Our ball! Manchester’s Jamie Wallace celebrates a Greyhound fubble recovery during last Friday night’s football action in Fayetteville. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Manchester junior Leland Horner (41) scored both Greyhound touchdowns in their 22-12 loss to Fayetteville on September 29. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Manchester’s Brennan Barnes, left, hangs on tight to drag down Fayetteville’s Alex Bradshaw in gridiron action from last Friday night at Fayetteville High School.(Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Week Seven of the 2023 high school football season saw Coach Nick Neria and his Manchester Greyhounds on the road for the fourth time, traveling across the Brown County line to tangle with the Fayetteville Rockets. The Hounds, unfortunately, have had some lopsided games on their slate thus far but Friday night would be different. The Hounds battled from start to finish on both sides of the ball, playing a very physical game, but not being able to get enough going on offense to catch the Rockets. Fayetteville took a 15-6 halftime lead and turned that into a 22-12 victory on their home field.
The Rockets received the game’s opening kickoff and proceeded to put together a nice drive into Manchester territory but on a first and goal play from the 5, a fumble was recovered by Manchester’s Logan Neria, leaving the home team empty on their first possession. The firs Manchester possession might have gone much farther except for the fact that every step forward they took turned into a step backwards because of penalty flags. (So many that the Rockets’ PA announcer quipped that the officials might all need Tommy John surgery after the game).
Despite all the adversity, the Hounds made it out to their own 36 where Coach Neria made the gutsy decision to go on fourth down. A pass to wideout Ronnie Elam was stopped short for a turnover on downs and the Rockets took over in great field position as the second quarter began.
The Rockets took advantage of that position to put the first points of the night on the scoreboard. It took them six plays to navigate the 36 yards and it was an eight-yard touchdown run by Alex Bradshaw and an extra-point kick by Hunter Brewsaugh that gave the home team a 7-0 lead.
The Greyhounds answered quickly, fueled by a long kickoff return by Ronnie Elam. It took just four plays for Leland Horner to smash it into the end zone from a yard out to get the visitors on the board. The two-point try failed, and the Hounds trailed 7-6 with 8:03 left in the first half.
After the Horner score, the Rockets put together their longest drive of the evening, 10 plays, 55 yards, to extend their lead. The touchdown came when quarterback Caleb Tipis found a wide open receiver, Chase Hendrix, in the corner of the end zone and Hendrix made the diving catch for six. The two-point try was bizarre, but effective as a Tipis pass into the end zone was tipped by a Manchester defender and fell right into the lap of a prone Bradshaw to give Fayetteville a 15 -6 lead at the half time break.
On their opening possession of the third period, the Greyhounds held the ball for seven plays until a fumble by quarterback Mason Gilliam was recovered by Bradshaw, setting up the Rocket offense at midfield. Aided by a facemask penalty on Manchester, the Rockets drove into the red zone then it was Tipis on the keeper from two yards out, sweeping around the right side and inside the pylon for the score. Brewsaugh’s extra point made it 22-6 with 2:11 left in the third quarter.
The next Manchester possession ended with a high snap over punter Horner’s head, giving the Rockets a first down at the Manchester 25, but the Greyhound defense stiffened and forced a turnover on down with an incomplete pass on fourth and goal from the 16. The Hounds took over at their own 16 and put together a lengthy drive, their longest of the game, 16 plays total. With 2:33 left in the game, Horner scored again, this time from two yards away, but the two-point conversion that could have made it a one-score game failed and the Hounds still trailed 22-12.
The Hounds got one more opportunity to put points on the board as they recovered the ensuing onside kick at their own 45, but the Fayetteville defense was up to the task, forcing a four-play turnover on downs that for all intents and purposes put the game away.
“I am extremely proud of our players,” said Coach Neria “They are starting to really take ownership of their play on the field. We battled all the way to the end of the game and Fayetteville just made one or two more plays then what we did.”
The loss dropped the Hounds to 1-6 on the season and they will be favored to pick up their second win of the season this Friday night (October 6) when they return home to Veterans Stadium to host the Southern Buckeye Warriors in a 7 p.m. kickoff.
SCORING SUMMARY
Manchester
0 6 0 6 —12
Fayetteville
0 15 7 0 —22
Second Quarter
FV: Bradshaw 8-yd. run (Brewsaugh kick)
MHS: Horner 1-yd. run (conversion failed)
FV: Hendrix 15-yd. pass from Tipis (Bradshaw pass from Tipis)
Third Quarter:
FV; Tipis 2-yd. run (Brewsaugh kick)
Fourth Quarter:
MHS: Horner 2-yd. run (conversion failed)