For the first time in 13 years, Manchester Academy made just enough plays to take down Leake Academy 31-28 in overtime.
A field goal by Andrew Byrd proved to be the difference.
The win gave Manchester win number five on the season to go with their two losses.
Manchester Academy head coach Bryan Dendy was supremely proud of his team’s resiliency for the second week in a row.
“We’re really proud of the fact that our team keeps fighting, no matter the circumstances,” Dendy said. “We keep fighting and grinding. Our team has shown a lot of character.”
The Mavericks pieced together some offense early in the first and got deep in Leake territory.
But Manchester’s drive ended with a short field goal by Andrew Byrd, giving them a 3-0 lead.
Leake responded by driving down the length of the field and scoring on a 28-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown gave Leake a 7-3 lead.
In the second quarter, runs by Blayke Dendy and Reece Singleton got the ball down to the 3-yard line, where Singleton took the ball in, and another field goal by Byrd put the Mavericks back up 13-7 at the half.
Leake would not go away quietly, however, as they scored 14 points to Manchester’s seven points, which came on a 32-yard touchdown run by Warner Griffin, giving them a 21-20 lead.
As Leake was driving once again late in the third to try and retake the lead, Manchester’s Bob Black made a crucial pick at the Mavs’ 20 and returned it 72 yards.
With some newfound momentum, Manchester began their scoring drive. At the end of the third quarter, Manchester had the ball at the one on fourth down and a big decision to make.
Instead of kicking yet another field goal, the Mavs decided to roll the dice and go for it. They scored from one yard out on a Kinkead Dent QB sneak to regain the lead.
They followed the touchdown with a fake extra point and scored the 2-point conversion on a pass from Dent to Bob Black, giving them a 28-21 lead.
The extra point would come in handy.
Leake responded with a touchdown drive of their own, tying it up at 28-28 with 1:14 remaining in regulation.
Manchester ran the remainder of the clock out and prepared for overtime.
The Mavericks had the first shot on offense, and once again, Byrd came through in a big way with his third field goal of the game, giving them a 31-28 lead.
Next up was Leake’s chance to either tie things up or take the lead.
In the end, however, Manchester made one more play, in this case it was a fumble recovery by Warner Griffin that effectively ended the game, making Manchester the winner.
Byrd connected on all three of his field goal attempts, including a game-winner, hit two extra points, and punted twice for an average of 29 yards.
The Mavericks have excelled in the special teams department this season, and Dendy believes much of that has been due to the play of Byrd.
“Special teams are very important,” Dendy said. “Andrew Byrd has been crucial for us all year. He made three field goals for us in the win. We’ve sent him out there for 50+ yard field goals at times. He has a big leg, and he’s been crucial for us this year.”
Kinkead Dent once again made plays when they needed to be made, rushing for 43 yards and a touchdown on eight carries and passing for 76 yards.
Reece Singleton led the rushing effort with 64 yards and a score on 12 carries.
Bob Black had a key interception to go with three tackles on defense, and on offense, he caught a 2-point conversion pass.
Blayke Dendy did it all for Manchester in the win. He led the Mavs with a team-high 12 tackles, threw a 33-yard pass, caught a 16-yard pass and rushed for 53 yards on five attempts.
Will Fouche intercepted yet another ball to go with six tackles and two receptions, totaling 47 yards.
Warner Griffin had eight tackles, while Taylor Porter and Hayes Bardwell had seven each.
Manchester Academy will have a district road test in St. Al on Friday night.
St. Al is 0-7 on the season after falling 55-21 to St. Joseph on Friday.
Despite their winless record, Dendy believes they will present them with a lot of problems.
“St. Al is the best 0-7 team in the state,” Dendy said. “They have a lot of talent on offense and defense. They have an Ole Miss commit on their team in Ben Brown. It will be tough. We’ll go down there and do whatever it takes to come away with a win.”
Kickoff at St. Al is set for 7 p.m
