Greedy and stingy. Those are two qualities that do not look good on a resume. But when it comes to the world of sports, being greedy and stingy is a good thing. The Mansfield Tigers had almost completed a sweep of the 3A-1, but there was one game left to complete. A win over West Fork would crown the Tigers as the 3A-1 Conference Champions. A loss to West Fork would leave Mansfield sharing the conference title with Booneville. Sharing isn’t caring when it comes to being a champion-caliber team so, the mindset of the Tigers was simple…be greedy. Be very very greedy.
With heavy rain coming down, the Tigers kicked the ball off and sent their defense out to start the game. With the conditions favoring the run game, the Mansfield defense pinned their ears back and made short work of West Forks first possession forcing the black and gold Tigers to punt the ball away. As a ground-and-pound team themselves, the Tigers offense took over and quickly showed West Fork how it’s done. On just their third play of the game, senior running back Daniel Burton found some traction in the mud and rolled 56 yards for a Tiger touchdown. The two-point attempt was no good, but the score put Mansfield up 6-0. West Fork was able to get a few yards and a first down on their second offensive drive, but again Mansfield’s defense broke through to force a three-and-out. This time the Tigers offense started at the 12-yard line, but Daniel Burton flipped the field on the first play with an 82-yard run to set Mansfield up in scoring position again. Two plays later, Samuel Burton punched the ball into the endzone for another Tiger touchdown. Mansfield again missed their two-point chance leaving the score at 12-0 in the Tiger’s favor. The wet and wild conditions made its presence known as West Fork coughed up the ball on their next series and Zander Walters was right there for the recovery. With the ball in their hands again, Mansfield’s offense jumped right back into the game with a 19-yard run by senior Samuel Burton who was followed up by freshman Jeremiah Burton for a 12-yard touchdown. The first quarter came to an end with Mansfield being extremely stingy on the scoreboard leading West Fork 18-0.
West Fork continued with their offense on the field to start the second quarter, but the Tiger’s defense ended their tour on the field just as quickly as it began. Big tackles by linebackers Zander Walters and Jeremy Strozier rocked West Forks world and forced yet another punt. The soggy conditions made it to where the Tigers declined to return the ball on the punt which pinned them deep in West Fork territory. But with an explosive offense, no amount of yardage was too much to make up for. Senior Trey Powell started off the drive with a short run then to absolutely nobody’s surprise, Daniel Burton took the next handoff and went mudding for an 86-yard Tiger touchdown. This time the Tigers were able to tack on a two-point conversion with a run up the gut by Jeremy Strozier setting the score at 26-0. West Forks’ offense was finally able to get some movement with some powerful runs pushing their way down into scoring position. Unfortunately for West Fork, the rain began to fall faster and the Tiger’s defense dug deeper which bogged down their attempt to score. Mansfield would get the ball again before the half but couldn’t muster another score as both teams went into the half with a 26-0 Mansfield Tiger lead.
Although the game was pretty much in hand coming out of the half, Mansfield wasn’t going to take a chance at letting West Fork rain on their Conference Championship opportunity. A 26-0 score wouldn’t cut it though, so the Tiger’s offense went back to work. But a Mansfield fumble created a turnover and short field for West Fork. Fortunately, West Fork fumbled the ball into the endzone where Jeremy Strozier scooped up the recovery for a touchback. Mansfield’s defense made up for their offense’s mistake, but could the Tigers capitalize on their new possession? The answer was a resounding yes as Jeremy Strozier called his own number and rumbled 48 yards downfield to set the Tigers up in the red zone. Strozier then pitched the ball to Daniel Burton who scampered 20 yards untouched for another Tiger touchdown. Jeremy Strozier powered across the goal line for the two-point conversion giving Mansfield a 34-0 lead over West Fork. The Tigers kicked off to West Fork, but the ball slipped out of the receiver’s hands and Matthew “Bear” Burton dove into the mud to retrieve the recovery. Now the Tigers were one point away from the mercy rule and had a short field in front of them. On the first snap of the new drive, quarterback Jeremy Strozier again called his own number and trucked a couple of West Fork defenders for a 33-yard Tiger touchdown. The two-point conversion was good, and the clock began to run with a 42-0 Tiger lead over West Fork. With this being the last game of the regular season, Mansfield was able to move their freshmen up to join the senior high and the mercy rule allowed them to get their shot at the big leagues. While still having a small roster even with the freshmen, Mansfield sent out their second-string defense and sprinkled in some freshmen to boot. Every player on the team stepped foot on the field and got playing time for this momentous event as the Tigers defeated West Fork 42-8.
The victory earned the Mansfield Tigers football program their first 3A-1 Conference Championship since 2010 and only their second-ever championship in school history. The 2024 Tigers will enter the 2024 3A State Playoffs as a 1Seed. Mansfield will face off against a very familiar foe in round one of the Playoffs as they welcome the Paris Eagles to The Jungle on Friday, November 15th.
