On Friday, October 4, the Lavaca Middle School Gifted and Talented students, along with their teacher Mrs. Krista Hinton, got back to nature and explored the wonderful opportunities provided by War Eagle Cavern.
Students were taken on a 1-hour guided tour of the cavern where they learned about the local history surrounding the War Eagle area. During their time in the cavern, students learned about local bat species, water flows and falls, as well as how scientists determine the age of a cavern. They were also treated to an in-depth look at artifacts left behind during the shooting of the film, Frank and Jesse (1994), which was shot on location at War Eagle Cavern.
After the cavern tour, students explored the grounds, completed a “learning maze”, participated in a fossil dig, and were able to observe sink-holes around the cavern.
Finally, students were given the opportunity to pan for gemstones. They discovered gems that are native to Arkansas as well as those from around the world, and they got to keep what they found!
War Eagle Cavern is a great place to learn and explore!
Queen Kyla and the 2019 Mansfield Tiger Little League Homecoming Court.
Queen Kyla Carlton is the daughter of Sammy and Candy Carlton. Her hobbies include playing volleyball and basketball, hanging out with friends and family, tumbling and cheering for the Tigers.
6th Grade Maid Cheyanne Osburn is the daughter of Jesse Osburn and Candace Nofire. Her hobbies include cheer, arts and crafts, and riding her 4-wheeler.
6th Grade Maid Laini Collie is the daughter of Mark and Keely Brown. Her hobbies include drawing, cheering, and writing stories.
5th Grade Maid Abbigale Boyd is the daughter of Tommy Jay and Kimberly Boyd. Her hobbies include talking, going to church, and making Youtube videos with her siblings and cousin JJ.
5th Grade Maid Londann Hinojos is the daughter of Justin Hinojos, Michael and Brittney Himes. Her hobbies include cheer and dancing, volleyball, arts and crafts.
4th Grade Maid Payton Meyers is the daughter of Michael Meyers and Crystal Hale. Her hobbies include cheer, playing outside, and swimming.
4th Grade Maid Madilyn Henderson-Winters is the daughter of Steven and Dakota Winters. Her hobbies include softball, swimming at the lake, and riding her 4-wheeler.
3rd Grade Maid Ellah Heydenreich is the daughter of Wes and Brandi Heydenreich. Her hobbies include playing volleyball, going to the beach, hanging out with her friends Kinsey, Hadley, Ava, Londynn, and Colton
3rd Grade Maid Hadley Shores is the daughter of Moe and Jill Shores. Her hobbies include having a girls days-shopping and getting her nails done, going on family vacations and to the lake, playing with her baby sister, baking, and riding her hoverboard.
The Mansfield Little League football program celebrated 6th Grade Appreciation on Saturday, October 5th. The stands were filled as a host of twelve sixth-graders who gave the program their all for years stepped into Tiger Stadium for their last Little League regular-season game. Both Tiger teams gave their sixth-graders the ultimate present by single handily crushing the Lavaca Golden Arrows in both games and pushing the program closer to the WCFL Playoffs.
6th Grade Tigers
The Tigers 3rd and 4th grade put their undefeated title on the line in a no holds barred match-up against the Golden Arrows with zero intentions of losing that title. Mansfield jumped off to a quick lead with Hunter Whittaker running like a rocket down the edge of the sideline for a touchdown. Colton Moore then took the ball up the middle untouched for the extra points giving the Tigers an 8-0 kick start to the game. Lavaca then fumbled the ball in Tiger territory allowing Colton Nelson to snatch the recovery giving Mansfield the ball right back. Whittaker would tack on three more touchdowns before sending the Tigers into the half with a hefty 30-0 lead.
#00 Colton Nelson
The second half of the game was all defense for Mansfield with a slight sprinkle of scoring. Lincoln Allison, Michael Carter, and Clayton Garrison were in the faces of the Arrows running backs all night. Layton Pyles, Deshaun Collins, and Thomas Boyd created chaos for Lavacas offense as well. Lavaca was able to punch one in for a score, but Trevin Hattabaugh got it all back as he screamed past the defense for a 70-yard touchdown. Raihan Islam sealed Lavaca’s fate with a stuffing tackle to end the game with a final of 36-6.
3/4 Grade Tigers
Mansfields 5th and 6th grade team wasn’t going to allow Lavaca to rain on their parade. This was their night. End of Story. On the Tigers’ first snap of the game, Dawson Robinson found a gap in the Arrows defense and exploded for a Tiger touchdown. Keyton Oliver and Cordell Stone kept Lavaca from keying in on just one running back as they split carries for big runs forcing the Golden Arrows to honor all of the Tiger running backs. The perfect balance in the Mansfield backfield created another score for Robinson giving the Tigers a 14-0 lead at the half.
#20 Dominic Shores
The Tigers defensive line dominated their foes all night. James “Critter” Bausley, Junior Cash, and Alex “Ax-Man” Hecox sent Lavacas offense running for their lives allowing defensive backs Keyton Oliver and Cooper Edwards to get easy open-field tackles. Ethan Martin was able to take a breakaway for a 45-yard touchdown while Dominic Shores knocked out a 70-yard score. In the end, the Tigers balance on both sides of the ball ousted Lavaca 36-0.
6th Grade Captains #35 Alex Hecox, #1 Cooper Edwards, and #69 James Bausley
The Pirates (4-1, 1-1) wasted no time Friday night showing why they have two of the top running backs in the 3A Conference by scoring on their open drive of the game. Darryl Kattich scored the Pirates first two touchdowns in the first half to jump out to a 12-0 lead. Kattich had 21 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns on the night.
Darryl Kattich
The Tigers (2-3, 2-0) were held on their first two drives of the night and were forced to punt, but that did not last long as the Tigers would score on their next two possessions to take the lead at the half 13-12. The two teams would score on their opening drives of the second half to make the score 20-18. The Pirate quarterback, Calloway Henslee (3 carries, 41 yards) would slip out around the end for what would be the Pirate’s last score of the evening.
Calloway Henslee
Following another Tiger touchdown, to take the score to 27-18, the Tiger’s would execute an onside kick that would take crucial time off the clock, keeping the Pirate offense at bay. The Tigers were able to keep Junior Kelin Mitchell out of the end zone the entire contest but Mitchell was able to grind out 174 yards on 23 carries.
Friday night’s loss put the Pirates in a four-way tie for third place in the conference. This Friday night will be Homecoming for the Pirates as they host the Paris Eagles (2-3, 0-2) at 7:00pm.
It is often said that October is for pretenders and November is for contenders. As the 3A-1 conference season moves to its third week, the teams begin to separate themselves after head-to-head games. This season, with the large number of talented teams in the conference, each week has become a battle of heavyweights. Week three will certainly be no different. The week will be highlighted by the clash of Tigers at Alumni Field with the Charleston Tigers hosting the Mansfield Tigers on Friday. Mansfield defeated Charleston a year ago, 22-10, in Mansfield.
Prior to last week’s games, the Mansfield Tigers were ranked 17th in Class 3A by Max Preps, and 87th in Arkansas over all classifications. Charleston was ranked 20th in Class 3A and 109th overall. Those rankings should change on Tuesday when Max Preps releases its new rankings for this week based on the Charleston win and the Mansfield loss last week.
Friday night’s battle will be critical for both teams’ aspirations of making the playoffs. Mansfield was upset at Greenland last week for its first loss and first conference loss of the season. At the midpoint of the season, this becomes a must win game for the Red Tigers. Charleston has won its first two conference games and is in a tie with Booneville for the conference lead. A Charleston win would seperate themselves from some very good teams in the conference and would go a long way to placing the Tigers in the playoffs.
And, of course, set all of this aside, and consider that this is an intense rivalry for both schools, regardless of the records or the playoff implications, and you have a recipe for a very good high school football game.
This may be the most highly-anticipated football season in the Mansfield football program’s history. The Red Tigers are a senior-heavy team composed of perhaps the most talented class of players in their history. They have played together for many years, and have played varsity football for Mansfield starting with the last few games of their freshman year. They are a very talented and experienced team. Mansfield finished third in the conference last season and very well could have been the second seed. Mansfield hosted and defeated Melbourne in the first round of the 2018 state playoffs. The Tigers lost to eventual state runner-up Osceola at Osceola.
Mansfield is coached by Tim Cothran. Cothran served as offensive coordinator for the Tigers under then head coach Craig Bentley who moved on to become the head coach at Mena. Cothran was promoted to head coach in July of this year. The move to promote Cothran has paid dividends for the Tigers as the experienced team was able to smoothly transition to the new head coach in the summer just prior to the start of the season.
On offense, Mansfield, through five games, has completed 76 passes on 102 attempts for 1,274 yards. The Red Tigers average 254.8 yards passing per game. Mansfield is led by senior quarterback Ethan Stovall who has a quarterback rating of 143.5 (158.3 is considered a perfect passer rating), has passed for 17 touchdowns, and has thrown just 3 interceptions. His longest completed pass this season was 99 yards. Stovall is a quarterback who possesses a big arm, is a threat to run, and, like a lot of the Mansfield players, knows how to win. After evaluating the film of last week’s win at Cedarville, coach Ricky May commented on his team’s performance and the challenge its defense will face against the Mansfield passing game. “They are pretty good offensively. Our secondary was an area that we were decimated by injury early in the year. We lost all four of them (secondary defenders) at Dardanelle. We’ve done better, but yet, the good thing is we should have maybe another member of the secondary back; if we have him back that will make us a little better, and our secondary a little deeper. We have some other guys ready to go too if that doesn’t work. But no doubt, we’ve got to keep them (Mansfield’s receivers) in front of us. Howard, man, he’s fast. I don’t know how fast he is, but he is quick when he gets the ball.”
Stovall is the beneficiary of perhaps the most talented group of receivers in the conference. Senior Layton Howard is a talented receiver that has good speed and can get separation deep on any secondary. He is also an excellent kickoff and punt return specialist. He has blazing speed as evidenced by a kick return for a touchdown in the second round of the 2018 state playoffs at Osceola. Howard has caught 30 passes for 526 yards. He averages 17.5 yards per catch. He is a force on offense, special teams, and in the secondary on defense.
Complimenting Howard at wide receiver is Jaicy Griffin. Griffin, another speed burner who plays both offense and defense, has caught 18 passes for 212 yards. Griffin is very athletic and is a game breaker, both on offense, and in the secondary on defense.
Senior Tyler Holmes completes the talented Mansfield receiver unit. Holmes has caught 13 passes for 289 yards. Holmes has excellent hands and has proven his ability to make very difficult catches.
The Mansfield rushing attack is led by senior Will Meadows. Meadows has rushed for 178 yards on 24 carries. He averages 7.4 yards per carry. Isaac Cothran, son of head coach Tim Cothran, provides good shortage yards in the backfield, as well as being a stalwart on the defensive line. Cothran has ran for 52 yards on 15 attempts. He averages 3.5 yards per carry, usually in short yardage and goal line situations.
Altogether, the Mansfield offense has accounted for 1,274 yards passing, 17 touchdowns passing, and just 3 interceptions. Rushing, they have ran for 571 yards and have rushed for 12 touchdowns.
Mansfield has fumbled 8 times and lost 6 of them. The Red Tigers average 480 all purpose yards per game.
Defensively, Mansfield has 8 fumble recoveries and forced 4 fumbles. They also have 3 blocked punts. Junior Randall Claude has two fumble recoveries and a blocked punt on the year.
As it is well known at this point, Charleston began the season with a large number of injuries as well as facing a murderous non-conference schedule that was played entirely away from Alumni Stadium. Since that time, Charleston has become stronger as their injured players have returned and will continue to return with this week’s game. In assessing last week’s win at Cedarville, coach Ricky May said, “We had a player here or there out of position on most of their bigger runs, but other than that, they (Charleston) played pretty well.”
The Tigers offensive and defensive line play, along with running back Breckon Ketter and quarterback Brayden Ross have been the strengths of the Tigers resurgence over the past two weeks. The Tigers run defense has been a physical force all season. The secondary struggled during the first month due to injuries, but has become much improved with the return of such players as Garrett Rudd. The Charleston defensive secondary will be tested by the Mansfield passing game. The Tigers secondary will have to play the best game of their season so far on Friday night.
Going into week three of the conference season, the standings are:
Booneville 2-0
Charleston 2-0
Cedarville 1-1
Greenland 1-1
Lamar 1-1
Mansfield 1-1
Paris 0-2
West Fork 0-2
This weeks games are:
Mansfield at Charleston
Greenland at Booneville
Paris at Cedarville
West Fork at Lamar
Charleston has remaining games left with Mansfield, Paris, Booneville, West Fork, and Lamar. Mansfield has games left with Charleston, Booneville, Lamar, Cedarville, and Paris. At this point in the season, it appears that the road to a conference championship goes through Booneville. If Charleston can take care of business over the next two weeks, it would set up a huge game at home when Charleston hosts Booneville on October 25. But for now, the Tigers have to place all of their attention on the team that many predicted to win the conference, the Mansfield Tigers.
Charleston, by virtual of their head-to-head wins over Greenland and Cedarville, are not only a game ahead of the two Pirates teams, but have a tie breaker advantage by virtual of their wins over each school. A Charleston win over Mansfield would give them a two game lead over a very dangerous Mansfield team, as well as any increased lead they would have over the rest of the field, depending on the outcome of the other conference games. A Mansfield win over Charleston would vault the Red Tigers into a tie for at least second place in the conference, and perhaps into a tie for the lead in the loss column, depending on the outcome of the Booneville game. Mansfield would also have a tie breaker advantage over Charleston by virtual of a head-to-head win. It is easy to see that the stakes increase each week as the conference teams play each other.
It is impossible to say at this point in the season how many conference wins a team would need to get into the playoffs. Five teams will qualify. With two conference wins, Charleston possibly needs two to three more victories. Of course, the more games the Tigers win, the better the seed in the state playoffs. It could be possible for the Tigers to host a first round playoff game as a third or higher seed, as Mansfield did in 2018 as a three seed.
The games in October will tell which teams will play games they will remember in November. With only five teams eligible for the playoffs from a conference who, at this point has six contenders, a good team is going to miss the playoffs.Mansfield is a big game for us Friday night. That’s another one that if you are head-to-head with would be a really good situation for you (winning head-to-head against Mansfield and owning the tie breaker).” For the players and coaches, the pressure will increase with each week. For the fans, enjoy the great football! Coach May wants everyone, players, fans, patrons, to keep believing in this team. “Keep believing and keep playing and good things will happen!”
The Mansfield vs. Charleston game should be a classic. Don’t forget to bring a light jacket; fall will be in the air Friday night!
On Saturday evening, October 5 classic and muscle cars, trucks and even motorcycles packed out the main street of Mansfield.
The inaugural car show and cruise night was sponsored by the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce. The event, which kicked off at 3 p.m., provided fun for all ages. Activities included a bounce around and dunking booth. Also available, vendors selling a variety of food and handmade items.
Emcee Travis Pettus kept the energy up with great music and lively announcements, leading the event with the National Anthem and prayer.
Mansfield’s Chamber of Commerce President Mike Gipson expressed his gratitude to all who helped make the event such a success. Those included the Mansfield junior and senior high volleyball teams and Coaches McKay and Pyles for serving as the event’s judges and manning the dunking booth. Also, Lisa Buckley for the use of the bounce around, the Hayslip family, Karen Gipson, MHS Homecoming Queen Delilah McKusker, Michael and Jennifer Pitts, Police Chief Wayne Robb, Fire Chief Mike Smith and Angela Byers. Merchants who contributed included 71 Express, Ducks Body Shop, Heartland Pharmacy, Amy and Shawn Silvey, Cherokee Tire, Rice Furniture, Furr Babies Grooming, Jamie Johnson and Chambers Bank.
While attendees couldn’t believe this was the town’s “first,” it certainly looks to be an event that will continue to grow, year after year. Mansfield resident Carla Silvey said “how neat to see a car cruise in Mansfield! Mansfield is a great little town and I appreciate everyone who worked so hard putting this car show and cruise together for our town. With this kind of turnout we may have to make more room for the next one!”
After the awards were handed out, and night fell, the cruise was on. From the old to the young, the smiles were proof that memories were made!
Coming soon, a complete list of winners in each category!
Friday nights match-up against the Dardanelle Sand Lizards wasn’t exactly what the Waldron Bulldogs were hoping for on homecoming night. But for this group of ferocious and skilled players, it was just a bump in the road. The Bulldogs walked away from their second conference game of the season with a 52-16 loss placing them with an 0-2 conference record. This is not the end for the Sr High Bulldogs though. In fact, it is just the beginning.
Senior, Garron Deramus, was first to put points on the board for the Bulldogs. After an exciting scoop and score for a touchdown made by Deramus along with the extra two-point conversion, the score sat at 8-6 Waldron. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs wouldn’t be able to catch up to the Sand Lizards. But with a huge play for a touchdown made by junior, Bryson Bailey, and the added two points, Waldron earned their 16 points of the night.
The Waldron Bulldogs still have plenty of bite left in them that’s for sure. They are now gearing up for their next conference game on October 11 at 7 p.m. in Pottsville against the 1-1 Apaches who also sit 2-3 on the season.
Still reeling from their success of Thursday nights 2-0 win over the Decatur Lady Bulldogs, the Hackett Jr High Lady Hornets were feeling good going into their tournament on Saturday. The Lady Hornets competed against some major competition at the Greenwood Jr High Tournament but none of that came close to fazing them. Hackett flew away with a first-place win in the silver division after ending the day with a 4-1 victory. The Lady Hornets conquered in their games against Siloam Springs, Darby, Van Buren, and Alma, but ended falling short to Chaffin.
“I’m so proud of our Jr High girls,” exclaimed Coach Bridget Freeman. “Although we did not have our best showing against Chaffin, the girls stayed positive, cheering for each other all day. The Lady Hornets did great!” Ending the day with more kills than the Black Plague was Prairie Vaughn with 15, followed by Alona Rothwell with 14, Tori Blanton and Mackenzie Mendenhall tying with 10, and with four apiece were Lilly Slavens, Makenzie Freeman, and Aubree Ruggles.
With more ace than Ace of Base was Rothwell with seven, Blanton, Vaughn, and Mendenhall with four each, and combining for four was Freeman and Kyleigh Hill. Bringing in a team total of 10 blocks was Blanton, Rothwell, Vaughn, and Mendenhall. And achieving more digs than a graveyard was Freeman leading with 22, Mendenhall and Hill earning 15 each, Rothwell with 11, Slavens netting nine, and Vaughn rounded out the tally with six.
The Hackett Jr High Hornets will get back to work on Monday, October 7 when they stay home and face the Mansfield Lady Tigers starting at 4:30 p.m.
On September 27th, Arkansas River Valley Bands traveled down to Booneville for their Week 5 Friday Night Feature of the Booneville Bearcat Band and the Paris Eagle Band. Both bands were excited about the game and their halftime performance.
Booneville Bearcat Band
The night was also homecoming for Booneville. The Bearcat band had an important role. Instead of a prerecording of music, the band played as the maids were being escorted. It was very special to see the band being a part of the homecoming court festivities.
The Booneville band is under the direction of Brian and Angela Rhodes. The band is made up of 75 members from ninth through twelfth grade. The Rhodes have been at Booneville for eight years. The band program that they have developed has been very successful.
Paris Eagle Band
The Paris Band is under the direction of Matt Shewmaker and Jeremy Drymon. For Matt and Jeremy, this is their first year at Paris High School. So far, they have had a great start to the season. The Paris Band is made up of students from the ninth through twelfth grade.
Paris Eagle Band
For halftime, the Paris Band performed first. Their show theme this year is Rock and Roll. They will make you want to put on your leather jackets and start shaking your poofy hair. Paris had their full show out on the field and it was a delight to hear. Next came the Booneville Band. Their 2019 show is titled “Flight.” The band leaves you feeling like they have taken you high up in the sky on a plane ride journey. Booneville also had its full show performing out on the field.
Booneville Bearcat Band
Both the Paris and Booneville Bands did an outstanding job performing in the stands and on the field. With marching season entering the competition half, the Booneville and Paris Band went on to compete at the Dale Bumpers Marching Invitational on October 5th in Charleston.
It was a perfect day for a celebration! The skies were clear and the mood was rejoiceful as Lavaca celebrated its 100th Birthday on Saturday, October 5! It appeared that the entire town had turned out for the occasion.
At 11:00 am, a small herd of cattle was driven down the Main Street of town, celebrating our town having been named for the Spanish word for cow, back in the 1880-90s. The cows and horses were followed by floats, four-wheelers, football players, cheerleaders, former graduating classes, antique cars, fire trucks, police cars and much more!
The people along the street were encouraged to follow the parade to the festivities at City Hall. There, the city was providing food and drinks to the citizens as a great band played for everyone. Close to 12 noon, Mayor Hugh Hardgrave spoke and presented a plaque to Hattie Smithson for being Lavaca’s Oldest Citizen, just short of her own centennial. Cliff Barnett was presented an award for being Lavaca’s Oldest Veteran, having served in World War II. Councilwoman Lorie Robertson presented a greeting from our governor, Asa Hutchinson.
The festivities turned back uptown to the historic displays provided by the Military Road Museum. Tables of cotton candy, popcorn and other goodies were sold in a booth near the site of a Silent Auction. The auction benefited the proposed creation of an outdoor classroom for the Middle School. A huge table, 10×10 square was the scene of 100 cakes, each sponsored by local families, businesses or in memory of passed loved ones. Some were even in memory of businesses in the past history of the town. Lavaca’s own General Tammy Hutchins-Frye gave a short speech and then cut the cake where everyone ate to their fill and beyond.
The final event of this day was the “Woman-Less Beauty Pageant.” Three brave (?) men, Dallas Robertson, Gene Clearwater, and Jerry Atkins, dressed as ladies and competed for the coveted prize of Miss Centennial! Each of them was asked questions and had a brief talent. It was extremely funny and the crowd was sure enjoying them make a spectacle of themselves.
Lavaca is a wonderful town with wonderful people. General Frye remarked about how our little town closely resembles the fictional town of Mayberry RFD. People here sit on their porches, rarely meet a stranger, help those in need and come to each others rescue when asked.
It was a fantastic birthday party! People are already anticipating the next gathering, even asking if we were celebrating birthday 101! I believe they may just wait a while, or at least until they recover from this one.
