By Jason Brisbois, Staff Writer
With the MIAA tournament field now set, Manchester Essex football coach Joe Grimes feels his team’s best is yet to come.
“The regular season was a good one for the Hornets and I feel like we earned the number nine seed in the playoffs,” explains Grimes. “I thought we played tough all year and made the most of opportunities. However, I think we still haven't played our best football quite yet. We've had moments that show what we are capable of, but we haven't put together that complete game just yet. I'm really hoping some of those lessons we learned this regular season will help us in the playoffs.”
The Hornets will get their chance to do so soon enough, and they will need to be at their best to beat Gardner in their Round of 16 matchup on Nov. 8 (Gardner High School, 7 p.m.). The Wildcats were a perfect 8-0 during the regular season and earned the eighth seed and the home field advantage for Friday’s first round playoff game.
“We don't know a ton about them, but they are undefeated and have scored a lot of points,” says Grimes. “We'll see their film and come up with something good to slow them down and put some points up against them.”
The Wildcats have been prolific on offense all season, and Manchester Essex will need to figure out a way to put the clamps on the explosive plays that have been the team’s bread and butter in 2024.
“They are certainly explosive and are really good at exploiting mistakes and short fields,” explains Grimes. “There aren't many teams in the state that scored more than them so keeping the lid on their offense will certainly be the key.
At the other end of the field, Gardner’s defense brings an imposing presence to the field on every down.“On defense they are big and physical,” says Grimes. “It will not be a picnic to line up against them. We'll have to bring our best effort with us to Gardner if we want to come home with a ‘W.’”
Manchester Essex (5-3) will be looking to turn its fortunes around after losing a couple of competitive contests to close out the season, including a tight, 16-14 loss to Amesbury in the season finale.
“It was a close one,” Grimes says of the Amesbury game. “It was a ground-and-pound game that felt like it was going to come down to the wire from the beginning. Amesbury is a very solid team, and we knew coming into it that we were going to have to play mistake-free to come out with a win. Unfortunately for us, we came up a little short and Amesbury was able to execute just little better at a couple key moments.”
Some of the positives from the loss include yet another stellar game from quarterback Zach Hurd (67 yards and a touchdown through the air, 105 yards a touchdown and two-point conversion on the ground), while guards Joe Glass and Walker Valeo were able to spring Hurd, Conrad Garfield, Noah Cohen and Gabe Magee for key runs.
“Zach Hurd, once again, led us on offense with over 100 yds on the ground and a couple key conversions on third down through the air,” explains Grimes. “Our guards, Joe Glass and Walker Valeo, did a great job getting into the second level and clearing out space for Zach and the other backs. On defense, the Brennock brothers -- Cian and Caiden -- held down the D-line while Gabe Magee played terrific at outside linebacker.”
