Manchester Academy took an early lead against a talented team on the road at Carroll, but the Mavericks couldn’t hold on to it in the second half as the Rebels controlled the second half to win 27-7.
After a strong stand by the Mavericks defense to force a turnover on downs, the offense capitalized on the opportunity.
On fourth down with four yards to go Tobias McGee connected with Grant Nixon for a 26-yard touchdown pass.
Manchester held on to the 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Ethan White added the extra point kick for a 7-0 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.
MA’s defense forced Carroll to punt on the following drive, but the Rebels snagged an interception to take over at midfield. The Mavericks defense was up to the challenge once again, however, as they delivered another turnover on downs with Carroll’s punter falling on a bad snap.
On the next drive Ethan White got a first down run, but the drive stalled, and MA attempted an unsuccessful field goal.
Carroll got on the board with a touchdown just 58 seconds before halftime, and the teams headed for the locker rooms tied 7-7.
McGee connected with Jack Miller for a 19-yard pass on MA’s first drive of the third quarter, but he was sacked on third down to force a punt.
Carroll added another touchdown with 4:37 to go in the third quarter and took a 13-7 lead after a failed extra point kick.
The Rebels added two more touchdowns in the final quarter while Manchester was unable to score.
"We had a tough night on offense,” said Mavericks head coach Bryan Dendy. “We have to do a better job preparing."
McGee finished the night completing 4-of-6 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown with one interception and had 17 carries for 12 yards. Brendan Thrasher completed 2-of-7 passes for 20 yards.
Miller led the defense with seven tackles with Garner Burton adding six tackles and one for a loss.
Bodie Martin and Ty Walton had five tackles each. Adam Edgar added four, Ethan White had three and Sam Bunch and Grant Nixon added two each.
This week is homecoming for Manchester, and it should be a full house as the Mavericks (2-3) host Benton Academy (2-3). The Raiders enter the contest coming off of a bye week after a tough 40-7 loss to Ethel High School the week before.
