed pass tied the game at 20-20.

“We were running the same stuff, but I think we were getting our eyes to where they needed to go and we were getting the ball out on time,” Hutchinson said. “Defensively, we added a second blitzer for a little bit and we tightened our safety up so she could run the alley a bit more... I told our girls we were proud of how they battled to get to overtime.”

The Warriors made one last defensive stand in the final moments, as Frederick intercepted a Manning pass to the end zone to give McHenry possession with 1.2 seconds left. After three overtime periods in which each team had one chance to convert a 1-point play or a 2-point play, neither Cary-Grove nor McHenry were able to cash in.

A successful stop on McHenry’s conversion attempt in the fourth overtime gave Manning and the Trojans one more chance at victory. Manning, who had thrown passes on each of Cary-Grove’s previous overtime attempts, took the ball and immediately bolted for the left side of the end zone, spiking the ball in celebration after the play.