Manchester Academy delivered a decisive win for homecoming Friday with a 40-14 win over Central Holmes Christian.
Blayke Dendy, Will Fouche and Warner Griffin led a punishing rushing attack that racked up over 400 yards against the Trojans defense.
Dendy scored three touchdowns and had 46 yards on just seven carries. Dendy also had one reception for 28 yards.
Fouche had 16 carries for 176 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Griffin had 17 carries for 140 yards and a touchdown.
Rainer Roberts only had one carry, but he made it count with a 35-yard gain. Robers also had two receptions for 11 yards.
Manchester got off to an aggressive start with successful onside kick followed up by a 19-yard rush by Fouche. Griffin added a seven-yard carry followed by a three-yard carry by Fouche.
Dendy then scored a 13-yard touchdown, and Reid Baine added the extra point kick for a 7-0 lead with 10:52 to go in the first quarter.
Central Holmes answered with a 44-yard touchdown pass, but Griffin stopped the two-point conversion attempt, and Manchester led 7-6 with 10:05 to go in the first quarter.
Xavier Hamel grabbed an interception on the following drive and advanced into Manchester territory, but a block in the back penalty moved the ball back to the 49 yard line.
Fouche then answered with an interception of his own and carried it all the way to Central Holmes’ 17 yard line, but a block in the back penalty took the ball back to the 45.
The remainder of the first quarter was a defensive battle, and Manchester held on to the 7-6 lead heading into the second quarter.
Griffin had a 30-yard carry for first and goal early in the quarter, and Fouche scored a two-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and Manchester led 13-6 with 11:24 to go before halftime.
Dendy added his second touchdown of the night from 14 yards out, and the extra point kick was blocked. Manchester now held a 19-6 lead with 2:25 remaining in the first half.
Central Holmes went deep on the last play before halftime in an effort to get some more points on the board, but Fouche grabbed his second interception of the night.
Dendy scored again on a one-yard carry, and Bain’s kick was good for a 26-6 lead with 9:25 left in the third quarter.
Fouche scored a 7-yard touchdown for a 33-6 lead with 3:14 left in the third quarter.
Central Holmes wasn’t going down without a fight, however, and the Trojans added eight more points in the third quarter.
Griffin scored the only touchdown of the fourth quarter as the Mavericks defense shut out the Trojans in the final quarter.
There were plenty of notable efforts on defense for the Mavericks.
Griffin had eight tackles and five assists.
Taylor Porter had six tackles, four assists and two quarterback hurries.
Roberts had six tackles and an assist.
Fouche had four tackles, two assists and three interceptions.
Dendy had five tackles and two assists.
Tyler Reynolds and Hunter Sadler each had a sack. Sadler also had a tackle and two assists, and Reynolds had a tackle and an assist. Nick Cohea added a tackle and a pair of assists.
Quarterback Upton Hitt completed 5-of-10 passes for 54 yards with one interception. Bob Black caught one pass for 10 yards.
This week the Mavericks face a great challenge with the conference title on the line when No. 1 ranked Greenville St. Joseph comes to Yazoo City.
St. Joseph is 8-1, and like Manchester, undefeated in the conference.
Last week the fighting Irish defeated Tri-County 42-7. St. Joseph scored 28 unanswered points in the second half on the way to victory against a talented Tri-County team.
St. Joe’s only loss this season was back in August in a 40-28 loss to Indianola Academy.
Home field advantage is significant for Manchester as the Mavericks have not been beaten at Buster Crawford Stadium this season.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
