The Mansfield JR High football team is no doubt a very talented group of young men. With a stud-filled stable in the offensive backfield, a powerful line, and a hardnosed defense it’s hard to think of anything but success. Those positives are merely on paper though. Being able to mesh all of that talent into one cohesive unit is the key ingredient. The Tigers found out that even with all of the numbers and skills they may have, they still have work to do as they opened their 2022 season with a 22-8 scrimmage loss to the Mena Bearcats.
The scrimmage was set up with a simple layout. The teams would play one half of football like a regular game then follow that with each team getting ten plays on offense and ten plays on defense to finish. The Tigers started things off on offense and did what they do best, run the ball. Mansfield’s offensive bread and butter play calling of ground and pound football with powerful runs by running backs Zander Walters, Ethan Martin, and Dawson Robinson were successful early in the matchup. The terrific trio rotated in and out like clockwork to keep the ball in fresh hands at all times. Mansfield marched downfield seemingly with ease and Zander Walters finished the drive off as he jackhammered his way into the end zone for a Tiger touchdown. Cooper Edwards tacked on a two-point conversion giving Mansfield an early 8-0 lead.
Mansfield’s defense hit the field eager to sink their teeth into the high-flying Mena offense. Defensive end Alex Hecox rolled up the Bearcats first play from the line setting the tone early. With Hecox and Ethan Martin shutting down the corners the Bearcats tried to steal a page from the Tigers playbook by running up the middle. Unfortunately for Mena, they ran right into the claws of defensive linemen Logan and Cadien Ore. The “Brothers of Destruction” gave no quarters to anyone who attempted to pass through. No matter where the bearcats chose to go, they were immediately met with red and white Mansfield jersey’s as the Tigers swarmed the ball on each play. The Tigers defense stood strong and forced Mena to give the ball back to Mansfield’s offense.
The Tigers began to drive the field again, mixing up their power runs with speedy passes along the way. Quarterback Cooper Edwards was spot on with his reads and precise with his passes while the trio of running backs kept pounding the ball in Mena’s facemask. Neither team backed down though as both traded massive blows back and forth. Mena would stack the box with their defense and Mansfield would just keep slamming them for a hand full of yards per play. Unfortunately, disaster struck for the Tigers as they were gaining momentum. Edwards lasered a pass to one of his receivers, but right when the pass was caught, a Mena defender stripped the ball away and took it back for a Bearcat touchdown. Mena tacked on a two-point conversion to tie the game up at 8-8.
The momentum Mansfield had shifted quickly and indefinitely after the turnover as the Tigers couldn’t gather themselves beyond that point. Although Mansfield continued to have success offensively with great plays by Walters, Robinson, and Martin on the ground along with Edwards still able to find a few receivers on short passes, the Tigers couldn’t cross the goal line anymore. Mena would tack on one more score before the half scrimmage ended handing Mansfield a 14-8 loss. Both teams sent out their reserve players to round out the ten plays of offense and defense. Although Mansfield’s backup players showed promise, Mena was just too deep with skill players for the Tigers to hold on. The Bearcats would add one more score in the ten for ten series to finish the JR High scrimmage with an overall final score of 22-8.
Even though they didn’t perform perfectly against Mena, Head Coach Tim Cothran remains optimistic about the possibilities of this Junior High group. “These guys are still learning the game. With 19 freshmen, the potential for this group is very high. It’s the largest group of Freshmen we’ve ever had since I’ve been here. They’re good kids that work hard and put forth great effort. When it starts clicking and they figure things out, they’ll be a really good team this season and in the future”.
Although Mansfield fell in the scrimmage, the Tigers have plenty to build off of before going into the season. Mansfield coaches saw quite a few players step up in the scrimmage which will surely assist in player placements and rotations in the future. As with any young team, the Tigers have to brush the scrimmage loss off and find a way to mesh together to obtain success. They need to get a big broom and brush off quickly though because their Week0 game against the Magazine Rattlers will not be a cakewalk. The JR High matchup between the Tigers and Rattlers will be a rematch of the teams little league football days where Magazine defeated Mansfield for the WCFL Championship in 2019. Neither teams roster has forgotten that little league classic and both are eager to hit the replay button. Mansfield will host Magazine on Thursday, August 25th.
