After dropping the season-opener to Indianola Academy, Manchester Academy’s Mavericks have been blazing hot, winning their third straight game against Hartfield Academy 28-7 on Friday night.
The win moved Manchester’s record to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
Manchester Academy head football coach Bryan Dendy had a plan in mind to limit the dangerous attack by Hartfield, and he believes his team completed that task to perfection.
“I thought we came out and played hard,” Dendy said. “I thought Kinkead (Dent) did a really good job of managing the clock. We knew they were pretty good offensively, so we wanted to keep them on the sidelines. I thought we did that.”
The game started as a defensive battle with neither team gaining any real momentum in the first quarter, leaving it scoreless heading into the second.
That changed when Blayke Dendy broke away for a 58-yard touchdown run, giving them Mavericks a 7-0 lead.
The Mavericks quickly followed their first score with another, a 12-yard pass from Dent to Will Fouche, extending their lead to 14-0 at the half.
At the start of the second half, Dendy’s plan to limit Hartfield’s offense was seen in its full glory.
The Mavericks slowed the game to a slog, grinding out tough yards before finally ending the drive in the end zone on a Kinkead Dent 4-yard run, extending their lead to 21-0.
Hartfield’s dangerous offense quickly responded with a touchdown of their own to cut Manchester’s lead to 21-7.
For a lot of teams, that score could have spiraled into something much more, but Manchester decided to reach into their bag of tricks and scored one of their most complex touchdowns of the season.
After taking a pitch from quarterback Kinkead Dent, Blayke Dendy squared up and fired a dart towards Fouche, who took it to the house from 65 yards out, extending their lead back to 28-7.
With the momentum shifting slightly, Dendy believed that was the perfect time to take a calculated gamble.
“They had just scored when we decided to run it,” Dendy said. Blayke can throw it a little bit. He took some snaps over the summer, so we just put it in this week. Hartfield’s defense had been really aggressive, and Coach Melton called it at the perfect time.”
Manchester was able to close out the game with a scoreless fourth quarter, taking the win 28-7.
Dendy has been impressed with how his team has progressed from the opening to loss to their most recent win.
“Our guys play as a team,” Dendy said. “We’ve been preaching that all year. Our offensive and defensive front has really improved. Our kids come out and work hard in practice, and it shows.”
Will Fouche had a big game on both sides of the ball in the conference win.
As a receiver, Fouche hauled in three passes for 122 yards and two scores.
As a defender, Fouche tallied up 10 tackles.
Blayke Dendy was no slouch in the victory. Dendy led the Mavs with 86 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. He also threw a 65-yard touchdown on a halfback pass.
Dendy also had 10 total tackles in the win.
Warner Griffin had a team-high 12 tackles in the victory.
Manchester’s win streak will face a serious test on Friday night when they travel to Greenwood to face Pillow Academy.
The Mustangs are 2-2 on the year after falling 48-7 to a tough Jackson Prep School team this past Friday.
Dendy understands that the game will pose a serious challenge for his team.
“Pillow is a very well-coached team,” Dendy said. “They’re very good up front. They’re just a good football team. It will be an opportunity for us, but it will also be a challenge as their Homecoming opponent. We’re going to play hard and give our best effort.”
Kickoff at Pillow is set for 7 p.m.
