Over the past five seasons, the Mansfield Tigers and Cedarville Pirates have put on some thrillers on the gridiron. For many fans, it all started in 2018 when the Tigers fell to Cedarville at Pirates Cove in a 26-20 overtime loss. Since then the Tigers and Pirates have swapped wins and losses in close games and absolute blowouts to create what could be called a newly formed rivalry. So no matter the record going into their game on Friday, October 27th, both programs knew they were in for a big night. Cedarville came into The Jungle with a minimal roster full of youth and injuries while the Tigers held multiple injuries of their own on the sidelines. But there were no excuses by any of the players on either team as each squad gave it their absolute best with the Tigers coming out on top with a 42-6 victory.
Cedarville started off the game on offense and went to work with a balanced offensive game plan as the Pirates set sail with positive yards and a first down on their first three plays. The Tigers defense was unphased though. After Cedarville’s first down run, the Pirates bobbled a handoff leaving the ball loose on the ground allowing Mansfield defensive lineman, Logan Ore, to scoop it up for the recovery. Mansfield quickly went to work with Andrew Burton gaining a few hard-earned yards on their offensive first play. Then senior Tyler Turnipseed took a quick pitch and cranked up the “Turnip-speed” going 37 yards downfield to set the Tigers up in scoring position at the three-yard line. Two plays later, Turnipseed would punch the ball into the endzone to put Mansfield on the board first. The extra point kick went wide right leaving the Tigers to lead 6-0 against Cedarville early in the first quarter. Mansfield’s defense forced the Pirates to punt on their next series which gave the Tigers some momentum and positive field position. It only took a couple of plays for the Tigers to jump on the scoreboard again with a 50-yard burnout run by Daniel Burton. Mansfield was successful with a two-point conversion attempt to stretch their lead to 14-0. Cedarville wouldn’t lay down though as they forced Mansfield’s offense to turnover the ball on downs on their next possession to close out the first quarter with Mansfield up 14-0.
Even with the cool wind blowing, Mansfield’s offense stayed hot as quarterback, Jeremy Strozier, started the Tigers first offensive drive of the second quarter with a scorching 35-yard quarterback keeper. Strozier followed up his run with a 25-yard pass to senior Peyton Martin. The Tigers would cross into the endzone again just a couple of plays later with a 3-yard run by Tyler Turnipseed. That was just the beginning of Mansfield’s offensive performance in the second quarter. Daniel Burton was able to dart downfield 38 yards to set up the Tigers at the two-yard line. It was senior, Tyler Turnipseed, who again got in for a Tiger touchdown to increase the Tigers lead on Cedarville. Andrew Burton tacked on a two-point conversion to set the score at 28-0 in Mansfield’s favor. Tyler Turnipseed made sure he would finish his senior night on top as he showed his defensive prowess with an interception and return for 37 yards. The turnover put Mansfield’s offense just two yards away from the endzone and that two yards was too easy for quarterback Jeremy Strozier to take a quarterback keeper in for the score.
The Tigers defense remained an immovable object forcing long yardage situations for Cedarville’s offense and putting pressure on the Pirates at every corner of the field. With the offense on fire and the defense dominating, the Tigers special teams seemed left out of the mix. That didn’t last long though as Mansfield pulled a smoke and mirrors move on a Cedarville punt as Tyler Turnipseed caught the kick and then handed the ball off to Daniel Burton who went 42 yards before being forced out of bounds. Mansfield then swung a 13-yard pass to senior Peyton Martin which set up another Tyler Turnipseed two-yard Tiger touchdown. Ethan Martin added on the extra point kick to send the Tigers into halftime with a commanding 42-0 lead.
With the sportsmanship rule in place, the Tigers subbed out for the remainder of the game. But subs or not, the Tigers showed their depth in talent as a program is really good. Mansfield was able to lean on senior Brayden Mays and sophomores Dominic Shores and Dawson Robinson to keep their offense running well. Sophomore Cooper Edwards showed off his skills and arm with some smooth reads of Cedarville’s defense allowing Mansfield to gain big yards on the Pirates. Defensively for the Tigers, Alex Hecox, James Bausley, and Pacen Strozier took turns with big tackles to shut down Cedarville’s run game. The Pirates were forced to pull away from their bread-and-butter run game and began to pass the ball. The Tigers were ready though with Alex Hecox and Pacen Strozier nearly getting interceptions before Leland Powell capitalized for a pick. Cedarville was able to get a score on the Tigers, but it was a little too late as Mansfield rolled on to a 42-6 win on senior night.
The Tigers victory sets them with a 7-2 overall record and 4-2 in conference play. The win also puts Mansfield in prime territory for the 3Seed in the State Playoffs and a home field Playoff game against a 3A-4 opponent. But the Tigers can’t put the horse before the buggy and look ahead. Mansfield’s final game of the regular season will be a trip to their long-time rivals, the Hackett Hornets. Hackett is also vying for the 3Seed and home field position going into the State Playoffs as they also hold a 4-2 conference record. Both team’s sole conference losses came to Booneville and Charleston which means that these should be evenly matched going into their rivalry game on Friday, November 3rd. Mansfield versus Hackett for all the marbles. It’s almost like the upcoming game was meant to be.
