Resident News Network

Sr Bulldogs Bogged Down By Elks

Sports

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12:26 pm

Although Friday nights football game wasn’t quite the outcome that the Waldron Sr High Bulldogs had hoped for, they fought hard and pushed through until the bitter end. The Bulldogs ended the night with a 36-16 loss to the Elkins Elks. Waldron may sit 0-1 in conference play and 0-4 in season play but don’t expect them to hang up their cleats anytime soon. The Bulldogs still have a ton of fight left in them.

By the end of the third quarter, Waldron had yet to put points up. And just when it looked like things were over for the Bulldogs, Isaac Villarreal was on target catching a pass from Braden Williams and running it in for a massive 62-yard touchdown. Ruben Valdez added the extra two-point conversion and Waldron was on the board with eight points. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs weren’t ready to call it quits. Williams connected with Seth Hunt for another Bulldog touchdown with Gabino Grano scoring the extra two points and closing out the game.

Quarterback, Braden Williams, finished the night completing 11 passes for 134 yards and scoring nine tackles. Grano earned a 22-yard reception. Carson Cain had two receptions for 14 yards and Hunt snagged four receptions for 26 yards. Defensively, Matthew Tegtmeyer led the team with 11 tackles out of 45 total team tackles. Bradley Smith followed with five and Bryson Bailey netted four.

Up next on the schedule the Bulldogs will host the 4-0 Dardanelle Sand Lizards on October 4 at 7 p.m.

Photo by Sandy Tull

LL Tigers Declaw West Fork

Sports

Megan Hecox

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10:53 am

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Pictured is Colton Nelson

The Mansfield Little League Tigers held their Homecoming festivities on Saturday, September 28th as they played the West Fork Tigers for a Big Cat competition. It was a tale of two Tigers as Red and White clashed with Black and Gold. Only one Tiger could reign supreme and Mansfield took that challenge seriously.

The Mansfield 3rd and 4th grade started the night off with a 30-0 rout of West Fork. The Tigers struck early and often with Colton Nelson, Colton Moore, Trevin Hattabaugh, and Lincoln Allison eating up yards and touchdowns throughout the game. It was a pass, pitch, and run offensive showcase that kept the scoreboard lights hot. Defensively, Mansfield clawed their way into the West Fork backfield and shut down every attempt made by players wearing black and gold. The 3rd and 4th grade Tiger defense ended up issuing their second shutout of the season.

The Tigers 5th and 6th grade set out to make a point that they are a head above the rest as they ran over West Fork dominating with a 38-16 victory. Dawson Robinson exploded out of the backfield right off the bat to put the Tigers on the board and set the game up from there. The Tigers offense was firing on all cylinders as Ethan Martin, Keaton Oliver, Cordell Stone, Dominic Shores, and James Bausley all contributed to Mansfield’s ground and pound attack.

Cooper Edwards fired a laser pass to Junior Cash for a touchdown to prove to opponents that Mansfield is very capable of a balanced offense. Not to be outdone, the Mansfield defense cut through West Forks offense like a hot knife through butter putting pressure on the black and gold Tigers all night. It was the beef upfront on the D-Line that shut down West Forks attempts at making it a game.

The Mansfield Little League Tigers were able to get all players on both teams plenty of playing time Saturday night. This will help give the Tigers more experience and depth as Mansfield enters the second half of the WCFL season. Mansfield will host the Lavaca Golden Arrows on Saturday, October 5^th with games starting at 6 p.m. The Tigers will also be celebrating 6^th Grade appreciation night on October 5th as well.

Hackett LL Iceberg Crushes Pirates

Sports

Megan Hecox

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10:26 am

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On Saturday, September 28th the Hackett Little League Hornets celebrated their Homecoming and hosted the Greenland Pirates. Everyone knows that you can’t lose on your homecoming and the Hornets made sure that didn’t happen as they issued the Pirates a double dose of defeat.

The 3rd and 4th grade Hornets kicked things off with a battle of the wills. The Hornets struck first to take an 8-0 lead in the first half, but it was a defensive battle from there. Both Hackett and Greenland traded shots not giving each other’s offense any breathing room to open up the game. Hackett’s first half score was the only time either team lit up the scoreboard in the game, but that was all the Hornets needed for the 8-0 victory.

Hackett 3rd and 4th grade coach, Nick Holbert said “It was another tough defensive standoff. We were able to drive and score in the first half, but after that, we couldn’t punch it in against Greenland’s tough defense. We were able to stand our ground defensively and keep them out of the end zone. It was a hard-fought fun game to coach.”

Hackett’s 5th and 6th grade team opened up the playbook on Greenland as they sent offensive title waves at the Pirates all night. The Hornets speed tore through Greenland’s defense with precision and ease for most of the game. The Hackett defense didn’t take any prisoners as they crashed into the backfield chopping down the Pirates at every snap. Hackett finished off Greenland with an impressive final score of 28-0.

The Hornets are in a familiar winning form right now. Halfway through the season, Hackett’s 3rd and 4th grade is sitting at a tie for the #1 Seed in the WCFL Playoffs and the 5th and 6th grade is tied for the #2 Seed in the WCFL Playoffs. Although Hackett has a bye week on October 5^th, the Hornets will hone in their skills and play the Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club in nonconference play on October 5^th. On October 12th, the Hornets will fire conference play back up as they travel to Lavaca to square off against the Golden Arrows starting at 6 p.m.

Jr Tigers Put The Brakes On West Fork

Sports

Megan Hecox

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9:56 am

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Bringing in their second win of the season, the Mansfield Jr High Tigers are feeling good. In Thursday nights away game against the West Fork Tigers, Mansfield came prepared for a battle. After securing their first win the week before against Paris, the Tigers were determined to keep those good vibes going. West Fork definitely gave the Tigers a run for their money but after staying focused and capitalizing on West Forks miscues, Mansfield took the win 20-14. The win upgrades the Tigers record to 2-3 on the season.

The first quarter had both teams on top of their defensive game. Mansfield and West Fork took turns shutting down each others plays leaving the scoreboard reading 0-0. Mansfield was first to put points up when Peyton Martin caught a Fisher Willsey pass and ran the ball in for a 25-yard touchdown moving the score to 6-0 Mansfield.

West Fork returned the favor by adding their own touchdown to the board but Mansfield wasn’t having it. Tyler Turnipseed caught a Willsey pass for another Tiger touchdown coupled with the two-point conversion and the score was set to 14-6 at halftime. The start of the third quarter had West Fork looking like they were going to score. When out of nowhere, Austin Quinalty swooped in like a thief in the night stealing West Forks fumbled ball and taking it in for a 31-yard Tiger touchdown.

The Jr High Tigers ended the game with 163 total yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback, Fisher Willsey, completed 12 passes for 155 yards. Caleb Collier achieved four rushes for seven yards. Drew Elmore obtained six receptions for 89 yards. And Logan Cravey caught two receptions for 25 yards along with a fumble recovery. The Mansfield Tigers are looking forward to their next game when they get to face the Greenland Pirates at home on October 3 at 7 p.m.

Jr Lady Hornets Aren’t Messing Around

Sports

Megan Hecox

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9:37 am

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The Hackett Jr High Lady Hornets dominated with three straight wins in last weeks volleyball matches. The Lady Hornets took on the Booneville Lady Bearcats, the Eureka Springs Lady Highlanders, and the Mulberry Lady Yellowjackets. Hackett held all three of their opponents at the net allowing the Lady Hornets to keep total control. The Jr High squad now sits undefeated 9-0 in conference play and 11-1 on the season.

During their match against Booneville, Makenzie Freeman led her team with five aces while Mackenzie Mendenhall followed with four. In the kills department, Alona Rothwell earned five, Prairie Vaughn totaled four, and both Lilly Slavens and Abby McBride secured two. Mendenhall and Vaughn made 10 and three assists respectively. And digging their way to China was McBride with eight digs and Freeman with four.

After overpowering Eureka Springs, the Lady Hornets ended their sets 25-7 and 25-8. Mendenhall came out on top with six aces while Tori Blanton and Rothwell made five and four. With a total of 10 kills were Rothwell, Mendenhall, and McBride with Rothwell also earning two blocks. And helping with assists was Vaughn with five and Mendenhall with four.

Ending their very productive week against Mulberry, the Lady Hornets tallied some great success. Alona Rothwell grabbed eight aces, Lexie Gann had three and coming in with two apiece was Mendenhall, Blanton, Slavens, and Hannah Fox. Slavens earned four kills while Makenzie Freeman and Teonna Best totaled for four. And assisting with the win was Mendenhall with five assists, Vaughn with three, and Kyleigh Hill with two assists and one dig.

The Jr High Lady Hornets will again hit the road and take their determination and supreme volleyball skills to West Fork on September 30 starting at 4 p.m.

Tigers Seek Second Conference Win at Cedarville

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Resident News Network

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4:18 pm

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Tigers Seek Second Conference Win at Cedarville

There is no question that Friday night’s conference victory over Greenland was a huge win for Charleston. But now, it is time for the Tigers to focus on a very good Cedarville Pirates team in week two of the conference season. The Tigers will travel to Cedarville Friday night for what should be some old fashioned, physical football.

If you are a football purest who loves teams that run the football, this game is for you. Both Cedarville (4-0, 1-0) and Charleston (1-3, 1-0) love to run the football. This game does not promise to be a game where both teams will be throwing it all over the place for three plus hours.

At the time of publication, statistics were not available for Cedarville’s win over Lamar. The statistics in this article encompass the first three games of the season for Cedarville.

Cedarville is undefeated and is ranked 12th in Class 3A according to Max Preps. Across all classifications, Cedarville is ranked 74th in Arkansas. Charleston, after its win against Greenland, is ranked 20th in Class 3A, and 109th across all classifications in the state. Cedarville’s win over Lamar last week dropped the Warriors to 13th in Class 3A. Charleston’s win over Greenland dropped Greenland to 22nd in Class 3A.

Cedarville runs the football, and they run it well. In their first three games, the Pirates ran the ball an average of 446.0 yards per game. Passing, Cedarville averaged 35.3 yards per game and had one touchdown. Their passing completion percentage through three games was 39 percent.

Cedarville’s vaunted rushing attack is led by sophomore running back Daryl Kattich. In the first three games, Kattich ran for 409 yards on 25 rushes. He averaged 16.4 yards per carry. For three games, Kattich has averaged 136 yards per game.

Joining Kattich in the backfield is junior Kelin Mitchell. Mitchell, in his first three games, has rushed for 379 yards on 23 carries. He averages 16.5 yards per rush and 126.3 yards per game. The backfield duo of underclassmen Kattich and Mitchell gives the Pirates a potent 1-2 punch in the backfield that will be strong not only this year but next, as well. Charleston coach Ricky May knows stopping or slowing the Cedarville ground attack will be a key to victory for the Tigers. “They have two really good running backs. Right now, nobody has stopped them. Our front (defensive line and linebackers) have been playing good. They can definitely hurt you if you are not reading your keys.” Charleston will need their defensive front to play a great game to have a chance to win at Cedarville. Stopping the run game, along with being ready for the occasional play action pass will be critical for the Tigers.

When you can run the ball as effectively as Cedarville there is not much of a need to pass. And the statistics are very telling. The Cedarville offense, in its first three games, passed the ball for just 106 yards on 13 attempts. The Pirates completed 5 of 13 attempts total in their first three games. They averaged 21.2 yards per completion. Cedarville had one pass for a touchdown in the first three games. Cedarville’s passing has been split between senior Calloway Henslee and sophomore Cody Dickens. Henslee has thrown for 74 yards on five attempts. He has completed 3 of 5 passes and has averaged 24.7 yards per pass. Dickens has passed for 32 yards on seven attempts. He has completed 2 of 7 passes for 16.0 yards per pass.

At publication time, defensive stats for Cedarville were not available.

Friday night’s game should be a test of wills. Cedarville wants to run the football, and it will be up to the Charleston defensive line and its linebackers to slow down or possibly stop the Pirates’ ground attack. Charleston’s strong point all season has been the front end of its defense, so it appears to be a game of strength versus strength.

As the Tigers prepare for Cedarville, both schools know the importance of the game with respect to standings in conference play. With both schools having games with Booneville and Mansfield later in the schedule, the importance of this game is magnified. Both schools won important week one conference games and earned a one game lead on half of the conference.

After week one of the conference season, the standings in district 3A-1 are:

Booneville 1-0

Cedarville 1-0

Charleston 1-0

Mansfield 1-0

Greenland 0-1

Lamar 0-1

Paris 0-1

West Fork 0-1

The Tigers have entered a crucial three game stretch that began last week with Greenland and will include this week’s game at Cedarville, and a home match with Mansfield on October 11. “Greenland, Cedarville, and Mansfield in a row is pretty tough. But if you come out of there and can win those games you are sitting really good.”

There is nothing like a win at home, particularly on homecoming night, to turn a season around. No one (injured players) reported to the coaches on Saturday following the Greenland game to get treatment for any possible injuries. The Tigers are riding the euphoria of a great win and are ready to go back to work on Monday. “I think they (Tigers players) are higher than they have been. We are expecting them to come in on Monday ready to go, fired up and ready to get it going.”

Consistency will be a key for the Tigers this week. Now that they have had a taste of victory this season, the team’s maturity will be tested in how they go back to practice to prepare for Cedarville. They have to forget last Friday night and focus on the 12th ranked team in Class 3A. I am sure that none of the players or coaches want to lose everything that was gained in the Greenland win. Conversely, a follow-up win this week in Cedarville puts Charleston in great position to make the playoffs.

It will be up to the coaches and the seniors on this team to keep the team focused on Cedarville and to approach this week in practice like they did against Greenland. From my observation this year, this should not be a problem. As I stated in yesterday’s article, this is a tough, hard-working team that plays their guts out every Friday night. And that is what I expect the Tigers to do.

Friday’s game will not be for the faint of heart. The pads will be popping all night. It will be good old fashioned football. It won’t be pretty, but it will be a hard hitting game between two teams who will attempt to impose their will on the other to run the football. Don’t be surprised if this game turns on a surprise play or a turnover.

Lady Tigers Cash In At Today’s Bank Meet

Sports

Tammy Teague

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3:24 pm

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Lady Tigers Cash In At Today’s Bank Meet

It wasn’t as easy as pulling through the drive-thru window and cashing a check. It took some real money crunching. But, the Mansfield junior high Lady Tigers cracked the endurance vault to win their second consecutive team cross country title of the season at the 16th Annual Today’s Bank Invitational on their home course.

With 25 schools and over 600 athletes registered to compete at the Saturday, September 28 cross country meet, it was the host with the most that shined prettier than a new penny.

The little ladies of Mansfield with their youth filled roster roared as a team to take down Waldron in the small school division for a 47 to 59 victory. Led by top Tiger Trinity Triska, who’s just a seventh grader, Mansfield bested a field of 62 small school runners and a total field of 111 junior girls for the Today’s Bank first place plaque.

As they have all season long, Mansfield sisters Laney Wood and Jadelynn Wood finished among the top medal winners. Respectively, the seventh and ninth grade siblings claimed seventh and ninth place in the 1A-3A divisional race.

Triska’s sixth place finish, Alyssa James’ 21st position, and Addison Bowman’s 23rd spot, completed the scoring five for the Lady Tigers’ team win. Azlynn Nelson and Eden Mounts served as the units first two displacers.

It was the Mansfield team’s second championship trophy in a row as they also won the Tom Stuthard Stampede in Acorn a week ago.

Like the 1970’s Jackson 5 song ABC, Mansfield’s overall performance among all squads was “as easy as 1, 2, 3”. That’s to say, Mansfield’s three total teams finished first in the junior girls, second in the senior women, and third in the senior mens events.

Mainstays among the top scoring women, Mansfield’s Faith Rainwater and McKenzie Griffin didn’t disappoint running the longer 5K course at the home show. Rainwater, last year’s player of the year, was fifth overall in the small school class. Griffin only 25 seconds behind her teammate was eighth.

Joined by Darby Jones, Katlynn Moore, and Shelby Cole; Mansfield was able to take second place behind a very strong Waldron Lady Bulldog team.

Mansfield’s older team had been limited by numbers and unable to compete for team titles up to this point. Two of their preseason favorites, Harleigh Mars and Hope Rainwater, have been out of the lineup with injury and most likely will not return.

Cole, the 24th best runner at Today’s Bank, just returned to racing this week after she had been absent from the meet schedule with illness. Moore (23rd), who was in softball offseason until recently, joined the squad when she saw her school’s cross country friends needed a boost.

Jones has improved steadily throughout the season and has established herself as the third best runner on the Tiger team. She narrowly missed the medal stand at the home meet finishing thirteenth, but has earned many medals so far this season.

Victor Steffen offered a similar sacrifice for the school’s senior men’s team as Moore did for the women. The eleventh grader transitioned from track offseason to the men’s cross country team to give them numbers to compete as a unit.

The lineup of Ethan Chapman, Renden Emery, Ashton Hinkle, John Branche, Logan Yoss, and Steffen muscled out a third place team stance for the Tiger men at the MHS Invitational.

Chapman in typical fashion led the Tiger core with its top time. The sophomore finished fourteenth among a crowded field of small school racers. Emery was 24th followed by Hinkle, Branche, and Steffen in consecutive order at 28, 29, and 30.

XC-Mansfield-Today's Bank — MJH seventh grader Trinity Triska takes home a medal from the Today’s Bank Invitational cross country meet.

Mansfield-XC-Today's Bank — Caught on camera working the Today’s Bank meet are Mansfield HS Principal Donnie Eveld and senior girls basketball coach Josh Bryan.

Mansfield-XC — Mansfield’s juniors also win the the Tom Stuthard Stampede at Acorn.

Pirates Set Sail to Lamar For Conference Opener

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Resident News Network

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2:53 pm

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Pirates Set Sail to Lamar For Conference Opener

The Cedarville Pirates traveled down I-40 Friday evening to open conference play against the Lamar Warriors. After both teams cruised to a 3-0 non-conference start, this was the first true test for each squad.

Up to this point, Cedarville and Lamar had dominated the ground game against their opponents which left a lot of anticipation leading up to this game.

Lamar was quick to put points on the board with their first drive of the game taking the lead 7-0. The Pirates would find end zone pay dirt with their third drive of the ballgame on a long run by Darryl Kattich to move the score to 7-6.

The Pirates forced the Warrior offense to punt their next two possessions before the Warriors added another touchdown on their fourth drive of the game to go up 14-6. That score did not stay long as the quick hitting Pirates found pay dirt again just before the half on a long run up the middle by Kelin Mitchell to move the score to 14-12.

Lamar started the second half with a ground pounding, time management drive that chewed up 7 minutes and 41 seconds off of the clock leading to their third touchdown of the evening to go up 21-12.

Following that drive, the Pirates Defense dropped the anchor, ending further fireworks for the Warrior offense. The Pirates would find the end zone on their next two possessions by running back Kelin Mitchell and quarterback Calloway Henslee to take the lead 24-21.

The Pirates Defense forced two turnovers on the Warriors last two possessions which led to the Pirates lining up in victory formation to run the clock out.

The Cedarville Pirates improve to 4-0 on the season, 1-0 in conference play and will host the Charleston Tigers, Friday, October 4, at 7:00pm.

Local Families Honored at Fallen Vietnam Veterans Ceremony

Headlines

Tammy Teague

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1:48 pm

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Local Families Honored at Fallen Vietnam Veterans Ceremony

On Saturday, September 28, at 2 p.m., members of the families of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War were honored.

The auditorium at Ramsey Junior High in Fort Smith filled with those who came to pay tribute to those fallen heroes. Dignitaries, including State Representative Marcus Richmond, Senator Terry Rice, Scott County Judge James Forbes, Mayor Buddy Black and others were also present.

The ceremony, emceed by Daren Bobb, marked the 44th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Following the posting of the Colors by the Honor and Color Guard, the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by VFW Post 8845 Commander Jeff Harness. VFW Post 8854 Chaplain Charles Hollibough gave the invocation.

There were 29 families present, representing the veterans who fought and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. Survivors and disabled American Veterans of the Vietnam War were also recognized.

Advocate Jonathon Baker shared the reading of the “Missing Man Table Tribute.” In that tribute, Baker explained the significance of the small round table that is always set but never occupied, the Missing Man Honors Table.

Two of the guest speakers, Commander Jeff Harness and Representative Marcus Richmond, spoke with conviction and great emotion.

“They did not loose their life, they gave it,” Harness said. Richmond admitted he had pondered all week on his speech. “I have no words. There are no words to emphasize how we are all touched by the sacrifice.” Richmond, a career Marine, stated that the greatest thing that the State of Arkansas has contributed is “our sons and daughters. They’ve done their duty, and done it with honor.”

Local families that were honored during the ceremony included: William Arvel Boatright of Abbott; Billy Duane Crelia of Huntington; Jimmy Cartright of Mountainburg; Larry Neil Harper, Karl Lewis Reineccius and David Frank Schluterman all of Paris; and Johnny F. Davis of Waldron.

The ceremony concluded with a slide show of the 60 fallen veterans, 21 gun salute, taps and the retiring of the Colors.

Vietnam-war-sacrifice — Family representing American Hero Johnny F. Davis from Waldron.

Family representing American Hero Billy Duane Crelia of Huntington.

Honorable mention of the women who scarified their lives in the Vietnam War.
Guest speaker, Commander Jeff Harness of VFW Post 8845.
Remembering those who gave all.
The Missing Man Table.

Mansfield Steals West Forks Stripes To Stay Undefeated

Sports

Megan Hecox

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11:02 am

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Mansfield Steals West Forks Stripes To Stay Undefeated

In an almost complete blowout of a football game, the Mansfield Sr High Tigers quickly let it be known to the West Fork Tigers that there could only be one “Big Cat” in the 3A-1 conference. After Friday nights huge 52-6 homecoming victory against West Fork, Mansfield now sits undefeated 4-0 in overall season play.

Wasting no time getting to work, Randy Claude got fans on their feet with his blocking skills on a West Fork punt. Quarterback, Ethan Stovall, threw a powerful pass to Tyler Holmes who ran it in for the first Tigers touchdown putting the score to 6-0 Mansfield. As West Fork was finally trying to get their play-action going, Clay James was quick to shut it down with an interception for a 36-yard return.

With only seven minutes into the first quarter, Will Meadows added another touchdown to the board upgrading the score to 12-0 Mansfield. The big play of the night came when the Tigers were deep in West Fork territory. Ethan Stovall took the snap from the one-yard line and launched a pass to Holmes for a 99-yard Tiger touchdown. Along with Claudes added two-point conversion, it was Mansfields game at 20-0. Just as West Fork was thinking they could get some points on the board, Blayne Bryant was fast to crush their dreams as he caused a West Fork fumble allowing Jaicy Griffin to then lay out a 22-yard run.

Before the half, Mansfield would go on to put four more touchdowns in the books. Helping to make that happen was Layton Howard with a 12-yard run for a TD, Stovall with a 33-yard run for a TD, and Isaac Cothran and Luke Ridenhour securing one TD each sending Mansfield into halftime leading 46-0. In the second half of the game, the Tigers would add one more touchdown to the score with a Zayne Dugan pass to Austin Carlton for a 53-yard run to victory. Also tacking on to the Tigers success was Caleb Corson with 49 rushing yards.

The Mansfield Tigers defense were the real MVPs of the game with their over the top blocks and their no holds barred flying techniques that even a wrestler would be proud of. Helping deliver Tiger tackles like it was Christmas Eve was Zach Lowe, Bri Sanderson, Jacob Brown, Dustin Holland, and Cameron “Makin’ em’ Hurt” Macon.

The party’s only getting started for the undefeated Mansfield Tigers as they will travel to Greenland and attempt to create rough seas for the 2-2 Pirates on Friday, October 4 at 7 p.m.

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