Pictured is Jeremy Strozier
The Mansfield Jr High Tigers are a team poised for success. On Monday, the Tigers traveled to Mena to take on a Bearcat squad that in all honestly could possibly beat anyone in the state. Did that phase the Tigers? Not one bit. Mansfield hung tight and went toe to toe with the Bearcats in a close game that was much closer than the scoreboard reflected. When the clock ran out, the Tigers were on the losing side of a 16-6Â game.
Mansfield started the game out with some big-time defensive hits and team tackles that put Mena on notice real quick. The Tigers spread out the speedy Mena team forcing them to play Jeopardy with their playbook. Jeremy Strozier, Austin Oldham, Tyler Turnipseed, were pure head hunters for the Tigers defense as they squared up and charged the larger running backs and receivers that Mena had on the field with no fear. Mansfield’s defensive line may have been outsized. But Sammy Sellers, Eli Garner, Trey Vaughan, Dakota Langford, Turner Wright, and James Olinghouse, took it to the Bearcats, shutting down their run game for most of the night forcing the bearcats to air it out. A confused Mena offense gave Mansfield the opportunity for Turnipseed to pick off a pass and Austin Ruiz to recover a bad snap late in the game. Unfortunately, Mena was able to get a few big plays in with their larger receivers to hang 16 points on the Tigers.
Offensively, the Tigers used a plethora of weapons to confuse Mena on multiple occasions. With players like Peyton Martin, Oldham, Turnipseed, and many more on the field at the same kind, the Bearcats defense couldn’t decide which pill was harder to swallow. Ninth-Grader and first-year starter, Peyton Martin, was 11 of 21 passing in the game for 151-yards and a touchdown in the game. To put up those kinds of yards in a game you have to have some solid receivers as targets and boy did Martin ever have those. Leading the receiving core was Turnipseed who averaged 20-yards per reception with four catches for an astounding 80-yards. Close behind him was Oldham who also got four passes and took them for a combined 50-yards and the Tigers sole touchdown of the game. Two targets are good, but Mansfield had weapons everywhere. Zach Hayslip and Trey Powell rounded up the receiving group with Hayslip catching two passes for 10 yards and Powell taking in one pass for 11-yards. Although the ground attack wasn’t on the heavy side, Mansfield was able to rake in a few runs to keep the Bearcat defense honest.  Martin led that attack with 10 rushing attempts for 45-yards. Strozier, Powell, and Oldham rounded out the running game with a combined six carries for 19-yards.
Although the Tigers lost their game against a prominent 4A Mena school, they showed that they will be serious contenders in 3A-1 conference play this season. Film will be watched, mistakes will be corrected, and practice will continue for the sole purpose of improving each and every day. The Jr Tigers will be able to showcase what they have learned since their Mena game earlier this week tonight as they host the Waldron Bulldogs in a Scott County Showdown. Kickoff for the 7th grade Tigers will be at 5:30 pm and Jr High will be at 7:00 pm.
