If anyone watching Friday’s Illinois Central Eight Conference clash between Herscher and Manteno needed a reminder that football is truly a game of inches, they got it.

Herscher was holding onto a 28-23 lead with just three seconds left on the clock and Manteno just two yards away from a game-winning score. A touchdown for the Panthers would have given Manteno its seventh straight win over Herscher, but the Tigers had other plans.

The Herscher defense mobbed Manteno quarterback Connor Harrod at the line of scrimmage, keeping him out of the end zone and giving the Tigers a win over their ICE rivals for the first time since 2018.

“It’s a great win,” Herscher senior Mason Roberts said. “Bouncing back from last week, that was a tough loss, but we put it behind us and really came out and showed that the Herscher Tigers are back.”

Herscher, after taking a 45-28 loss to Bishop McNamara last week, improved to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in the ICE. Manteno fell to 2-1 with the loss in the conference opener.

The score was tied 14-14 at halftime, with Harrod scoring a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Panthers. A 5-yard touchdown catch from Tanner Jones to Jaxon Sukley and a pick six from Roberts accounted for Herscher’s scoring.

Then, on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Roberts ran left and streaked down the sideline for an 81-yard touchdown run. After the defense forced a three and out on the ensuing Manteno possession, Alek Draper put Herscher up 28-14 with a 55-yard touchdown run, the Tigers’ second score in just over three minutes to open the half.

Manteno did not go away, getting a safety late in the third quarter and then getting a 32-yard touchdown from Harrod to Kalub Jankuski with just over five minutes left in the game to cut it to 28-23.

They also forced a Herscher turnover on downs to get the ball back at the Tigers’ 39-yard line and 2:57 on the clock before coming up a few feet short.

Those few feet were the difference between an 0-1 start to conference play for Herscher and a 1-0 start, which Roberts said feels like a big difference.

“It changes our whole mindset,” he said. “An opening conference win is big for any team.”

Roberts had 100 yards on the ground on just nine carries to lead the team while Draper had 11 carries for 96 yards. Jones finished 5 of 10 passing for 43 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Jaxon Sukley had 12 total tackles and Tanner Hull had 11 while Peyton Clark joined Roberts with an interception.

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Teammates congratulate Herscher's Mason Roberts on his touchdown against Manteno on Friday, September 12, 2025. (Nicholas Holstein for Shaw Local)

Manteno got interceptions from Briggs Cann and Franklin Jordan. Carter Stell had eight total tackles while Jordan had seven. Offensively, Harrod was 11 of 25 passing for 130 yards, a touchdown and two picks while also running for 128 yards and two scores. Jankuski had five catches for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Although they ultimately came up short, Manteno head coach RJ Haines said that he was happy with how the team managed to get back in position to have a shot at the end, even if it didn’t pan out.

“I wish I had that play call back, so that’s on me and we’ve all got to get better,” he said. “ ... Take nothing away from Herscher. They outplayed us for a majority of the game, but our kids, they did not lay down. We crawled back in it, our defense came up with a big stop, but not being able to execute on the goal line hurt us.”

Manteno will visit Reed-Custer next Friday looking for a bounce-back win.

As for Herscher, things certainly don’t get easier next week when the Tigers will host perennial ICE powerhouse Wilmington. Coming off how they played down the stretch Friday, head coach Mike Mosier said that the team doesn’t want it any other way.

“Elite teams win these type of games, and that’s how they played in the second half in my eyes,” he said. “We want to just roll through conference as best we can. We’ve got a tough task with Wilmington this upcoming week, but that’s what (the team) wants. They want the big ones.”