When a new era arrives in any kind of program, there is a lot of excitement mixed in with a lot of questions. When new Mansfield Head Coach Whit Overton came in, he made it clear that there would definitely be some changes being made. Coach Overton was announced as the Mansfield Head Coach on June 7th which was just a couple of weeks before the AAA mandatory dead period. It didn’t give Overton much time to instill his changes, let alone time for the Tigers to adapt to those changes.
Photo courtesy of Danielle Overton
While other programs in the state were polishing up their skills with multiple practices and camps before the dead period, Mansfield hadn’t even snapped on a chin strap. But finally, after just three days of actual practice after the dead period, the Tigers traveled to Lavaca for their first camp of 2023 against the Golden Arrows and the Danville Little Johns. The Tigers stepped onto the field for the first time in 2023 with a new coach, new offensive plan, and new defensive plan, but the same Mansfield Tiger tenacity. With Mansfield and Lavaca both playing in the 3A-1 and Danville in the 3A-4, the programs had a chance to weigh each other out early for conference play and possible State Playoff matchups.
Photo courtesy of Danielle Overton
The scrimmage plan was that each team would send out their defense to face the other two teams’ offenses for three plays each (six plays total) and then take a five-minute break. Mansfield started with offense first and busted out of the gate quickly as senior Tyler Turnipseed ran up the gut for big yards. The Tigers ground-and-pound mentality was very effective which eventually opened up their passing game. The “Flying Tigers” receivers chewed up chunks of yards which balanced out an already dangerous offense. Even with just a hand full of days to grasp their new game plan, Mansfield saw success on nearly every play against the Golden Arrows and Little Johns defenses.
Photo courtesy of Raine Hecox
While the offense was rolling all over the field, Mansfield’s defense was eager to get rocking. The Tigers defense finished 2022’s regular season ranked 6th in the state overall which put a lot of eyes on them to repeat that success in 2023. Those eyes had to be covered with safety goggles in the scrimmage though as Mansfield not only showed they could still stuff opponents, they locked and bolted down the doors of their scrimmage opponents offenses. There was no one stand-out player for the Tigers defense either as Mansfield was watertight in every position even with rotations coming in and out. The defensive linemen cut through offenses like butter and the linebackers mauled the run-and-pass game of the offenses, while the defensive backs swarmed the ball like madmen.
Photo courtesy of Danielle Overton
Overall, the Mansfield Tigers have a lot to be proud of in their first scrimmage. In just three days of actual practice, the team has shown that they can hang with other teams who have had full productive offseasons. Coach Overton praised his players for their impressive scrimmage performance, but also reminded his team to not be content with it. “I saw a lot of good things out there today,” said Overton, “I also saw several things we need to work on”. Mansfield has a lot more than just three days left before the 2023 schedule kicks off which will give the Tigers ample time to polish themselves up with more practices, camps, and events. As good as Mansfield looked today, one can only imagine what’s to come once they learn all of the new ins and outs of their playbook.
