The Bombers made use of the big play and played some aggressive team defense to clinch a 24-17 victory at previously unbeaten Manchester.
The win was head coach Jeff Grubich's 100th in his career and places him just three wins behind Zinn Gorby for the most all-time in Kenston history.
Neither team could get much going in the game's first four possessions - each team punted once and turned the ball over on downs once.
However, Kenston had several productive runs to start their third possession and a 39-yard TD pass from Adam Barr to Kahlil Hinton, followed by a Grady Kucharson extra point, gave the Bombers a 7-0 lead.
Manchester had several big plays on the ensuing possession ending with an 18-yard touchdown pass play to even the game at 7-7.
Kenston kept the scoring going on their next possession when Hinton broke open for a short completion over the middle and proceeded to leave a pack of Panthers in his dust, taking it 63 yards for his second touchdown of the game, giving the Bombers a 14-7 lead.
The two teams then traded punts before Tucker Meeks intercepted a Manchester pass attempt in Panther territory. That set up a 42-yard field goal by Kucharson, the fourth-longest in school history, to give Kenston a 17-7 lead into halftime.
On the first drive of the second half, Manchester kicked a field goal to bring the score to 17-10 and after a stalled Kenston drive, the Panthers tied it at 17 on a 36-yard touchdown pass.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Manchester looked to be putting together another positive drive but fumbled a snap resulting in a Tyler Bell sack of the Panther quarterback. That forced a punt that was not returned by Kenston.
A huge third down play kept the ensuing drive alive for the Bombers as Ethan Black took an out pass 22 yards down near midfield. Barr and Will Hamm took turns running the ball towards the end zone and Hamm plowed in from the five-yard line for what would become the game-winning score.
The Kucharson kickoff was muffed and downed at the Manchester one-yard line by a Panther return man but their offense was able to move the ball for three first downs, keeping hope alive for the home team. The swarming Bomber team defense ultimately shut them down, however, and the game became final with Kenston coming away with a huge 24-17 road victory.
Barr turned in the best game of his career completing 9-of-13 passes for 172 yards and the two scores to Hinton. Hinton's two receptions gave him 102 yards and his sixth and seventh TD receptions of the season. Hamm led the Bombers on the ground, rushing 22 times for 73 yards and a score.
Meeks led the defensive effort with 12 tackles, a sack, and the tide-turning interception. Jake Rostocil had 11 tackles and a sack of his own, locking down the middle of the field. Tommy Seifried also had a great game, returning from injury with 5 tackles, including one for a loss, two QB pressures, and a pass defense that he blocked at the line of scrimmage.
Kenston moves to 3-2 on the season as it enters conference play. They will travel next week to face Eastlake North, kicking off the five-game WRC slate to close the regular season.
