SR Tigers Holding Heads High Going Into Bye Week

Although the Mansfield Tigers players, coaches, and loyal fans knew something special was in the works in Mansfield’s football program, no one else thought twice about Mansfield having any success. After two seasons with just three wins, Mansfield was picked to be the bottom of the barrel by nearly everyone coming into the 2022 season. Those predictions by many sources were justified too since the Tigers hadn’t proven otherwise…..until now that is. After a scrimmage win over Mena and convincing victories against Magazine and Paris though, Mansfield is starting to turn some heads as they head into their bye week. 

Last season, the Tigers averaged 16 points per game scoring only 150 points in nine games. So far this year though, Mansfield’s balanced offense has rolled up 72 points against their first two opponents. The key part of that sentence is not the combined score of the two games, but the balance it took to achieve that scoring. Mansfield’s offensive coordinators, Coach Layton Robinson and Daniel Martin, have kept their opponents’ defenses heads spinning with an almost perfectly balanced play calling set up. The Tigers combined for 315 yards passing and 391 yards rushing against Paris and Magazine. So Mansfield must get all of those yards from one or two really good players, right? Wrong! The passing yards were spread out to receivers Peyton Martin, Tyler Turnipseed, Clint Stovall, Daniel Burton, Treyshon Powell, and Fisher Willsey. The six receivers racked up their 315 yards in just 18 total catches. Of course, someone has to be on par with zipping those passes to the talented Mansfield receiving corps and that someone has been Tigers quarterback, Cole Kindle. Kindle has hit an amazing 19 completions out of 24 passes and three touchdowns. That puts Kindle completing 79.1% of each throw that leaves his hand. Judging from those numbers, you’d think Mansfield must be one of those finesse spread offenses. Think again. 

Mansfield’s backfield is a force to be reckoned with. The Tigers running backs are a perfect storm of speed, moves, power, and grittiness. Seniors Tyler Woolbright and Fisher Willsey lead the Tigers rushing attack as the duo have combined for 249 yards on 37 carries. Although the two seniors may lead the way, the players who rotate in are not to be taken lightly. The stable of running backs rotating in over the past two games has consisted of Clint Stovall, Andrew Burton, Samuel Burton, and Jeremy Strozier who have all combined for their own 112 yards. Mansfield will even throw quarterback Cole Kindle into the rushing mix now and then as Kindle has tacked on 6 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown. Overall, Mansfield’s coaches have put the football in the hands of thirteen different players in just two games. With an assortment of different players getting the ball via rush or pass, the Tigers have produced an almost perfect offensive balance. 

Then there are the Tigers titans of the trenches. Linemen Coach, Keith Stovall, has watched many of these young men start in senior high games from as young as sophomores. Now the Tigers have multiple two and three year starters with plenty of experience under their belt. Offensive linemen Braxton Byers, Reegan Emery, Kindel Noblitt, Turner Wright, John Broadaway, and Austin Quinalty now form one of the most experienced lines the Tigers have seen in years. Although they are not 6’7 – 300 pound behemoths, they are rough and tumble fighters who aren’t scared of man nor beast. The offensive stat books being so well balanced has a lot to do with those warriors up front. Mansfield can also give their offensive line something else that they haven’t been able to do in quite some time. Rest. The Tigers have the talent and numbers to keep many of their linemen from playing on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball for four quarters this season. The experience and rest rotations of linemen have proved to be highly effective in their first two games.  

Offense is pretty and all, but it’s the mean-n-ugly defense that puts confidence in the Tigers tank. It’s not an easy task to keep any opponent off of the scoreboard. Head Coach, Tim Cothran, is the defensive mastermind of the program and has the Tigers pouncing on anyone not wearing Red and White. Mansfield has proved that they can do a pretty good job of crushing their opponents as the Tigers have only allowed a total of 6 points in two games. The capability of such a feat comes from a talented and deep roster. In total, 23 different Tigers have been credited with a takedown so far. Solo tackles, assisted tackles, and team tackles, Mansfield has wreaked havoc on their opponents. Twelve tackles have sent Mansfield opponents for negative yards while the Tigers have also tacked on 3 sacks, a fumble recovery, and an interception. In all, the Tigers have held both of their opponents to merely 246 yards and a single score combined. 

Simply put, the Tigers are 2-0 and they are 2-0 because of……the whole team. There is no one or two individuals that are the reason for this early success. Every individual on the Mansfield roster has contributed to the Tigers success so far. “It would be hard to isolate key players right now because everything we’re doing is at maximum team effort” said Head Coach Tim Cothran. “That’s what we’re always striving for. Everybody is clicking well, everybody is sacrificing, and everybody is putting the team first. I’m really proud of the whole group. We feel good about being 2-0, but we also want to work on correcting mistakes and continue to fine-tune what we have while expanding the playbook. We want to start building momentum each week as we go deeper into the season”. 

Although everyone knows that stats alone don’t win championships and Mansfield has only played two games so far, there is something building in the program and community that has recently been missing. Optimism and excitement. Mansfield is sporting new helmet decals and new white facemasks while the boosters, school, and community is selling game day ribbons, painting store windows, and flooding social media platforms with “Tiger Talk”. True, Magazine and Paris are not the Boonevilles, Charlestons, Cedarvilles, etc. that the Tigers will face in the 3A-1 but 2-0 is still 2-0 to Mansfield. The Tigers will take their Week 3 bye week to rest and regroup before squaring off against their Scott County rivals, the Waldron Bulldogs. Waldron won the last meeting between the Scott County foes and with last season’s game being canceled, both programs are eager to tear up the field once again. Mansfield will welcome Waldron to The Jungle on Friday, September 16^th with a kickoff time of 7:00pm.