By Adam Hecox
The Jr Tigers football team has had its ups and downs so far this season. Sitting with a record at 2-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play, Mansfield was missing their identity as a team. On Thursday, September 30th though, the JR Tigers not only found their identity as a team, they found out what it takes to dominate as Mansfield breezed past Greenland 56-24.
The game was push up to a 6:30 pm kickoff time due to impending storms rolling in from the west. Little did Greenland know; the true storm was the boys from the south who began the game rolling over the Pirates from the get-go. The Tiger’s offense turned to its tried-and-true run game to start things off. Mansfield’s stable of running backs like Zander Walters, Dawson Robinson, and Trey Powell ran wild for big yards. As the Pirates heads spun trying to figure out which back to zone in on, quarterback Jeremy Strozier read the defense like a book, pulled the ball, and darted downfield for a 45-yard touchdown. Strozier would then mimic the exact same play to tack on a two-point conversion giving the Tigers an early 8-0 in the first quarter.
Greenland would strike back at the beginning of the second quarter closing the score to an 8-6 Mansfield lead, but that gap was very narrow. On the next possession by Mansfield, Walters took a Strozier handoff and barreled downfield for 39 yards. With a little bit of slide of hand, Strozier then faked the handoff to Walters and then took the ball himself for a 42-yard touchdown. When Greenland got the ball back, the Tigers defense pinned their ears back and went for broke. Ethan Martin, Zander Walters, and Alex Hecox each got a quarterback sack on that possession by the Pirates forcing a turnover on downs. The Mansfield offense then popped in a cassette of their favorite band, Run DZT. Dawson Robinson and Zander Walters bust downfield for big plays leaving a gaping hole later in the drive for Trey Powell to punch the ball in for another Tiger Touchdown. Strozier crossed the goal line to tack on the two-point conversion.
Mansfield pulled the needle off the running record though late in the second quarter as Strozier found the one, the only, the Toby Towe who towed in a 32-yard pass for a touchdown. Greenland tried to anchor down and bring the Tigers scoring surge to a halt, but as the rain began to fall, so did the Pirate’s hopes. Strozier again played the perfect card on a play-action read and found himself in the end zone again on a 34-yard run. After the half, it was all Mansfield. Powell and Walters set up another, you guessed it, Strozier touchdown. The Tiger’s offense continued to be impeccable, but the defense would not be left in the dark. Joseph Carter got the Tigers’ first turnover of the game when he read Greenland’s quarterback mind and leaped into the atmosphere to intercept the Pirates pass to finish the third quarter.
The start of the fourth quarter saw a play that is very rare and hasn’t been seen in over a year. Cooper Edwards went in for Strozier and on his first play from scrimmage split the Pirates defensive hull with a “Cooper Keeper” for a 35-yard Tiger touchdown. With the Tiger’s defense still keeping Greenland’s offense blue, their offense had some more scoring to do. Defensive linebacker, Aaron Persons, went into the game on offense as a running back late in the fourth quarter. It only took two plays for Persons to make every person in green miss the tackle as he dodged his way 22 yards into the end zone. Still not enough points you say? How about Trey Powell closing the game out with an epic kickoff return giving the Tigers a 56-24 final score for the win.
The Tiger’s huge win over a conference foe wasn’t due all to the starters though. Mansfield was short multiple starters for the game which put players, many of whom barely even rotate in, in new positions starting positions. Jacob “Peanut” Delp, who usually closes out games on defense, played the entire game as a starting offensive lineman. Delp played so well in fact that the team picked him to “call it up” after the game. Alex Hecox shifted from a backup linebacker to starting defensive tackle and raked in multiple sacks and tackles in the game. Joey Fields, Leland Powell, Logan Newman, and Joseph Carter help the Tigers defense shut down Greenland’s high-powered passing offense. Come to find out, the JR Tigers’ identity isn’t on offense, defense, or special teams. The Mansfield JR Tigers identity turned out to be working as one big family.
Mansfield will have a short time to enjoy the Greenland victory though. The next big step for the JR Tigers will come on October 7th when they host the Charleston Tigers. Charleston has owned the 3A-1 football history books for years. That being said, every empire must fall and Mansfield plans to knock the first brick out of Charleston kingdoms wall. The 7th Grade will kick off at 5:30 pm and the JR High will start at 7:00 pm.
