Manning High School Monarchs get new football uniform pants

The Manning Monarchs varsity football team is seven games into the season, and for the last four of those games, they’ve had new pants, thanks to one player’s family. Dwayne Stukes often comes from Charleston to watch his son, Jamir, play tackle and defensive end as #60. As a senior, Jamir will play one last season at MHS, and Stukes wanted to do something special for the team. As a graduate of MHS and a former football player for the Monarchs, Stukes understood how important confidence can be when playing a game. Stukes played offensive tackle and defensive tackle. Last year, the team purchased new jerseys. However, the funding for the purchase wasn’t available until the last minute, which didn’t allow Coach Keith West to order samples to ensure color matching. The new jerseys were a much shinier material and were a slightly different color of black, and players and game attendees alike could see the difference. “We were down to the wire, and we ordered the jerseys without getting a sample set,” said West. “I still didn’t notice it when we got them, but slowly I heard more and more about how they didn’t match up.” Wanting to give a spark of confidence to the team which can be boosted by looking good, Stukes set out to see how he could provide new pants to the team. He reached out first to his cousin, Jarrett Williams, who also graduated from MHS and played quarterback for the Monarchs. Next, the pair reached out to Nike, who made the jerseys. Stukes called Nike Corporate and was given contact information for regional, who then contacted West to get the old order list. Once the order was set, Stukes and Williams purchased the 50 new pairs of pants for the team. “We got a little discount,” said Stukes. “And it also puts them in the pool for school sponsorship. But they don’t call them sponsorships. They call them grants.” The team is assessing the grant application process and hopes to complete the application soon. “He was the brains of it all,” said Williams. “He called me, and I just remember what it was like being here. I thought, ‘Man if I could’ve had Nike gear being in high school.’ I said, ‘Let’s do it.’” The previous uniforms were not truly old, and the jerseys, as well as the pants at this point, have gone to the JV team for their use, ensuring both teams have received an upgrade in uniform. West is hopeful the new pants have given the team that added boost for the season. “We are currently undefeated when wearing those pants,” said West.