SR Tigers Scale The Scoreboard Past Rattlers

Mansfield’s SR High football program has it all figured out when it comes to Week0 consistency. For the past two years, the Tigers have faced off against the Magazine Rattlers for their season opener, scored exactly 41 points, and have held the Rattlers to one score or less in each contest. The Tigers kept the streak alive when they traveled to the Snake Pit and beat Magazine 41-6 on Friday, August 26^th.

Strategy was the name of the game for Magazine early as they kicked off with their backs to the sun forcing the Tigers to be blinded by the light. Fortunately for Mansfield, offensive Coaches Layton Robinson and Daniel Martin had a strategy of their own. Mansfield threw on their sunglasses and ran a balanced run/pass offense for their first six plays. Quarterback Cole Kindle completed three passes to three different receivers while senior running backs Tyler Woolbright and Fisher Willsey took care of the rushing attack. The Tigers drove 62 yards in ten plays with Fisher Willsey plowing his way five yards into the end zone for a Tiger Touchdown. Braxton Byers tacked on the extra point kick and just like that the Tigers took a 7-0 lead over Magazine.

Mansfield’s defensive pass coverage by Jeremy Strozier and Greyson Baggett kept the Rattlers offense at bay forcing Magazine to punt on their first possession. The Tigers offense would start at the Rattlers 36 yard line for their second drive but that’s when Mansfield’s offense began to sputter. An incomplete pass, high snap, and negative yard reception put the Tigers behind the sticks forcing them to punt the ball back to the Rattlers. Fortunately, defenders Tyler Turnipseed, Jeremy Strozier, and Sam Burton returned the favor forcing the Rattlers to give Mansfield the ball back on 4th and 16. Mansfield’s offense dusted off their earlier mistakes and went back to work with big runs by Tyler Woolbright and Fisher Willsey. The run game opened up a Cole Kindle to Peyton Martin pass for 25 yards setting the Tigers up at the 15-yard line. Kindle took over from there and rushed across the goal line for a 15-yard Tiger Touchdown. Another Braxton Byers extra point put Mansfield up on Magazine 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

A clinic was put on by Tiger defensive ends Trey Vaughan and Sam Burton who put Magazine in a pickle to start the second quarter as the Rattlers quickly went three and out. Mansfield on the other hand capitalized on their first snap of the second quarter with a Cole Kindle to Tyler Turnipseed pass for a 43-yard touchdown. Braxton Byers sent another mile-high extra point through the uprights and just like that Mansfield had a 21-0 lead. The Rattlers woes continued to pile up as Magazine fumbled the ensuing kickoff from Mansfield with Jeremy Strozier recovering the ball at the Mansfield 11 yard line. The Tigers got a holding call on their next offensive play, but Mansfield’s Fisher Willsey made up for the penalty and hooked up another Tiger touchdown with a 20-yard run. Ol’ reliable, Braxton Byers, knocked in the extra point kick which put the Tigers up 28-0 in the second.

The Tigers kickoff coverage again earned their stripes on the next kickoff as they pinned Magazine down at the two-yard line. The special teams play set the Tigers up to tune up their second string defensive guitar and boy howdy was that a sweet sounding tune. Linebackers Reegan Emery, Clint Stovall, and Caleb Collier only allowed the Rattlers run game to take one step forward and two steps back before taking them down while defensive backs Tommy Phang, Greyson Baggett, and Trenton Holley all nearly picked off Magazine passes. Sophomore Austin Oldham was able to go a smidge above nearly though as the linebacker succeeded in picking off a Rattler pass giving the Tigers the ball again. Mansfield kept the band playing on offense with Treyshon Powell blasting a run around the corner for 41 yards. Clint Stovall powered out two runs up the gut for six yards which set up Tyler Woolbright for a 26 yard end around run for a Tiger Touchdown. The score sent Mansfield into halftime with a commanding 35-0 lead on the Rattlers.

Magazine would prevent the shutout with a five-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, but Mansfield running back Sam Burton jumped into the end zone in the fourth quarter to shut down any chances of a comeback by the Rattlers as the Tigers ended the game victorious with a 41-6 final score. The game as a whole was about 100% teamwork. Offensively, Mansfield quarterback Cole Kindle completed seven of his nine passes to four different receivers for 150 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers rushing game saw seven running backs touch the ball. The backfield combined for a total of 203 yards and five touchdowns. Mansfield’s defense was downright elite with 16 players recording solo tackles and 15 players getting assists. In all, 20 different Tigers found their way to the ball carrier for tackles. Mansfield’s defense also recorded one sack, one forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and one interception.

“We played very well and executed everything just as we wanted to,” said Head Coach Tim Cothran. “The players took care of the ball and didn’t turn it over. We didn’t have very many penalties in the game either. We played a very fast and aggressive game and that’s what I like to see. It was good to get every player we have in the game for reps and each one contributed to the win in one way or another. This was a nice game and exactly how we needed to open the season”. Mansfield has been in this position before. The trend though has been that they start with a big Week0 win over Magazine but then fall apart. This season could be different though. The Tigers have a larger team with over 30 players on the roster and as proven versus Magazine, all of them are talented enough to contribute on game day. By having that kind of talent, numbers, and depth on the roster, Mansfield may very well buck the trend in 2022. That theory will be put to the test though on Friday, September 2^nd as the Tigers head to Paris to take on an Eagles team who finished as the 3A-4 Runner-Ups last season.