FEATURE STORY: Saints' Walker relives memorable night

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 16, 2016 9:57 AM

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Dressed neatly in his normal every day school attire, Manny Walker dropped his bookbag and eased into the comfortable chair inside the cool conference room.

It's one week later and the moment still remains surreal to the Southern Wayne senior.

Only when he runs into either a classmate or teammate in the hallway is he reminded of the record-setting night that he'll never forget. Neither will those who witnessed it.

But Walker doesn't consider himself a hero in the small, one-stoplight town of Dudley which is identified by a thin green sign standing at an intersection. It's a community tucked away in the southern region of Wayne County where industrial businesses are at the forefront and an always-busy train track runs behind the school.

One day, when his children -- and then grandchildren -- climb into his lap, Walker will pull down a worn scrapbook from a shelf. He'll thumb through the pages, yellowed with age and tattered in places, and search for that memorable game -- an outing that immortalized him in the football record books at Southern Wayne.

He'll humbly recall the experience while the children stare in awe at the pictures and listen quiety as Walker relives that magical night during a road game in La Grange.

Six rushing touchdowns.

One TD reception.

It morphed into a stunning, eye-opening 436-yard rushing performance against North Lenoir that broke two single-game school records and took down a 20-year-old Wayne County mark. Walker easily surpassed school record (391 yards) set by Darion Kelly against Kinston in 2007. He also passed Goldsboro alum Montrell Coley, who held the county record of 405 yards established in 1996 against Wilmington New Hanover.

The 436 yards ranks Walker 12th all-time among single-game rushing efforts posted in the N.C. High School Athletic Association record book. The Association said Walker is the 22nd person to score seven touchdowns in a single game, which is a school and county record as well.

Walker has yet to boast of his phenomenal feat. His humble demeanor, instead, reflects that his achievement was the result of the team working together to earn its second win of the season.

"The guys up front were blocking really good," Walker said in a soft-spoken tone about the 63-57 shootout loss. "When I did scramble, my wide receivers blocked for me. When I got the to the second level (against the defense), I didn't really have to break that many tackles. I was just seeing the field, how they were coming at me.

"It just happened."

The Saints racked up 580 yards of total offense - 522 by Walker.

First-year SW head coach Ronnie McClary Jr. didn't think too much about how many times Walker - one of the team's top athletic utility players - touched the ball against the Hawks.

Then again, McClary Jr. wasn't surprised.

"It's an amazing feat. He just put forth the effort," McClary said. "A lot of the yards he gained, he created himself. Some of those open-field misses were all him. To have a game like that, you can say it's almost a one-in-a-lifetime deal.

"His quickness is hard for anybody to match up against."

A former high school and collegiate linemen, McClary Jr. also credited part of the record-setting affair to an offensive line that bought into and benefited from offseason workouts. Dorian Kornegay and Juan Lopez handled the left and right tackle duties. Eric Brewington and Chris Hatch worked at the guard spots. And Caleb Keel anchored the middle.

The unit's ability to sustain blocks opened the lanes for Walker, who boosted his season totals to 734 yards and 11 touchdowns. He averages nearly 14 yards a carry.

The numbers, just four weeks into the season, would make any running back swell with pride. But the gifted 5-foot-11, 170-pounder who has college aspirations and an unequivocable talent to succeed at any position on the field has a different opinion.

The records hold merit.

They are also bittersweet.

"I really wanted us to get the win," Walker said.