Under Friday night’s cold, night sky and a thick layer of clouds that continued to shed a relentless downpour huddled a gathering of small children, teenagers and adults just outside the Bishop Stadium locker room. They all waited for the same thing: the Manhattan High football team.

It was a team that was minutes removed from a 28-8 Senior Night win over Washburn Rural, a team that had just finished its season at 5-4 and a team whose stadium serves as the final resting place of many of its members’ football careers.

The team began to emerge: the underclassmen, the injured players, the coaches and the managers, but no senior had shown his face yet. They lingered in the hallowed building they would never enter for the same reason again.

They finally began to surface, some quicker than others and some with drier faces than others. They greeted their friends and family and embraced their loved ones.

Senior Jemell Richardson, who finished the game with four rushing touchdowns, said it was a struggle leaving the locker room.

“It was really hard,” Richardson said. “The feeling can’t explain it. You just don’t want to. I just wanted to sit down and never leave.”

Two and a half hours earlier, however, the team left it for the newly-dedicated Lew Lane Field for its last game of the season, a district contest against Washburn Rural.

The first quarter was a stalemate. The Indians got as far as the Junior Blues’ 15-yard line on their first drive and the 16 on their second drive, but the series stalled. On one play in particular early in the second frame, junior Keadrain McDonald caught a pitch in the backfield from junior quarterback Ian Trapp and lofted a long touchdown pass to junior Tariq Gerald, but the score was called back when the referees ruled Manhattan had 12 men on the field. Head coach Joe Schartz said it wasn’t his players’ fault they weren’t able to score.

“The officials [were the difference],” Schartz said. “We threw the pass, nobody held, nobody did anything, we caught a touchdown, and they took it away from us.”

The drive ended with a turnover on downs, but the Indians forced Rural into a three-and-out on its ensuing possession. Richardson’s memorable night began when Manhattan got the ball back.

A drive that began on the Indians’ 31-yard line finished in the endzone, when Richardson found daylight and sprinted 67 yards for a score, handing his team the lead. A two-point conversion gave MHS an 8-0 lead.

“I bounced outside, and then there was a hole,” Ricardson said. “I saw Eldon’s [Davis-Picou, junior] big butt, so I went right behind it and just took off.”

The senior did it again on his team’s next series. Trapp hooked up with McDonald on a 53-yard completion, advancing Manhattan to the Junior Blue eight-yard line. One plunge later from Richardson, the Indians pushed their lead to 16-0 at halftime.

The third frame saw Rural gain some momentum. Matthew Williams scored from 30 yards out on his team’s first drive of the second half, trimming the MHS lead to 16-8. Senior defensive lineman Juan Carlos Izquierdo said the touchdown came as a result of a lapse on the defense’s part.

“He was obviously pretty good; he’s a good running back,” Izquierdo said. “We didn’t rally. That’s all we had to do, was rally on him. We had a couple people — we had two or three, I think it was — he just got out of the way and ran for a touchdown.”

It wasn’t until early in the fourth frame, but Richardson added to his night with a 12-yard score, ballooning the Indians’ lead to 22-8.

That’s when Washburn Rural threatened. The Junior Blues drove all the way down to Manhattan’s 31, but junior Tanner Mann picked off a pass over the middle and thwarted Rural’s comeback attempt. Schartz said the turnover was a big moment.

“They were moving it again down here, but we were fortunate enough to get the interception and seal the deal,” Schartz said. “That was a huge turnover.”

Manhattan turned the interception into seven points when Richardson capped off the game with a short three-yard dive.

Schartz said Richardon’s performance was part of a larger picture.

“Jemell and his effort represents the entire senior class,” Schartz said. “He kept overcoming and persevering in the hard times. It’s special for him and the seniors to go out on a high note.”

Senior defensive lineman Grant Parker, who finishes his career with four years of MHS football under his belt, said the adverse weather wasn’t a problem for his team.

“We want to play in this type of weather,” Parker said. “We’re kind of meant for it because we love it. It gets us going.”

Fellow senior A.J. Pablo said playing under Schartz made an impact on him, as well as the team as a whole, in a number of ways.

“[He’s] an unbelievable mentor to me, and I know to all seniors,” Pablo said. “His philosophy isn’t just making you a better football player. It’s making you a better person in life as an adult, for your family; any kind of family you have.”

Schartz said he is proud of the 2015 senior class.

“As they’ve progressed along here in our football program, they’ve always had to scratch and claw to get everything they’ve got,” Schartz said. “For them to come out and be successful as seniors, it’s a credit to who they are as people.”