It will be a nostalgic look back for both the Mansfield Tigers and the Paris Eagles as they meet again in a 3A non-conference game at Eagles Stadium on September 2. Long time conference rivals before the conference realignments a few years ago, the two teams have met many times before and have had several thrilling games.
The Red Tigers will bring a team into Paris that is peaking in its development as both a team and as a football program. The senior high football numbers are up, and Mansfield has a big number of returning seniors on this year’s team.
The Tigers play in the 3A-1 conference that includes Booneville, Charleston, Hackett, West Fork, Lavaca, Greenland and Cedarville. The 2022 season could be a season that sees the Tigers return to the Class 3A state playoffs. Critical games with Lavaca, Cedarville, West Fork, and Hackett will make the difference for Mansfield with respect to their playoff hopes.
At deadline time for this story, the Tigers were preparing for their August 26 non-conference opener at Magazine. Mansfield defeated the Rattlers a year ago by the score of 41-6. The Tigers 2022 schedule includes:
Sept 2 at Paris
Sept 16 vs Waldron
Sept 23 at West Fork
Sept 30 vs Greenland
Oct 7 vs Charleston
Oct 14 at Booneville
Oct 21 vs Lavaca
Oct 28 at Cedarville
Nov 4 vs Lavaca
The Tigers are coached by Tim Cothran and has an overall record at Mansfield of 10-20. Mansfield has ten returning starters each on both sides of the football and will bring a lot of quality experience and depth into their game Friday with Paris. The Tigers run the spread offense and the 4-2 on defense. Their last playoff appearance was in 2019, which at the time, was the second consecutive year for the Tigers in the program. In 2018, Mansfield advanced to the second round of the playoffs after defeating Melbourne at home and then losing the next week in a long road trip to Osceola.
Tigers coach Tim Cothran is excited about his team, their depth, and the returning experience they will have this year. When I asked Coach to comment about his team, the Tigers coach said, “We have our best numbers (number of players in the program) in some time. We have 30 players, including 13 seniors. Kids are working hard. I felt like we had a good scrimmage at Mena. Offense is led by Fisher Wilsey and Cole Kindle. Defense is led by Kindel Noblitt and Braxton Byers.”
And play well in the scrimmage, they did…Mansfield traveled to Mena to play in a preseason scrimmage two weeks ago and shocked the world by defeating the 4A Bearcats. Any coach or football savvy fan will tell you that honestly there is not much one can tell from a preseason scrimmage. The conditions are different than game conditions, and coaches tend to play things close to the vest to avoid displaying what they may do during the season. But, it is very noteworthy that Mansfield went to Mena and not only competed, but won the scrimmage. In this writer’s opinion, this may be an indication that Mansfield is about to turn the corner and be a legitimate contender for a playoff spot in the 3A-1 conference.
In full disclosure to our readers, I retired from Mansfield a few years ago as high school principal. I am still very partial to the Red Tigers. And one thing that I know for certain, Mansfield will come into Paris on Friday night focused on winning the game, and every player who steps onto the grass at Eagles Stadium wearing a red helmet will be laser-like focused on giving it everything that they have. Paris, and any other team who plays Mansfield this year, will have to be ready to play and match the intensity that the Red Tigers will bring to the game.
It should be a good football game for all fans, and you will want to get there early to get a seat for this one! And make sure you catch the post-game coverage on the RNN online platform this weekend. Just go to residentnewsnetwork.com and you can access this story at no charge.
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Good luck to both teams, and RNN Sports will be there to bring you all of the action!
