CHARLESTON- Each season, there are pivotal games on the schedule that have a big impact on the success of the season. And for both Charleston and Mansfield, one of those weeks is this week.
The Charleston Tigers will return home this Friday to Alumni Field to host the Mansfield Tigers in an epic 3A-1 showdown. The game could be for the eventual two seed or higher in the conference going into the state playoffs in November.
At press time for this story, the Charleston Tigers were preparing for a conference road trip to Cedarville on September 29. Charleston started the season 0-3 against tough 4A schools; two of those games were away from home. The Tigers won their conference opener on September 22 by defeating Greenland, 51-9.
Mansfield began the season undefeated, and at press time, the Tigers were preparing to make the trip to Northwest Arkansas to play the Greenland Pirates. Mansfield defeated Magazine by the score of 56-0, Paris by the score of 47-9, and Waldron by the score of 48-6. Mansfield opened conference play on September 22 with a 38-8 win over West Fork. As of September 22, Mansfield’s record overall was 4-0 and 1-0 in conference.
The Mansfield Tigers, under first year coach, Whit Overton, have a bevy of running backs that fuel their awesome rushing attack. Under former Booneville junior high coach Overton, the Mansfield offense resembles Booneville in its power rushing game.
The Tigers have two talented quarterbacks: Cole Kindle, who was last year’s starter, and Jeremy Strozier who is a dual-threat quarterback who can beat you with his legs running the football.
The Charleston Tigers seemed to have turned the corner in their final non-conference game at Nashville. Sophomore quarterback Carter Little had his best game against the Scrappers and continues to develop at the position. Charleston head coach Ricky May is doing one of his best coaching jobs this season with a predominately sophomore team playing their first season of varsity football. And as the season continues into its second half, those sophomores will begin to play more like juniors with the experience they have gained playing a tough schedule in the first half of the season.
As of September 22, Mansfield, Lavaca, Booneville, and Charleston all won their opening conference games. Those four schools will likely battle for the remainder of the season for the top seeds in the state playoffs. One of the remaining schools who did not win their opening conference games (Hackett, West Fork, Greenland, Cedarville) will likely be the five seed in the conference. Of course, there is a lot of football to be played, and head-to-head games will have a dramatic effect on the final seedings.
For the Mansfield Tigers, assuming they won at Greenland at press time, the game at Charleston is one of the biggest for their program in several years. RNN Sports predicted Mansfield to finish third in our preseason special, with the additional note that the October 6 game at Charleston could be for the two seed for both schools. The outcome of the game at Alumni Field will send the winner to another showdown with Booneville for the possible one seed in the state playoffs. Mansfield will return home on October 13 to host Booneville, and Charleston will host Booneville the following week on October 20. So, all three contenders, Booneville, Charleston, and Mansfield, will play back-to-back weeks against each other to determine what most probably will be the final seedings from the 3A-1 going into the state playoffs.
The stadium at Charleston should be packed on both sides for this one, and we recommend that you arrive at the stadium early to get a seat. This game has all of the earmarks of the 2019 game in Charleston when the Tigers were driving late to put the game away when Mansfield’s Layton Howard intercepted a pass in his own end zone and raced over 100 yards with approximately 45 seconds remaining in the game to defeat Charleston 28-24. This year’s game could be just as exciting.
Watch for our postgame story on our website on Saturday at residentnewsnetwork.com. RNN Sports photographer Ronni Tate Young will be on the field to bring you the action in pictures next week. Just go to RNN Sports’ “Team Press Pass” Facebook page to view and share the photos at no charge!
Good luck to both schools…it should be one heck of a game!
