Magazine Little League Football was once marked as an automatic W on opponents schedules. That is not the case anymore as both Rattler squads have shown poise and determination with each game that passes. Magazine welcomed the Mansfield Tigers into the snake pit on Saturday, September 21st to continue their push for excellence.
The Rattlers 3rd and 4th grade knew they were in for a fight, but they didn’t care. Magazine played solid for the first few rounds but was just too overpowered to play catchup with the Tigers. The Rattlers defense showed plenty of promise as they were able to make a few tackles for loss against the Mansfield offense. Braxton Canada and Mark Argueta made hard-hitting shots in Mansfield’s backfield during the game.
The Magazine offense proved they have the ability to be game-changers by rounding the Tigers defense for a few big plays but unfortunately weren’t able to capitalize for most of the game. Braxton Canada scored the Rattlers only touchdown of the game with a prolific sprint downfield against the Tigers defense. Through all of the effort and heart the Rattlers put out, they weren’t able to hold on as they lost to Mansfield 38-8.
“We came out and never gave up but Mansfield’s double zero tore us up. A lot like last week, we showed some bright spots, but also made a lot of mistakes and now we have to fix them. We are going to travel to Mountainburg this Saturday with the mindset of getting better and winning this week, starting on the practice field,” said 3rd and 4th grade coach, Cody Shelton.
Magazines 5th and 6th grade squad put their undefeated record on the line against Mansfield knowing only one of them would walk off of the field with an unblemished record. The Rattlers spent the night striking quick and often against the Tigers. The Magazine defense kept the Tigers high powered offense in check allowing only a single touchdown in the game. But it was the Rattler offense that stole the show. Magazines Chakong Yang and Keith Tate captured the spotlight with skilled runs through the Tiger defense as the Rattlers put 28 points on Mansfield.
Magazines defense was in the face of every Mansfield player who touched the ball. By team tackling and spreading the ball out, the Rattlers held Mansfield to merely 6 points on the night. The Magazine Rattlers defeated Mansfield 28-6 and walked off of the field as the only undefeated WCFL 5th and 6th grade team. After their victory over the defending WCFL champions the Hackett Hornets on September 14th and now beating the Mansfield Tigers, the Rattlers are in the driver’s seat of the league.
Magazine 5th and 6th grade coach, Charly Moua stated “Even though our team is 3-0, I still believe that there is always room for improvement. Mansfield did great stopping us right before half time, which we needed to score.” Although the growth of the Rattler program is very evident, Magazine will not have much time to rest as they will travel to the land of the Dragons to clash with Mountainburg on Saturday, September 28th.
