Since he was five years old, wide receiver/defensive back Manny Bolmer has played football. He began playing in the CYAA, and he has continued until his current junior year.

Through the years, he has had his share of highlights, but the team’s season opener against Mahanoy Area will always be in his scrapbook.

Bolmer scored five touchdowns and caught five passes for 269 yards to lead the Rough Riders to a 47-34 victory. His touchdowns included two on passes of 61 yards, a 48-yard touchdown pass, and a 29-yard fumble return.

It was a special night for him and the team.

“I can’t recall scoring five touchdowns in a game except for maybe in a JV game two years ago,” said Bolmer. “The experience of the game was surreal and made me very excited about our future.

“I could have not done it without my teammates. They are everything to me, and we work really hard. I feel like the difference between us and Mahanoy was that we were more energetic to begin with, and we were very pumped up in warmups.”

First-year head coach Joe Henrich wasn’t surprised with Bolmer’s effort.

“Manny is a talented young man with a great work ethic,” he stressed. “He has great speed, good hands, and the ability to make people miss in space.”

Bolmer knows his team made their share of mistakes in the opener, but he likes the chemistry of his current team. The Roughies will travel to Wilson Saturday, where the Warriors suffered a 47-0 thrashing by Northwestern last week. Wilson hasn’t won a football game since Oct. 20, 2021, as they have endured two consecutive 0-10 seasons.

“I can admit I am at fault for some of the passing game coverages, which gave up some free touchdowns for Mahanoy, but we didn’t let our mistakes get the best of us like in past years,” said Bolmer.

“We played like a team, and I feel we played for each other and our town.”