The Manchester Greyhounds currently stand 1-1 in their 2024 campaign, with home games coming the next two Friday nights. (Photo by Mark Carpenter) By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
It’s a new season for Coach Nick Neria and his Manchester Greyhounds and if the first couple of weeks are any indication, it’s going to be an exciting season to watch for Greyhound fans. With a wealth of offensive weapons at hand, Coach Neria and his squad are looking to light up the scoreboard this fall, and have their eyes set on something that has never happened in Manchester football history- a berth in the OHSAA Division VIII playoffs.
The Hounds currently stand at 1-1 on the season, winning their opener on the road at Pendleton County (Ky.) 38-15 before suffering a 40-20 defeat in their home opener to the New Miami Vikings. In the two games, the Hounds have put up 58 points, led by senior quarterback Leland Horner, who threw for over 300 yards at Pendleton County and followed that up with another big chunk of yardage against New Miami.
The Greyhounds are a senior-laden team, and Coach Neria hopes that leads to a season of success.
“”We are senior-heavy, the first time in a long time that we have more seniors than any other class,” says Neria. It will be quite a new experience to coach a group like this. We will be counting on our seniors heavily, to not only be great leaders on the field but to be great leaders in the locker room and show our young kids what they are expected to do.”
If you have seen either of the Hounds’ first two games, you may have noticed some big changes on the offensive side of the ball, a more spread attack with more downfield passing mixed in with the running of senior tailback Mason Gilliam.
“We are blessed with the talent that will allow us to space the ball out,” Coach Neria explained. Some of that talent includes Horner, Gilliam and speedy wideouts Ronnie Elam and Joel Blythe. Horner has thrown seven TD passes in two games and has shown the ability to fire the deep ball, something the Hounds have not done much of in recent seasons.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Greyhounds struggle to make some necessary tackles against New Miami and couldn’t seem to get that crucial stop that would allow their offense chances for a comeback, but Coach Neria still has clear and simple goals for his defensive unit.
“Defensively we need to create as many turnovers as possible and try to get the ball back.” So far the Manchester defense has excelled in those departments, but on the other hand have struggled with their own turnovers, giving it away 11 times in two outings, something that will need to be cleaned up if the Hounds want to get back to winning ways.
“We will be a shotgun team on offense,” Neria added.
In talking with the Defender, Coach Neria singled out a number of players, though certainly not an all-inclusive list, that will be the key to the 2024 Greyhounds’ playoff push.
Leland Horner- “He’s a kid that can distribute the ball quite a bit for us.”
Mason Gilliam- “One of the better, if not the best, leader I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching.”
Joey Maynard- “He’s been all-in from the starts, one of our offensive tackles.”
Ronnie Elam- “Ronnie was overshadowed a bit in our preseason scrimmages, but is a playmaker for us, who will also be our main kick returner.”
Joel Blythe- “Joel will be a pretty big part of our offense as well.”
“Our roster is still a bit thin and ideally we’d like it if our kids could just play one-way,” said Neria. “But we have kids who will work hard even if they are playing offense and defense on a given night.”
The 2024 Manchester football schedule looks very different from past year, notably the absence of many teams from the Southern Ohio Conference.
“We want to be competitive in every game that we play,” says Coach Neria. “Our schedule dictates that a little bit this year and we think it will remain that way in the future. We want to play teams that are similar to our size and our ultimate goal is to make our way into the playoffs. That is something we’ve talked about for a long time and we’d like to still be playing in November.”
“If our boys trust and love each other, it can be a successful season for the Greyhounds.”
The remaining schedule for Manchester includes:
• September 6- Green (Home)
• September 13- Sciotoville East (Home)
• September 20- MVCA (Away)
• September 28 - Crestline (Home- 4 p.m.)
• October 4- Hannan (W. Va.) (Home)
• October 11- Federal Hocking (Away)
• October 18- North Central (Away)
• October 25- Miller (Away)
2024 Manchester Greyhounds
Seniors- Ronnie Elam, Mason Gilliam, Jamie Wallace, Leland Horner, Brendan Barnes, Johnathan Adams, Joey Maynard, Braydon Hoskins
Juniors- Joel Blythe, Braylon Rickett, Hunter Raines, Jace Cooper, Kaleb Hall
Sophomores- Amillion Brown, Dylon Fite, Remington Hayslip, Kaiden Hafer
Freshmen- Colton McChesney, Parker Neria, Archer Fuson, Avery Gilliam, Dusty Hayslip
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