Coach Bryan Dendy admits that a lot of people did not believe in Manchester Academy’s high school football team when the season first started. Losing a powerhouse group of seniors from last year, he said many were skeptical of the new team’s potential success on the field.
The new team silenced those doubts this year, and they will be heading to bring home Manchester’s third state title this Friday.
“These kids…everybody kind of wrote them off,” Dendy said, during the MAIS press conference Monday. “Nobody believed in them. They played with a chip on their shoulder. Hopefully, we can play with that chip on their shoulder for one more game.”
The Mavericks will head to Jackson Academy this Friday at 11 a.m. to face off with the Prairie View Spartans. The Spartans come from a 13-0 season. And although the Mavericks were dealt with one loss this season, Dendy said he is ready to bring home a third state title.
“We are going to try to have a good week in practice and prepare to play a really good team,” he said. “The kids have had a great year, and I am very proud of them. I am also very proud of our coaching staff and what we have been able to accomplish together. We will give it our best shot on Friday.”
Dendy said his team will focus on tackling during practice this week.
“We are definitely going to be ready to tackle,” he said. “The other team has a lot of speed, so we are going to have to be able to handle that. We need to control the clock and run the football.”
Dendy said he remains hopeful, but he knows it will be a challenging game Friday.
“The other team has athletes all over the field, and it will definitely be a challenge for us Friday night,” he said.
Tri-County Academy will also be heading to Jackson this Friday to take on the Kirk Academy Raiders. The game will be held at Jackson Academy at 7 p.m.
The Raiders head into the title game with a 8-5 season. The Tri-County Rebels finished the season with a 13-1 season.
