Manchester Academy is in a constant state of euphoric joy at the moment.
On Friday night, the Mavericks won their first playoff game since 2004 with the 59-16 destruction of Cathedral.
For Manchester head coach Bryan Dendy, who is enjoying his first playoff win as a coach since 1998, the game was a sign of progress.
“Our guys were really excited about the win,” Dendy said. “They finally saw the benefits to all of their hard work. I thought our coaches did a great job of getting them ready. Coach (Toby) Melton did a good job of calling the plays. Coach (Wayman) Grantham had the defense in the right spots all night. Coach (Kyle) Wever and Coach (David) Dew did a great job of getting them ready. It was a total team effort.”
Cathedral received the ball first, but their drive ended when they attempted to go for it on 4th down
On the ensuing possession, Kinkead Dent connected with Blayke Dendy on a screen pass, and the big man was off to the races, outrunning everyone on the way to a 78-yard touchdown to give Manchester a 7-0 lead with 8:43 remaining in the first quarter.
The score sparked on offensive explosion by the Mavs that continued a few minutes later when they scored on a 17-yard Dent scramble for another score, making it 14-0 with 5:34 left in the first quarter.
Reece Singleton soon got into the mix with a 46-yard draw that gave the Mavs a 21-0 lead with 3:38 remaining in the first quarter.
Manchester had a few points left in them in the first quarter.
Andrew Byrd hit a career-long 47-yard field goal with 0:21 remaining, giving the Mavericks a commanding 24-0 lead after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Manchester continued its reign of terror with a 19-yard touchdown run by Warner Griffin, extending the Mavericks’ lead to 31-0.
Cathedral would get their first taste of success on the following kickoff, which they returned all the way down to the 3-yard line.
The Green Wave capitalized with a touchdown and successful 2-point conversion, cutting the lead to 31-8.
With the momentum slipping slightly, Manchester came back with a Dent to Dendy connection, this time for 58 yards and a score, pushing Manchester’s lead to 38-8 at the half.
After a failed onside kick attempt to start the second half from Cathedral, Manchester drove down the field and scored once again with a 5-yard touchdown run from Warner Griffin to make it a 45-8 game with 9:47 left in the third quarter.
Cathedral came back and scored a touchdown with a pass and successfully converted a 2-point conversion, cutting the lead to 45-16.
The Mavericks responded yet again with a 46-yard touchdown run by Warner Griffin to push their lead to 52-16.
Tate Potter soon put the finishing touches on a 59-16 win for the Mavericks with a 18-yard touchdown run.
Manchester put up 569 total yards in the dominating playoff win.
Reece Singleton led the way offensively with 235 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries (18 yards per carry).
Blayke Dendy caught two passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns to go with a team-high 10 total tackles.
Warner Griffin was a wrecking ball for the Mavs, both offensively and defensively. He rushed for 96 yards and three scores on eight carries (12 yards per carry) to go with nine total tackles on defense.
Taylor Porter had eight total tackles and a sack in the win.
Tate Potter also had a touchdown run.
Kinkead Dent completed four passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns to go with a touchdown run.
Andrew Byrd successfully converted 8-of-8 PATs and nailed a career-long 47-yard field goal.
The Mavericks will try and ride the momentum into the second round, where they will face Heritage Academy.
Heritage Academy (9-2) stomped St. Al to the tune of 77-47 in the first round of the playoffs on Friday night.
Dendy believes that Heritage’s offensive flexibility will be a difficult challenge to overcome.
“Heritage is really good up front,” Dendy said. “They have some really athletic skill guys. They will throw multiple sets at you. They can either line up and grind out runs, or they can spread it out and throw it. We’re going to have to be ready for anything. We’ll work hard, go out there and see what happens.”
Kickoff at Heritage is set for 7 p.m.
