Seventh-grade football has always been the great gap where young men sit between Little League and testosterone-fueled Jr High. Although awkward looking on the field at times with the stumbling and bumbling, seventh graders learn quickly through good coaching what it takes to make it at this level. The Mansfield Tigers and Waldron Bulldogs on the other hand didn’t look awkward at all. The players were solid in their single touchdown debut.
Both programs traded blows back and forth for four 6 minute quarters. Offensively, the Tigers Cordell Stone may have created his own nickname as he “Buzz Sawed” his way past and through Waldron’s defense for multiple big gains in the game. With the gains Stone made though, the Bulldogs were able to stuff Mansfield and kept the Tigers from scoring. Waldron Defenders Xavi Cruz and Phisher Brown set up shop in the Tigers backfield for most of the first half. With the Tigers doing good moving the ball and the Bulldogs defense doing a solid job of keeping Mansfield out of the end zone, the first half ended at a dead even 0-0.
Waldron kept the pressure on the Tiger’s offense after halftime and even created Mansfield to go stagnant for a while. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the Tigers had a defensive weapon of their own. Defensive Lineman Levi Langford. Langford had quarterback sacks, tackles for loss, and multiple assists in the 3rd quarter. If Waldron tried to run the ball to the outside of the field, Defensive Backs, Billy Sellers and Gunner Williams would turn the ball carriers back into the trash for their teammates to tackle. The defensive power and offensive struggles were all too real for both squads still though as the 3rd quarter ended with the same 0-0 score as it started with.
The 4th boded the same fate for Waldron and Mansfield as the first three quarters did. That is, up until Waldron’s final drive. Bulldogs Running Back Jackson Brown found some extra gas in the tank and ran a few powerful runs that cut deep into the Tigers defense. The runs by Brown built momentum, but the clock was winding down very fast for both teams. With less than 10 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Bulldogs quarterback Eli Kluthe pulled a Hail Mary out of the bag. The pass seemed to be in the air for an eternity as teams and fans on both sides of the field held their breath. The clock ran to 4…..3……2……and BAM, the catch was made by Phisher Brown. Brown strolled into the end zone for the only score of the game and the Bulldogs victory sealing the score at 6-0 Bulldogs. Next up for Mansfield will be Elkins at home starting at 5:30 pm on Thursday, September 9 while the Bulldogs will travel to Ozark on Thursday, September 16 for a start time of 5:30 pm.
