In true fall football fashion, the Mansfield Jr High Tigers took to the field in rainy, windy, and cold conditions to take on the Lamar Warriors in Thursday nights match-up. The Tigers held their own and stood firmly against the Warriors big-time running game but in the end, it was Lamar that took the 22-6 win.
Lamar was first to put points on the board. The Warriors were able to find small gaps in the Tigers defense and pounded their way downfield for the score. Even with all the rain and being down by a touchdown, Mansfield had a fire that would not be easy to put out. With the Warriors hot on his heels, Fisher Willsey scrambled outside the pocket and dumped off a pass to Drew Elmore who powered his way 65-yards for a Tiger touchdown.
Once Lamar got the field, Mansfield defensive back Logan Cravey got the fans on their feet when he not only caused a Lamar fumble but recovered it as well. The Tiger offense proceeded to eat up yardage but couldn’t sustain the drive giving Lamar the ball back. The Warriors were able to use their running game to gain short yardage on multiple plays to wear both the Tigers and the clock down before scoring. The game then went into halftime with the score reading 14-6 Warriors.
Mansfield was supposed to be an easy win for the Warriors. But that wasn’t the case. The Mansfield defense held Lamar on multiple occasions showing grit in the face of overwhelming odds. The Tigers offense made many impressive drives on the Warrior defense but couldn’t finish them off to put points on the board. Mansfields defense was the key factor in the success of holding Lamar to 22 points on the night. Helping to achieve that defensive success was Ashton Toon, Clint Stovall, Braxton Byers, and Kindel Noblitt.
Branson Carver joined Cravey in the turnover charts when we stripped the ball from a Warrior running back right at the goal line to prevent the possibility of a blowout. Willsey ended the night completing four passes for 65 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Tyler Woolbright, Caleb Collier, and Tyler Turnipseed got their hands on the ball and put in some yard work but was not quite able to close out with touchdowns.
No matter what anyone says, Mansfields Jr High team has shown great strides of improvement against some very stiff competition in the season so far. With one game left on the season, the Jr High Tigers sit with a 2-4 conference play record. On Tuesday, October 29, Mansfield will hit the road to take on the Cedarville Pirates starting at 7 p.m.
