The Rochelle football team, and the community at large are awaiting word on star running back Dylan Manning, who has had surgery on his brain after sustaining an injury during the team’s Week 6 game on Oct. 3.
Manning, who has started (and starred) in the Hubs’ backfield since he was a freshman, came out of the game with many of the other starters late in the Oct. 3 loss at Morris.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior running back and free safety, however, was taken to the hospital in an ambulance after becoming sick and disoriented on the bench. He was still in the Loyola University Medical Center on Monday, Oct. 6.
Many from the school and the community gathered at the high school Oct. 4 to talk about, think about together, and pray for Manning. One of his friends informed the crowd that he had given doctors the thumbs up at some point after having surgery on his brain.
Manning has been an exceptional player throughout his junior and high school careers, and he came into his junior season with 2,015 career rushing yards and 29 touchdowns as a Hub. He was on the Rockford Register Star’s Top Performer list in the first four weeks this season. He rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the Hubs’ season-opening win over Geneseo, and he had 184 yards and a pair of TD runs in a Week 4 loss to Sycamore.
He’s been on track to break Kyle Zick’s school record in career rushing yards at 3,692, and he looked to be the next with a shot at becoming only the second player in Rockford-area history to reach 5,000 career yards. Rockford Lutheran’s James Robinson is the state’s career rushing leader at 9,045.
His status is on hold as of now, however.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rochelle star RB Dylan Manning remains in hospital after brain surgery
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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