Pictured is the Pirates rushing attack. Photo courtesy of Kali’s Photography.
The Pirates (6-1, 3-1) are off to one of the best starts in school history. You would have to look back to the 1999 football team to find a 6-1 start through the first seven weeks of a season. Making quick work of the Tiger’s (0-7, 0-4), Cedarville rushed out to a quick 35-0 lead early in the second quarter then cruised to finish the game 35-14. The win puts the Pirates in a three-way tie for second place in their conference.
Kelin Mitchell and Darryl Kattich on reaching 1,000 rushing yards. Photo courtesy of Rodney Dickens.
This night would be one for the record books and would once again belong to the Pirate duo who have been tearing up the gridiron so far this season. Both Pirate running backs, Kelin Mitchell and Darryl Kattich, broke the 1,000-yard mark on the same night in week 7. Mitchell had 7 carries for 190 yards with 2 touchdowns on the night getting him to 1,139 rushing yards so far this season. Kattich had 9 carries for 163 yards with 3 touchdowns on the night getting him to 1,039 yards so far this season. Nine different backs carried the ball 41 times totaling 490 yards on the night for the Pirates.
Cody Dickens at Quarterback. Photo Courtesy of Kali’s Photography.
The Pirates will host Greenland (3-4, 1-3) for Senior Night this Friday, October 25 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 19th was the day both Hackett and Mansfield Little League Football programs had waited for all season. It was Rivalry Game Day and the stakes couldn’t be any higher for these games. Mansfield had lost both Rivalry Trophies last season to Hackett and the Tigers were going to do everything they could to get them back in the jungle. The programs were also vying for the top two WCFL playoff seeds. And most of all, it was Mansfield vs Hackett…..enough said.
3/4 Tigers
Mansfields 3rd and 4th Grade team starting things off on the gridiron. It didn’t take long for the Tiger offense to get on the board as Colton “00 Buckshot” Nelson caught the outside edge of the Hornet defense going untouched for 63-yards in the first score of the night. Colton Moore tacked on the 2 point conversion and just like that the game was 8-0 Tigers. Just three minutes later in the first quarter, Mansfields Hunter Whittaker found a gap in the Hornet hive and took the ball 63-yards to the house. Another Moore 2 point conversion had the Tigers up 16-0.
#00 Colton Nelson
After shutting down the Hackett offense, Whittaker yet again broke free this time for a 36-yard touchdown. The Tigers weren’t able to convert the extra points so they were left with a score of 22-0. Colton Moore recovered a fumble on Hacketts next possession and shortly after pounded his way into the end zone. It was Nelson who sealed the Hornets fate when he made the biggest run of the game busting out for a 71-yard touchdown. Hackett managed to pull some trickery with a double pass which opened them up for a big running touchdown late in the game, but it was the Tigers who came out on top 38-6.
3/4 Tigers
With the victory, the 3rd and 4th Grade Tigers completed their regular-season games undefeated at 6-0. Mansfield also gained possession of the Sebastian County Rivalry Trophy. They now hold the #1 Seed in the WCFL Playoffs and will have a bye week for the first round. The Tigers will then host the winner of the #3 JC Westside and #6 Lavaca game at Tiger Stadium on November 2nd.
Jr Cash, Alex Hecox, and James Bausley
The Tigers 5th and 6th Grade team knew they were going to face an evenly matched team in Hackett who were statistically dead even with them. But what was written on paper versus what was done on the field was a completely different story. Mansfield stepped up to the challenge and decimated the Hornets with a final score of 44-20. Mansfield Running back Dawson Robinson stole the show scoring three times in just the first half with runs of 60, 43, and 53 yards.
#17 Joseph Carter
The Tiger defense pounced on anyone in yellow creating chaos in the Hackett backfield. Alex “Ax-Man” Hecox and James “Critter” Bausley had the Hornets quarterback on edge all night as the duo each came up with two hard-hitting sacks and two fumble recoveries. Jr Cash and Dominic Shores were warriors of the edges as they didn’t let a soul pass to the outside of them all night.
#7 Alex Looper and #50 Jacob Elmore
The Hornets weren’t able to power their way through the Tiger D, so they turned to the passing game. Cooper Edwards picked off a short pass by Hackett and screamed downfield for a defensive Tiger touchdown. Dawson Robinson would add one more offensive touchdown to the game to give the Tigers the “dub-ya”.
5/6 Tigers
The 5th and 6th Grade Tigers finished their regular season with a 5-1 record. The team was rewarded with the Mackey/Campbell Trophy to show off at Mansfield Middle School for the entire next year. Mansfield will be the #2 Seed in the WCFL Playoffs and will welcome the winner of the #4 Greenland and #5 Lavaca game to Tiger Stadium on November 2nd.
On Saturday, October 19, the Waldron Cross Country Sr High and Jr High teams showed off their leg speed in the Van Buren Pointer Classic. Along with 30 other teams, the Bulldogs stepped onto the dirt as their opponents quivered with fear at the thought of having to race them. With one meet left until District, Waldron has had an impeccable season with no signs of that slowing down now.
The Sr High Girls’ team took First Place in the Invitational with Maria Grano medaling in 2nd with a new personal best of 21:33. The Top 15 from each division took home a medal. Constance Richmond earned 8th with a time of 23:22, Ryleigh Anschutz took 10th with a 24:12 time, McKenzi Stidman made 11th with 24:13, Melissa Schroeder secured 14th clocking in at 24:49, and Kentucky Spence placed 15th with 24:56.
Jordan Kerr and Landon Defoor
The Sr High Boys’ team grabbed a Third Place win with two Bulldogs seeing a payday. Ethan Martin placed 10th with 19:02 and Baldy Villarreal took 14th with a time of 19:33. The Jr High Boys’ team placed 2nd with Landon Defoor taking 14th at 13:38 and Jordan Kerr earning 15th with 13:43. The Jr High girls who received medals were Emily Sears in 9th with a time of 12:10, Ailey Ledesma in 10th with 12:47, and Ashlynn Stidman taking 12th clocking in at 13:12.
The Bulldogs will take on their final meet before District on Wednesday, October 23 at the Top 25 SW Regional in Acorn at 3:30 p.m. District will follow on October 28 at 4 p.m. in Elkins.
Shirley Jean Massongill of Beaucamp, Arkansas passed from this life, Friday, October 18, 2019 in Mena, Arkansas surrounded by her family. Shirley was born January 29, 1940 in Cedar Creek, Arkansas. She was 79 years old.
Shirley was an avid reader. She enjoyed a lot of different styles of writing. After she retired, Shirley enjoyed going to the casino and playing Bingo. Shirley loved her family and spending time with them.
Shirley leaves behind to cherish her memory, her loving husband Ben Massongill of Beaucamp, Arkansas and one son, Mark Massongill and by her loving daughter-in-law Marlene also of Beaucamp, Arkansas. Granny Shirley will forever be missed by her grandchildren: Austin, Justin and Nicole as well as her great grandchildren: Trenton, Caydance, Colton, Hayden and Tacee and one great great grandchild, Titus. Shirley will be missed by all that knew her and the many whose lives she impacted including a host of friends and neighbors she loved dearly.
Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, one daughter, Teresa Massongill Broussard and one grandson, Christopher Massongill.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. Arrangements and cremation are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home & Crematory in Waldron, Arkansas.
You may leave words of remembrance for Shirley’s family by visiting: www.heritagememorialfh.com.
What a difference a week can make. A week ago today, we were talking about Charleston coming off an emotional loss and having to regroup mentally. A week later, all is good with the world again, and the Tigers find themselves looking at a game this Friday that can not only put them in a tie for first place, but would give them a tie breaker advantage over Booneville for a top seed in the state playoffs.
The Tigers showed what they are made of last week when they traveled to Paris and defeated an up and coming, talented, Paris football team. Charleston had over 400 yards of total offense in the game and gave up less than 150 yards on defense. In the end, the Tigers won going away with a strong running game and ball control offense. When the Tigers got on the bus to return home, they only had one player who sustained a minor injury, but not enough to be overly concerned. He should be ready to play on Friday. In fact, the Tigers hope to get yet another player back for the Booneville game, as well.
Last week at Paris, the Tigers completed 18 of 25 attempts passing for 153 yards. Quarterback Brayden Ross averaged 8.5 yards per completion for a passing completion percentage of 72%. Charleston ran for 265 yards on 47 carries. They averaged 5.6 yards per carry, and had a longest run of 19 yards. The Tigers rushed for four touchdowns.
On defense, the Tigers sacked Paris five times for a total loss of 39 yards. They pressured the Eagles quarterback for four hurries throughout the game. The pressure created three interceptions that were key to the Tigers victory. In addition to the three interceptions, Charleston capitalized on three fumble recoveries, two of which were forced by the defense. The Tigers gained 35 yards on the fumble recoveries.
Charleston will need to be as effective on offense and defense against the defending Class 3A Booneville Bearcats. The Bearcats are coming off a big road victory over Mansfield in which its running game dominated Mansfield, and Booneville passed the football just one time.
Coach Ricky May commented on his team’s performance against Paris. “We gave up 29 yards rushing, and we gave up around 147 total yards. So that was good. Offensively, we played well. I think we had over 400 yards of offense, Breckon Ketter rushed well, and we had several other guys that had significant carries. So we felt good about that part of it coming out of the game. It was kind of an emphasis last spring to be able to run the ball.”
On the importance of this game to the playoff picture, Coach May said, “Definitely the winner of this one will be in the driver’s seat. But Booneville still has to play Lamar, and we still have to play Lamar. So, it would definitely put the winner in the driver’s seat.”
Booneville is the defending state champions and returns a team that lost some key players to graduation. Graduation has affected the Bearcats depth this year, but nevertheless, Booneville is a very good team who will be a tough out in the state playoffs.
When asked about his team’s mental state following the road win at Paris, May responded, “It’s really good. We struggled in the first half a little bit, and there again, we didn’t start real fast, we’ve got to start this one a little faster, and get after it. I think as far as their mental state though, these kids don’t change much. They don’t get up or down as much, they’re just pretty steady.”
Coach May talked about several Booneville players that stand out to him as the Tigers prepare for the Bearcats. “Andrew Robertson, their senior running back, he’s rushed for around 500 yards, and he’s just a lightning bolt. He plays hard. And then their fullback (Cam Brasher) is a senior, and he is the bull of the ring, plays hard, plays a good linebacker position too. He’s a good one. Then they have a little sophomore, Randon Ray, he’s almost a carbon copy of Andrew (Robertson). They’re both smaller kids but man they play like they’re 180 (lbs.) I think he has over 500 or 600 yards rushing. So, it’s one of things of who do you try to stop. They’re balanced, their quarterback, Schlinker (Evan Schlinker), he’s rushed for over 300 yards. So, it’s a four-headed monster.”
Through seven games, the Booneville offense has attempted 32 passes and have completed 17 for a total of 267 yards. The Bearcats average 15.7 yards per completion. They have passed for 3 touchdowns and have thrown 2 interceptions. Rushing, Booneville has rushed for 2,208 yards on 333 carries. They average 6.6 yards per rush. Per game, the Bearcats average 315.4 yards. They have rushed for 32 touchdowns.
Defensively, Booneville has 171 solo tackles, 226 assists, and average 56.7 tackles per game. They have 40 tackles on the season for negative yards. The Bearcats have sacked opposing quarterbacks 20 times for a total loss of 145 yards. The Booneville defense averages 2.9 sacks per game.
Booneville’s defense has 4 interceptions for the year. They have 11 fumble recoveries and have forced six. They have one blocked punt on the year.
Similar to the Tigers game against Cedarville, this will be an old-fashioned, hard hitting game in which both teams will try to impose their will to run the football on each other. Both teams play a physical brand of football.
Friday night’s game at Alumi Stadium could be a classic. Both the Charleston and Booneville football programs have a tradition of championship excellence, and both know how to win. Both are coached by great head coaches and will have their teams prepared to play. With three weeks to go in the season, the implications of this game on the standings could not be higher.
Booneville 4-0
Charleston 3-1
Cedarville 3-1
Lamar 3-1
Mansfield 2-2
A Charleston victory combined with a Mansfield win over Lamar will put Charleston in first place and Booneville and Cedarville in a tie for second place. Charleston would have the tie breaker over both teams.
It is a testament to this team that through all the injuries and adversity that they have faced, they enter week eight with an opportunity to be in first place in the conference. Charleston has been pointing toward the playoffs since that horrible month in September when it fought it’s way through a murderous non-conference road schedule playing short-handed from a multitude of injuries. As Coach May said, this team doesn’t change much mentally, and that has paid off for the Tigers.
A famous coach once said, “nothing is as good as it seems, and nothing is as bad as it seems.” That has rang true for the Tigers all season. As bad as September was for Charleston, it was not that bad. And now, the Tigers may be playing for a chance to win a conference championship on Friday.
It is time for Tiger fans to fill Alumni Stadium on Friday. The Bearcats are coming to town!
A group of residents in the Hartford community have been working hard to improve their city, making it a great place to live. One of those residents, city employee Rich Galyen, has a great vision for the future.
Part of that vision has been to beautify the main street. Anyone who drives through town can see that he has worked hard and found success. As he looks to the future he has one goal, to bring Christmas back to Hartford.
“I want to light up the park,” stated Galyen. He cannot do it alone, though. He is looking for anyone willing to donate either their time or materials to install electrical outlets throughout the park. Galyen, who is quite passionate about the project stated, “my late wife, she loved Christmas.”
Members of the Hartford Pride committee will be hosting several other upcoming events, including the first annual chili cookoff, fall festival and horseshoe tournament. All three events will be on November 9, beginning at 10 a.m.
On October 31, the city will host Trick or Trunk. There will be games, food, candy and prizes. This event will be held at Hartford City Hall and will begin at 5 p.m. For more information on any of these events, call 479-806-7204 or Hartford City Hall.
Even the winner hurts. The message this week from Mansfield’s cross country coach emphasized that fact.
Paraphrased, his words basically stated the following. If you want your time to decrease, you must be aggressive. Don’t be afraid to attack the first mile. Muscle memory is going kick in a carry you to the finish. Be aggressive in the beginning when you’re fresh. That’s a recipe for shaving race time.
Message received. Plan installed. Results achieved.
“We’ve been leaving too much in the tank,” noted MHS distance coach John Mackey. “Our goal all week was to not be afraid to hurt in the first mile. Be aggressive and get ahead of the clock. Our kids took to the strategy and really performed well today.”
Eleven Tiger athletes toed the line for the start of the Van Buren 5k high school race on Saturday, October 19. All eleven had predetermined goals for the first mile. All eleven exceeded expectations for the first mile.
Ten of the eleven runners set new season bests at the finish line. The one that did not, suffered an ankle sprain during the competition but continued anyway to close within 14 seconds of her season best.
“It was a good day to say the least,” impressed Mackey. “Our players needed to trust were in shape. With the temperature dropping, it’s time to run fast and believe they can hold on. It may hurt, but even the winner hurts. They probably hurt more than anyone. So, it’s time to be aggressive. Conference and state are around the corner.”
McKenzie Griffin may have internalized the word as much as anyone in a Tiger uniform. The sophomore went out fast and kept the throttle down. She smashed her career best by 56 seconds and bettered her state finals time from a year ago by 1:10.
“The last couple of weeks McKenzie has been coming on strong,” stated her coach. “Her workouts have been going good and her confidence is growing.”
Griffin medal in ninth place with a time of 23:28.99. That was among the small school competitors. Her overall mark was the 23rd best among all women runners.
John Branche off the men’s team was another big mover in the personal record department. The tenth grader cut his previous best by 1:10. After crossing the first mile in a smidgin over six minutes, he crossed the carpet in 21:27.13.
Aston Hinkle, a freshman runner who moved to the high school team partway through the season, reduced his 5K catalog by 1:12. His Van Buren mark was 21:39.00.
With Renden Emery posting a 21:50.00 and Ethan Chapman going 19:59.21, all four Tiger men established season lows for the 3.1 mile distance.
Chapman, Mansfield’s most consistent competitor, has ranked the group’s top runner throughout the year. Going against a league full of outstanding runners, the sophomore gained a real confidence boost by breaking the 20 minute barrier.
Faith Rainwater, the Lady Tiger’s top performer for most of the season, was in terrific position through the opening mile. Just beyond that point, the sophomore tweaked an ankle and strained her arch with an awkward gate thereafter. The fallout pulled her back to 12th place among small schools and 39th overall.
The 24:13.73 clocking was still among the top 12 medal winners. However, it was 14 seconds below her target after the promising fast start.
Griffin, Rainwater, Darby Jones, Katlynn Moore, and Lennon Woods comprised the scoring five for the Lady Tigers. Collectively the group finished third in the team standings. Shelby Cole and Holly Owen were the displacers.
The Mansfield junior girls raced to team runner-up status in their division. Trinity Triska took the Tiger reins with an 11:40.45 mark for third place among the class 1A-4A runners.
Triska has medaled in every meet this season except at the ultra-tough Chile Pepper Festival at the University of Arkansas Agricultural Park. At the Van Buren Invitational Saturday, she was only 14 seconds behind the top two finishers from the small school ranks with about 800m to go.
Jadelynn Wood at number 11 and Alyssa James at 15 were the next two medalists for the Lady Tigers. The two freshmen have picked up their training schedules in recent days as a move to the high school squad looms after the conference finals on October 28.
Meghan Emery and Aiden Fildes rounded out the scoring five for the MJH prep team. Addie Bowman and Laney Wood were the team’s displacers. Azlynn Nelson also ran for Mansfield.
Meghan Emery leads a second wave of runners along the Pointer path in the junior girls’ 2-mile race.Mansfield seventh-grader Trinity Triska crosses the time carpet in Van Buren. Triska was the third fastest small school racer at 11:40.45.Lady Tigers Holly Owen, Katlynn Moore, Shelby Cole, Faith Rainwater, McKenzie Griffin, Darby Jones, and Lennon Woods cut their times at the Pointer 5K.Mansfield junior girls Alyssa James, Jadelynn Wood, and Trinity Triska got top 15 at Van Buren.Tiger men Ashton Hinkle, John Branche, Renden Emery, and Ethan Chapman wait for the 5K start. All four senior high runners set season best marks at Van Buren.
The junior high school volleyball season came to a close Saturday morning with the Class 3A West volleyball junior district tournament. The tournament was hosted by Paris High School. The Paris junior Lady Eagles volleyball team defended its regular season and district tournament championships with a 2-0 victory over Mansfield. Paris is now the 2019 junior district tournament champions, and Mansfield, who finished runner-up to Paris in the regular season, also finished as district tournament runner-ups.
Mansfield Junior Lady Tigers: 2019 Jr. District Tournament Runner-ups
Both teams powered their ways through the tournament without losing a set going into the championship match. Mansfield was pushed by Charleston in the semi-finals as they defeated Charleston 2-0 in two highly competitive sets.
Paris defeated West Fork, who surprised Booneville in the quarterfinals, by a score of 2-0. The Lady Eagles were never challenged in the tournament until the finals against Mansfield.
On a day that marked the end of the junior high playing careers of ninth grade players, the futures are bright for both Mansfield and Paris. In fact, both schools will likely move up freshmen to their varsity teams in advance of next week’s senior high district tournament in West Fork.
For Mansfield’s senior high team, they have been steadily improving throughout the season. With the addition of talented freshmen from the district runner-up team, Mansfield could become a very tough opponent next week.
Paris has incredible, quality depth on its varsity roster. Any movement of freshmen to the varsity for the district and state playoffs will just make Paris that much more formidable in the post season.
As they say, a picture says a thousand words. So, here are pictures from yesterday’s finals! Congratulations to both Paris and Mansfield!
It might have taken a little longer than expected but through relentless grit and sheer perseverance, the Waldron Sr High Bulldogs pulled in their first win of the season. The Bulldogs marched onto Subiaco’s football field, looked the Trojans square in the eye, and said “Not today!” Well, mission accomplished. Waldron left the Trojans on the battlefield to face desolation while the Bulldogs rode off into the night with a 40-18 victory.
Quarterback, Braden Williams, successfully catapulted a pass to receiver, Caden Fuller for the first touchdown of the night. Jace Black added the two-point conversion and the game was officially underway 8-0 Bulldogs. Isaac Villarreal was on fire with a 70-yard reception from Williams for his first of two Bulldog touchdowns. Williams rushed the conversion and Waldron was again put on the board 16-0.
Halfway through the second quarter, Subiaco joined the game with their first Trojan touchdown. Williams responded with a 30-yard rushing touchdown and the score was brought to 22-6 Bulldogs. With 00:48 seconds left in the first half, Subiaco earned their second TD and the game looked to be preparing to go into halftime. But not so fast! With no time left on the clock, Williams fired a shot at Villarreal for a Bulldog touchdown sending the game into halftime 28-12 Waldron.
The third quarter saw zero action but the Bulldogs would add two more touchdowns to the score before ending the game. Gabino Grano rushed a 14-yard TD upgrading Waldron to 34-12. With minutes left in the game, the Trojans added their final TD of the game bringing their total points to 18. With the battle looking like it was coming to an end, Matthew Tegtmeyer caused a Trojan fumble and then scooped and ran for a 49-yard TD to close the game 40-18 Waldron.
Waldron saw greatness thanks inpart to their skillful and solid defense. The Trojans were kept off of the Bulldogs offense with an ironhand all night. Matthew Tegtmeyer led his team with five solo and five assisted tackles. Bryson Bailey earned five solo tackles, two assists, and one fumble recovery. Fuller also earned five solo tackles and two assists. Bradley Smith made four solo tackles and three assisted. Grano and Williams each obtained three solo tackles and two and five assists respectively. And with one solo tackle apiece was Black, Villarreal, Carson Cain, Garron Deramus, Fernando Uribe, and Rylee Shupert.
The Bulldogs upgraded their conference record to 1-3 and total season play record to 1-6. On October 25, Waldron will compete in the game of the century as they host the 2-2 Mena Bearcats at 7 p.m. The Bearcats are coached by former Mansfield Tigers Head Coach and close friend to Waldrons Head Coach Jonathan Bates, Craig Bentley. You’re not going to want to miss these two powerhouse teams as they come face to face.
With their fifth win of the season stemming from Friday nights 20-17 conquer over the Hector Wildcats, the Hackett Sr High Hornets seem to be holding their own just fine in the 2A-4. Headed by first-year Hackett Coach, Michael Meador, this young team has been molded into everyday warriors. The Hornets sit with a 5-2 overall record and 1-1 in conference play.
Backup Quarterback and safety, sophomore Ethan “Superman” Slavens, has Hackett football running through his blood. Playing since the third grade, Ethan is beyond proud of how far he and his teammates have come. When it came to Fridays game against Hector, there was a different feeling in the air about the Hornets.
The boys have always been a close-knit group. But this time, the comradery and support for each other was overflowing. The Hornets wanted this win. Bad. And during the entirety of the game, no man was left behind. “We earned this win by staying solid and really playing as a team. We always play well together, but on Friday we took it to the next level,” explains Slavens. “We coached each other up, encouraged one another, and at halftime, re-energized each other through some major hyping up so that we could go and get the job done.”
Quarterback, Avery Hester, connected a beautiful 45-yard pass to Wide-Receiver Fischer Shipman along with one interception, 14 carries totaling 89 yards, and three touchdowns. Hester also carried out six solo tackles and one tackle for a loss. Junior Running back, Weston Winters, did major damage on the Wildcats with 31 carries totaling 179 yards.
Hackett was able to keep Hector at bay with some explosive hits and tackles. The pressure the Hornets kept on the Wildcats offense caused Hector to make mistakes. One of those mistakes was throwing the ball in the vicinity of Slavens who snatched a pass for an interception. Another was putting the ball on the ground. When you put the ball on the ground, you can expect Shipman to be there….and like clockwork, he was and gained a fumble recovery. Shipman totaled two turnovers on the night by also getting an interception on Hector. Peyton Hester led the Hornets with nine tackles and two QB sacks. And defenders Avery Hester, Jessie Esparaza, and Mason Oelke showed off their open-field skills by combining for 16 total solo tackles.
The Hornets have three games left in the season. Mountainburg, Lavaca, and JC Westside. Hackett will travel to Mountainburg on October 25 at 7 p.m. and attempt to slay the Dragons in a game that is sure to impress. Slavens adds “The upcoming game against Mountainburg is the one we will really need to buckle down for. They have a clean running game but I know our defense can shut it down. Go Hornets!”
