The Mansfield Tigers started off their 2023 campaign strong by ripping off five straight wins in a convincing fashion. Nonconference blowouts over Magazine, Paris, and Waldron with conference wins over West Fork and Lavaca had fans hungry for more. Unfortunately, the Tigers ran into a midseason buzz saw when they were edged out by Charleston and then smashed by Booneville the following week. The back-to-back losses caused critics to quickly start whispering terms like “overrated”. All of the negativeness could have flattened the team’s morale as they traveled to Lavaca on Friday, October 20th to face a scorching 6-1 Golden Arrows program. Instead, the Tigers took the naysayer’s words and regifted them back with a 43-19 golden bowed victory tied on top.
Going into the game, Lavaca’s offense boasted the most overall points scored in the 3A-1, and Mansfield’s defense held the title of least overall points allowed. Lavaca won the coin toss and elected to send their offense on the field first to try and get a step up to Mansfield early in the game. The Golden Arrows started off on target by shooting their way to two quick first downs on the Mansfield defense before the Tigers were able to force a punt. The punt set Mansfield up at the ten-yard line to start their offensive drive. With their backs against the wall and the Tigers ground-and-pound run game tactics, Lavaca thought they had Mansfield pinned. After two expected runs though, the Tigers long darted a double pass from Cole Kindle to Tyler Turnipseed for a 60-yard completion. The Tigers unfortunately coughed the ball up with a fumble on the very next play to give Lavaca the ball back. Mansfield’s defense still held strong though forcing Lavaca to punt. But not so fast, the Golden Arrows pulled out their own bag of tricks on fourth and long and ran a fake punt to earn a first down. The Tigers again held strong and were able to stuff a fourth down attempt by Lavaca to get the ball back again. It only took one play for Mansfield running back, Daniel Burton, to get the Tigers in scoring position as Burton took the ensuing handoff for a 54-yard run. Daniel Burton crossed into the end zone three plays later from ten yards out for a Tiger touchdown. Lavaca jumped offsides on the extra point attempt, so the Tigers went for a two-point conversion and were successful in setting the score at 8-0 in Mansfield’s favor at the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers jumped on Lavaca early in the second quarter with a pair of solid runs by Daniel Burton and Tyler Turnipseed. The Golden Arrows again sucked up into the back to stop the run, but Jeremy Strozier would connect with Peyton Martin on a 32-yard pass and then dumped a short pass off to Andrew Burton to keep Lavaca’s defense on their heels. Strozier and the Tigers offensive line powered over Lavaca from five yards out on a quarterback keeper for Mansfield’s second touchdown of the game. The Tigers extra point kick was no good holding the score to a 14-0 lead. Mansfield’s defense struck again on Lavaca’s next drive as Zander Walters forced a fumble on the Tigers own 35-yard line giving Mansfield the ball back again. Five plays later and another quarterback keeper by Jeremy Strozier and the Tigers were in the endzone again. The extra point kick was good setting the score at 21-0. Lavaca wasn’t about to lay down and get shut out on their senior night though. The Golden Arrows found a busted coverage in the Tigers secondary and completed a 64-yard touchdown pass. The point after kick was no good leaving the score 21-6 as the second quarter wound down. Mansfield tried to hang one more score on the Golden Arrows with seconds left in the second quarter, but a hail mary pass was intercepted and taken back 95 yards for a Lavaca touchdown. Lavaca’s two-point conversion attempt failed, but they put the Tigers on edge as the teams went into halftime with Mansfield narrowly leading Lavaca 21-12.
With momentum going into halftime favoring the Golden Arrows, Mansfield had to find a way to jump-start the second half in their favor. Lavaca kicked off to Mansfield to open the second half and it was Trey Powell who hooked up the jumper cables to the Tigers team and kicked it into overdrive with an 88-yard kick return for a Tiger touchdown. Mansfield sent Daniel Burton across the goal line to add on a two-point conversion and just like that, the Tigers were up 29-12. Mansfield’s defense again showed that they could hang with some of the top offenses as they quickly forced a three-and-out against Lavaca’s potent offense. Mansfield began to march the ball downfield when an unfortunate accident happened as tight end Cole Kindle was rolled up from behind by a falling player. The pause in the game did not result in any extra coaching, any excitement by players, or a momentum shift for either team. Instead, both teams and fans in the bleachers did what anyone should do in that situation. They all prayed. After the injury hiatus, the teams took to the field again and went back to work. Mansfield continued their drive with seven more plays before Daniel Burton rolled across the goal line from 21 yards out for a Tiger touchdown. The extra point attempt was good giving Mansfield a 36-12 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was where Mansfield filed down the sharp edges of the Golden Arrows with some good old-fashioned ground-and-pound football. Daniel Burton, Tyler Turnipseed, and Andrew Burton tucked in behind a determined offensive line to work their way downfield in 18 plays to eat up a bunch of clock before Daniel Burton ran the ball into the endzone for a touchdown. The extra point kick by Ethan Martin split the uprights putting Mansfield ahead 42-12 late in the fourth quarter. Lavaca would make a push to get back into the game with a play drive for a touchdown, but the damage had already been done as Mansfield lined up in victory formation to run the clock out and earn a 42-19 win over Lavaca.
Mansfield now sits with a 3-2 conference record and an 8-2 overall record. Their conference record sits in a three tie with Lavaca and Hackett. Hackett holds the tiebreaker over Lavaca after their 42-35 comeback victory in Week2 and the Tigers also hold the head-to-head win over the Golden Arrows after Friday’s victory. With Booneville seeming to secure the 1Seed for the Playoffs and Charleston right behind them, the 3Seed could come down to the November 3rd rivalry between Mansfield and Hackett. Both teams will have to win their games next week to set up this awesome showdown, but if it does come down to the Tigers and Hornets game to determine a higher Playoff seeding, then you can bet your bottom dollar it’ll be an instant classic. But first, the Tigers will host their final home game of the season on October 27th for Senior Night against the Cedarville Pirates at 7 pm.
