The Mansfield Tigers beefed up their nonconference schedule in 2024, hoping it would prepare them better for their grueling 3A-1 conference slate. After winning only one of their three nonconference games, those hopes seemed pretty futile. Although Mansfield only lost two of their nonconference games by a combined total of five points, the team still saw their hopes of being better in 2024 slipping away. Knowing that the Tigers would start 3A-1 conference play against three programs that made the State Playoffs in 2023, there was even more concern. Instead of wallowing in self-pity though, the Tigers pulled up their big boy pants and went to work. A 36-6 blowout win over Sebastian County rival Hackett was nice, but more was needed. Mansfield then went to Charleston and beat the five-time State Champion Tigers on their home turf for only the fourth time in 20 years. The two big-time victories set up a critical game against the Lavaca Golden Arrows on Friday, October 11th where both the Tigers and Golden Arrows looked to remain undefeated in conference play.
The Tigers started the game by kicking the ball off to Lavaca and shipped out their defense to get a jump start on the Golden Arrows’ potent offense. Lavaca averaged 22.8 points per game against some stiff competition leading up to the matchup so the question was, could Mansfield keep the Golden Arrows air raid offense grounded? It didn’t look very promising at first as the Tigers allowed a four-yard run on the opening play then followed that up with a defensive offsides penalty to give Lavaca a third and short opportunity. The Golden Arrows then zipped a pass downfield for a 25-yard completion, but Andrew Burton and Samuel Burton laid down the boom on the Lavaca receiver forcing a fumble that was quickly recovered by Zander Walters. With the Tigers now in possession of the football, Mansfield was ready to roll with their ground-and-pound offense to wear down Lavaca. The Tigers started with a four-yard run up the gut by Andrew Burton, but on the next play from scrimmage, Trey Powell traded in the ground and pound tactic for a need, a need for speed that is. Powell took the pitch from quarterback Jeremey Strozier and screamed downfield for a 63-yard Tiger touchdown. Samuel Burton tacked on the two-point conversion giving Mansfield a fast 8-0 over Lavaca. Lavaca was able to put together an eight-play 46-yard drive on their next possession but stalled out turning the ball over on downs. The Tigers offense didn’t slow down any on the ensuing drive as Jeremy Strozier read the defense perfectly and kept the ball for a 40-yard run which helped set up a pass from Strozier to Samuel Burton for a 12-yard Tiger touchdown. Andrew Burton powered into the endzone for the two-point conversion to push the score up to a 16-0 Mansfield lead.
Lavaca was undefeated going into this game though and would not go down easily. The Golden Arrows took over the ball and quickly proved that they could change a game in just one play. The Golden Arrows quarterback heaved a pass downfield and landed a 54-yard touchdown after a wobble and bobble of the ball by the Lavaca receiver in tight coverage. The Golden Arrows went for a two-point conversion, but the pass was incomplete setting the score at 16-6 in the first quarter. Lavaca opted for the onside kick to try and gain more momentum, but Dalton Knowles scooped up the grounder and made his way downfield to set the Tigers’ offense up at the 35-yard line. The Tigers put the ball in the hands of their entire backfield as Andrew Burton, Trey Powell, Samuel Burton, and Jeremy Strozier took turns to drive the ball down to the one-yard line before Strozier pushed his way into the endzone for a Tiger touchdown. Andrew Burton tacked on the two-point conversion to boost the Tigers lead up to 24-6. That score wasn’t good enough for the Tigers though as Andrew Burton smoked the Lavaca returner on the ensuing kickoff creating a fumble that was recovered by Trey Powell. Mansfield’s Samuel Burton would get the final carry of the first quarter where he gained seven yards which set up the Tigers at the 23-yard line to start the second quarter.
With a commanding 24-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and in prime position for another score, Mansfield was looking to put the game away before halftime. It took the Tigers just three plays to get into the endzone again as Andrew Burton pushed a four-yard carry and was followed up by Samuel Burton darting 15 yards to set the ball at the one-yard line. With just a yard to go, the Tigers put their trust in the hands of a defensive lineman, yes defensive lineman. Senior Dakota Deer lined up in the offensive backfield for the first time ever and didn’t disappoint as Deer plowed in for a Tiger touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, but Mansfield still was running away with the scoreboard with a 30-6 lead. Dominance can only be defined in a football game if both the offense and defense can put points up. Mansfield’s Matthew Burton accepted that challenge. On the second play of Lavaca’s next drive, Burton bulldogged the ball out of the hands of a Golden Arrow running back and steamrolled downfield for a 46-yard Tiger strip and score. Samuel Burton added the two-point conversion to the scoreboard pushing the Tigers into mercy rule territory with a 38-6 lead. The game went into a short streak of poor plays for both teams as Lavaca punted on a three and out and Mansfield coughed up a fumble, but that was short-lived as Mansfield corrected their course on a twelve-play drive that was capped off by a Jeremy Strozier to Andrew Burton pass for a 14-yard Tiger touchdown. The Tigers couldn’t get the extra point attempt, but the route was still on as both teams went into halftime with Mansfield leading the Golden Arrows 44-6.
With a massive lead and a running clock in effect, the Tigers looked to close the game out with some new faces on the field. With a small roster that was already hit heavily by the injury bug, the Tigers subbed in to gain some more experience for the team as a whole. Mansfield started the second half with the ball and ate up almost the entire third quarter on offense by running the ball for short chunks of yards. Trey Powell lit up the final light bulb on the scoreboard with an untouched 14-yard scamper into the endzone for a Tiger touchdown. Samuel Burton added on the two-point conversion to set the score at 52-6 in Mansfield’s favor. The Tigers subs on defense looked just as good as the starters as they forced a punt on Lavaca’s ensuing drive. On offense, Cooper Edwards stepped in at quarterback and ran the Tigers offense like a five-star general. Sophomore linebacker, Dalton Knowles, was converted into a running back at halftime and made the best of his opportunity busting loose a couple of solid runs on the Golden Arrows. Another sophomore to touch the ball for the first time and was successful at doing so was Chandler Whisman. When the clock struck 0:00, it was the Mansfield Tigers who stood tall in every aspect of the game with a 52-6 homecoming victory over Lavaca.
The Tigers victory sets their overall record at 4-2 and keeps them with an undefeated 3-0 record in conference play. Mansfield has outscored their opponents by half going 214-107 on the scoreboard. With their two losses against Bismarck and Lamar coming by a combined five points and outscoring their conference opponents by a total of 130-51, it’s hard to see how the two nonconference losses negatively affected the Tigers. It may prove that it made them even better. The Mansfield Tigers now sit at the top of the conference with the Booneville Bearcats as the only two undefeated teams in 3A-1 play. Even though many fans are looking forward to the clash of two 3A-1 titans on October 25th, the Tigers are merely looking at who’s next on the schedule. Mansfield will travel north into Pirate Country to take on Cedarville this upcoming Friday in what has historically been a hostile territory for Mansfield. Cedarville may be having a rough go at things in the first half of their 2024 season, but the Tigers aren’t going to look past a possible Pirate trap.
