CHARLESTON- There will be a new state football champion in Class 3A in 2023. The defending champions Charleston Tigers dropped a heartbreaker at home on Friday night to the Bismarck Lions, 35-27.
After leading at halftime and seeing their lead evaporate in part by turnovers in the second half, Charleston’s final drive ended with less than 40 seconds remaining in the game at the Bismarck four-yard line. The Tigers were attempting to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime, but it was not to be.
As a result of Bismarck’s win at Charleston, the Lions will advance to the quarterfinals and will travel next Friday to Prescott to play the Curley Wolves for the right to advance to the state semifinals in Class 3A.
In other playoff action involving the remaining teams from conference 3A-1, the Booneville Bearcats defeated the Osceola Seminoles by the score of 52-20. The Bearcats advance to the state quarterfinals next week to play Harmony Grove Ouachita County.
Perhaps the biggest win of the night was 3A-1 Mansfield traveling four hours to northeast Arkansas to take on perennial power Hoxie. The Mansfield Tigers won a tough road contest tonight in Hoxie, defeating the Mustangs by the score of 14-13. Tonight’s second round win on the road may be the most historic win in the Tigers’ program history. With the win, Mansfield advances to the quarterfinals next Friday and will play at Salem against the Greyhounds.
Action involving remaining playoff teams from conference 3A-4, the Glen Rose Beavers defeated Perryville by the score of 37-0. Glen Rose advances to the state quarterfinals and will host Junction City on Friday. Jessieville, who won in an upset over Rison in the first round, went down to defeat at Salem by the score of 40-27 in the second round. The Bismarck Lions are the other remaining team from the conference who will also play in the quarterfinals next week.
After tonight’s game in Charleston, RNN Sports asked the Tigers’ head coach, Ricky May, to comment on the game. Coach May shared with us, “Our kids played their tails off and so did they (Bismarck). We made too many mistakes and they capitalized on them. I loved our kids’ effort.”
Tonight’s loss will hurt for a while. Charleston is a proud program who prepares to and expects to win each week. Coach May and his staff did an outstanding job this season by bringing a very young team that was predominantly a sophomore team to within a short margin of being in the third round of the state playoffs. Charleston lost their starting quarterback in the Mansfield game earlier in the season, and senior Eli Huck did a great job in stepping up for the Tigers.
Other Charleston seniors, including Reese Merechka and Hunter Little, among others, had great high school careers for the Tigers that included a state championship in 2022.
Look for action photos from this game on Monday on RNN Sports’ “Team Press Pass” page, as well as on Facebook at Charleston Tigers Sports.
Congratulations to the Bismarck Lions, and congratulations to the Charleston Tigers on a great season. We look for the Tigers to be a very good football team in 2024, and we can’t wait to cover their games!
And to all of our readers who have followed us during this season, thank you for reading our coverage, and we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
