Football is often described as war.
On the field of battle, helmeted combatants fight and claw for every yard, tossing their bodies recklessly to the wind, dripping blood and sweat into the dirt below.
They fight until they can no more.
It is hyperbole, of course, as war is more gruesome and final than football could ever dream of being.
For a few hours on Friday night, however, Manchester Academy’s Mavericks gave their bodies and spirits in a brutal 28-21 win over Central Hinds Academy.
The win brought Manchester’s overall record to 5-2 and conference record to a commanding 3-0.
More than that, however, it was the seminal win in the Bryan Dendy era.
After the game, Dendy was supremely proud of his team for fighting through injuries and cramps to get the win.
“I just thought our kids kept playing hard and kept fighting,” Dendy said. “We were cramping at one point in the game, and we had a lot of kids come off the sideline. We’ve been preaching team all year, and our kids stuck together as a team. I couldn’t be any more proud of them. I thought our coaches did a great job. I give all of the credit to them.”
The Mavericks received the opening kickoff and immediately went to work.
A heavy dose of runs by Reece Singleton got the ball down to the opposing 45-yard line.
On third-and-long, Kinkead Dent threw a perfect deep pass to Will Fouche that drew a pass interference, moving the chains for the Mavs.
A few more runs set up a 10-yard bootleg by Dent for a score, giving the Mavs a 7-0 lead over Central Hinds with 7:57 remaining in the 1st quarter.
Despite the ensuing kickoff going out of bounds, the Mavericks stood strong on defense, forcing a punt.
The Mavericks drove the length of the field once again, and Dent hooked up with Bob Black on a 10-yard touchdown, giving them a 14-0 lead with 7:47 remaining in the half.
Central Hinds found their offensive legs in the middle of the second quarter.
After a few runs, Central Hinds’ quarterback connected with a receiver for a 21-yard touchdown pass to cut Manchester’s lead to 14-7 with 4:46 remaining in the half.
Manchester had a chance to extend their lead right before the half, but a slightly underthrown pass from Dent to Will Fouche was picked off right at the end zone with 1:13 remaining in the half, which proved to be the score at halftime.
On the first play of the second half, Central hinds went deep on a pass, and this time, Will Fouche won the jump ball, intercepting the pass and returning it 36 yards to the opposing 24.
The drive went nine yards before stalling on a 4th-and-1.
Dendy decided to roll the dice, and they ran a quarterback sneak. In the process, Dent broke multiple tackles on the way to a 15-yard touchdown, giving Manchester a 21-7 lead.
Central Hinds came right back and drove down the length of the field, scoring on a QB sneak of their own to cut the score to 21-14 with 6:06 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
A defensive grind broke out, and the clock began to run.
With 7:56 remaining in the game, Central Hinds finally broke through with a score on a 1-yard QB sneak to tie the game at 21-21.
With the knowledge that it could be their last chance, Manchester drove down the field with an intense disposition
The drive ended with Blayke Dendy carrying defenders into the end zone, giving Manchester a 28-21 lead with 3:01 remaining.
The intensity carried over to the defensive end for Manchester.
After Warner Griffin made a huge tackle to force a 4th-and-4 for Central Hinds, an incomplete Hail Mary effectively ended the game, giving Manchester a huge win.
Manchester ran all over Central Hinds to the tune of 313 yards on the ground.
Reece Singleton led the Mavericks on the ground with 106 yards
Kinkead had his coming out party of sorts in the win over Central Hinds. When the Mavericks needed a first down or a big play, Kinkead created it with both his arm and legs.
Kinkead rushed for 79 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries (11.3 yards per carry) and completed 3-of-8 passes for 40 yards with a touchdown and an interception. On two other passing attempts, Kinkead’s deep passes drew pass interference flags, moving the chains on vital downs.
Reece Singleton was a force in the win, particularly in the first half, where he rushed for 69 of his 103 yards.
Warner Griffin was a leader for Manchester, both vocally and in his actions. He had a team-high 13 tackles (11 solo) to go with his 66 rushing yards.
Blayke Dendy rushed for 59 yards and the go-ahead touchdown on 10 carries on offense, and on defense, he racked up 10 total tackles.
Will Fouche hauled in a 21-yard catch on offense and picked off a pass on defense.
Bob Black caught two passes for 19 yards and a touchdown.
Andrew Byrd connected on all four PATs and boomed a 66-yard punt in the win.
Manchester will follow up their emotional win with another big game against Leake Academy on Friday night, who has been a perpetual thorn in Manchester’s side in recent years.
Leake Academy is 2-4 on the year after defeating Winston Academy 13-6 on Friday night.
Kickoff at Leake is set for 7 p.m.
