There’s nothing better in any sport than a champion-versus-champion match. It’s even better when the matchup is between two champions from different levels. The Mansfield Tigers and the Elkins Elks both won their programs’ first-ever state championships in football last season so of course, both are looking to repeat this year. Mansfield has started against bigger teams with small results going 1-2 so far while the Elks have done the same, but won both of their games. The Tigers’ sole victory in 2026 though was against a 4A team like Elkins at home. With the Elks coming into The Jungle, Mansfield was ready to earn the Champion of Champions Title on their home field.
Elkins started the game by kicking off to the Tigers and the Champs were ready to clash. The kick was called back due to an offside on Elkins’ kickoff team which helped the Tigers’ start up at the 41-yard line as Mansfield sent out their ground and pound offense too. Silas Burton took the first play for a 21-yard gain to get Mansfield past midfield. Colton Moore and Jubal Parks pushed down to the 13-yard line to get the Tigers into the red zone in just five plays. Mansfield gave the ball to the man who started the drive and Silas Burton didn’t disappoint as he sprinted into the end zone for a Tiger touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good setting the score at 6-0 with 9:26 left in the first quarter.
These are two Championship teams though and Elkins wasn’t going to just up and quit. It only took five plays for Elkins to score. The extra point kick was good giving Mansfield a 7-6 lead. Speaking of not giving up, Silas Burton turned on the afterburners on the second play of the ensuing drive for a 73-yard Tiger touchdown. Colton Moore tacked on a two-point conversion to give Mansfield the lead back with a 14-7 score. Mansfield’s onside kick was recovered by Elkins, which gave the high scoring Elks great field position at the 48-yard line. Mansfield’s defense forced Elkins into a fourth down, but the Elks covered the attempt and kept driving for the end zone. Elkins then completed a pass to the one-yard line and went in on the next play for a score. The extra point kick made the score 14-14 with 2:58 in the first quarter.
Go ahead and sing it, “anything you can do I can do better” as Jeramiah Burton gained 49-yards on the second snap of Mansfield’s next possession. Jubal Parks punched the ball into the end zone for a Tiger touchdown from there and Colton Moore added on the extra two points to give Mansfield the lead again with 1:29 left in the first quarter. Mansfield onside kicked again but this time, Jeramiah Burton recovered the ball giving Mansfield the ball right back. Colton Moore shot through the Elks for an 8-yard gain and was followed up by a Silas Burton 11-yard run before the clock ran out on the first quarter with a 22-14 Mansfield lead.
Jeramiah Burton started the second quarter with a 17-yard run. Burton and Moore had the Tigers down to the ten-yard line two plays later and then Jubal Parks juked and jived his way into the end zone for a Tiger touchdown. The two-point try was no good, but Mansfield’s 28-14 lead was awesome. Elkins isn’t used to being down, so the Elks went to the air on their ensuing possession. The air was the special weapon for the Elks too as Elkins soon scored on a 19-yard pass. The Elks defense decided to show up to the game with 8:13 remaining the second quarter and with the assistance of a penalty, forced Mansfield into a third and long position. Cue Layton Pyles. Pyles gained ten yards to set up fourth and one then Colton Moore gained that yard then 23 yards “Moore” to get the Tigers first down.
The Tigers weren’t going to be in a rush to score though. Mansfield nickel and dimed yards with Colton Moore, Jubal Parks, Silas Burton, and Jeramiah Burton running play after play to take time off the clock and get down to the one-yard line. One yard for Colton Moore is chump change though as Moore busted in for a Tiger touchdown. The two-point conversion was good giving Mansfield a 36-21 lead to send both teams into halftime.
With neither defense showing up in the first half, it looked like the first team to a million points would win this contest. Mansfield’s defense had the first shot to make a stop as Elkins offense hit the field to start the second half. The Tigers put Elkins into third down situation twice and then had Elkins pinned back on fourth down. But Elkins zipped a miracle pass on fourth down for a touchdown. The extra point kick was no good cutting Mansfield’s lead to 36-27 with 8:31 left in the quarter. Chandler Whisman blasted through the Elks return team on the ensuing kickoff to set Mansfield up past the 50-yard line. Jubal Parks and Silas Burton made big gains on the Tigers first two plays, but penalties on both runs set back Manfield back 18-yards away from a first down.
While the negative yards weren’t good, Jubal Parks rolled out and passed the ball to Isaac Carson for a 45-yard gain and a fresh set of downs. Another penalty pushed Mansfield back, but Colton Moore chewed that yardage back up. Three plays later, Jubal Parks hit the edge and breezed into the end zone for a Tiger touchdown. Colton Moore put up the bonus two points and with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter, the Tigers lead was set at 44-27. With the score being as it was, Elkins had to quickly score but Mansfield’s defense was stepping up at the right time. The Tigers defense was covering passes better and getting more pressure on the quarterback, which slowed down Elkins need for speed. That led to frustration in Elkins ranks, which was just what Mansfield needed to force a turnover on downs against the Elks. Mansfield’s offense ate up the remainder of the quarter’s clock to go into the fourth quarter with a 44-27 lead.
With a 27-point lead to start the fourth quarter, the Tigers locked their offense into four-wheel drive and slowly crawled downfield to run the clock down. After each run, Mansfield wisely ran the play clock down to ten seconds to bleed out seconds and wear out Elkins. Layton Pyles wanted more yards than seconds though and cut through Elkins defense to get Mansfield down to the 12-yard line. Jubal Parks scored a Tiger touchdown from there and Silas Burton tacked on the two-points to give Mansfield a commanding 52-27 lead with 4:31 left in the final quarter. With the game being a non-conference game, both teams sent out their second string to finish up the game as the 3A defending Champion Mansfield Tigers defeated the 4A defending Champion Elkins Elks with a 52-27 victory.
Mansfield had three teams that played in State Championships last year on their 2026 non-conference schedule. The Tigers went 1-2 against those larger teams but hung with all of them by averaging a 42-47 score in those games. But the win over Elkins was just what Mansfield needed. “The guys played Mansfield Tiger football tonight”, said head coach Whit Overton. “We’re about hitting people in the mouth and running the football. I asked them to fix the mistakes and these guys did a great job of it. This is the result you get when you play tough hardnosed football”. Mansfield will enter conference play next week with a 2-2 overall record, but all of the 3A-1 start with a 0-0 conference record. The Tigers will host the Lavaca Golden Arrows for Homecoming on Friday, September 25th. Lavaca has gone 3-1 in their non-conference play with wins over Hackett, Subiaco, and their last win being a 27-26 win over Hector.
