In the 3A-1, nothing comes easy. The conference has built a reputation for upsets and nail-biters, and teams at the top have to stay one step ahead just to survive the grind of a brutal schedule. This season has been a perfect example: a down-to-the-wire battle between Lavaca and Mansfield set the stage for a Mansfield blowout of Cedarville, and Cedarville answered by stunning Lavaca with an upset of its own. On Friday, October 23rd, the Greenland Pirates sailed into Mansfield hoping to keep the circle of conference chaos spinning. The Tigers had other plans. Mansfield said “nay nay,” slammed the door shut, and sent the Pirates packing with a commanding 46-20 victory.
The Pirates came out of the gate hot this season 4-1, before stumbling through back-to-back losses to Lavaca and Charleston. The Pirates scenario had “trap game” written all over it for Mansfield. A wounded team with something to prove is a dangerous thing, but there was only one way to find out. Greenland got the ball first, and the Tigers’ defense wasted no time blowing holes in the Pirates’ upset plans. Nobody on Mansfield’s defense needed to be a hero on that opening series: the Tigers swarmed as a unit, gang-tackling everything in sight, and mauling Greenland’s offense into a quick three-and-out. Taking over at their own 43-yard line, the Tigers’ offense flexed their muscles right away as Colton Moore took a quick pitch and ripped off a 15-yard gain. Three plays later, Elijah Burton fired a 13-yard strike to Isaac Carson for the Tigers’ first touchdown of the night. The two-point conversion came up short, but Mansfield had definitely sent the Pirates a warning flare with a 6-0 lead.
Tiger freshman, Seth Burton, plundered the Pirates’ backfield on Greenland’s next offensive series by racking up back-to-back tackles to force the Pirates into a third-and-long situation. Again, Mansfield’s defense was able to snuff Greenland’s offense with great pass coverage to set up another Pirates punt. The Tigers offense took over at the 50-yard line, which for normal teams would set up a pretty good drive. But Mansfield isn’t most teams and they proved it as Silas Burton took the ball on the first snap for a, you guessed it, 50-yard Tiger touchdown. Jeremiah Burton added the two-point conversion to give Mansfield a 14-0 two-score lead. The Tigers’ defense again left Greenland in the wash, forcing yet another punt. Layton Pyles took the kick to Mansfield’s 40-yard line, giving Mansfield’s offense another short field to work with. Jeremiah Burton jumped into the endzone on one play, but two penalties pulled the points down.
Now the Tigers faced an enormous second down and 29 yards to go. Another Elijah Burton to Isaac Carson pass chopped that distance down in one play, though, to set Mansfield up at the 20-yard line. Jeremiah Burton scored again, but again a flag brought it back. A few plays and two more flags later, Elijah Burton pushed in for a Tiger touchdown and this time with no flags. The two-point conversion was good, giving Mansfield a 22-0 lead to end the first quarter. Greenland blasted Mansfield’s defensive secondary on their next drive though for a 65-yard touchdown. The Pirates’ extra point kick split the uprights to cut Mansfield’s lead to 22-7. Mansfield fumbled the ball back to Greenland with 17 seconds left in the quarter, but the Tigers’ defense kept the Pirates at bay to end the first quarter with a 22-7 score.
It was a high-scoring opening quarter for Mansfield, but also a high-penalty one as the Tigers were penalized four times for 39-yards. Tack on the turnover at the end of the quarter, and it was easy to see that Mansfield needed to clean up their game heading into the second quarter. Greenland’s offense started off the second quarter with the ball and worked their way down to the 10-yard line, but Michael Carter speared his way through a Pirate on one play and Silas Burton sacked Greenland’s quarterback to the Pirates’ chances at adding points. Greenland attempted a fourth down play, but Mansfield shut them down again to get a turnover on downs with 7:35 left in the quarter. On the second play of the Tigers’ new drive, Colton Moore crushed Greenland with a title wave of power to gain 27 yards. Silas Burton then broke free for a 38-yard Tiger touchdown. Colton Moore added the extra two points, giving Mansfield a 28-7 lead with 5:28 left in the half.
Greenland needed to start something good to get back in the game, but an interception by Jeramiah Burton at the 35-yard line wasn’t exactly the good they were looking for. Mansfield didn’t make things any better for Greenland as on their first play of the new possession, Elijah Burton connected a pass to Silas Burton for another Tiger touchdown. Layton Pyles strolled into the bonus two points to extend Mansfield’s lead to 38-7. Defenders Seth Burton, Dalton Knowles, and Michael Carter dropped on anchor on the Greenlands’ next offensive series, forcing another Pirates punt. The Tigers had the lead, but they wanted more points on the scoreboard. So, “Moore” points is what they got as Colton Moore rumbled downfield for a 49-yard Tiger touchdown. Jeramiah Burton gained the two-point conversion to send Mansfield into halftime with a dominant 46-7 lead.
Mansfield gave up no quarters and showed no mercy to the Pirates in the first half, which gave the Tigers an opportunity to give a handful of players extra on-field experience in the second half. While new bodies entered the field for Mansfield, seniors Dalton Knowles, Nathan Dyer, Caiden Whittaker, Dieuphny Smithson, and Chandler Whisman led the way. Senior leadership is something that every team leans heavily on and even though Mansfield only has five seniors on the team, the Tigers are no different. Even though Greenland was able to score two times in the second half, the Tigers showed that their depth is growing as they sent Greenland sailing back home with a 46-20 victory on Senior night.
Freshman Elijah Burton completed four of his five passing attempts for 80 yards and two touchdowns, proving that youth does not equal weakness at the quarterback position. Mansfield was gifted a short field for most of the game, which set the Tigers with their lowest rushing yardage of the year at 252 yards in the game, but that pales in comparison to how many yards Colton Moore, Silas Burton, Jeremiah Burton, Layton Pyles, and Elijah Burton averaged in the game. The wrecking crew of runners averaged 11 yards per carry, which is the third-best of the season. With all of those stats spiking up to the sky against Greenland, one key stat remains a stitch in the Tigers’ side as Mansfield lost two of three fumbles in the game. Turnovers and penalties will be pivotal in Mansfield final game of the regular season as they head to Charleston on Friday, October 30th, to play the seven-time State Champion Tigers at Alumni Field. Both Mansfield and Charleston played the toughest non-conference schedule in the 3A, which made many critics across the state write both teams off early. But after both Tiger teams swept their conference opponents with ease, Friday night’s battle of undefeated conference teams will be for the 3A-1 Championship and for the right to say “told ya so” to those who doubted them early on.
