Friday night lights are soon to be lit up for the 2013 season, and like a fly attracted to a light source, many Mansfielders will flock to the stadium lights at Arlin Field this Friday evening to watch as the Tygers face off with the Golden Eagles.
The Mansfield Senior football team already picked up two wins and a tie during the preseason scrimmages against Mount Vernon, Benjamin Logan, and Fremont Ross, respectively, and they’re hungry for more success.
Especially after coming back from an 8-3 season and a quick glimpse into the playoffs last year—the Tygers losing in the first round to Tiffin Columbian.
“Right now we’re playing for champions. We look good on paper, but we still have to go out and play football games,” stated head coach Chioke Bradley.
“They show a lot of toughness and a lot of grit and leadership out of our seniors. I think our defense is a little ahead of our offense, but on offense the wheels are turning and they’re putting it together. I like our progression right now, but we’re still a long ways away from where we’re trying to be,” he said.
Leading the team of 75 players to a hopeful season of success are senior captains Jalen Reese, Tarrence Brooks, Malon Samuel, and junior Asante Wilder.
Reese served as a valuable asset to the team the previous season as quarterback, earning 1850 passing yards, 250 rushing yards, and 25 touchdowns.
The senior captain stated, “We definitely want to win the OCC again and make a deep playoff run and not get bounced in the first round.”
In regard to the game against Big Walnut, he mentioned that’s one of the games he’s been looking forward to. “It’s a good chance to start the season off on a high note and to see where we measure up in the region and in the state.”
Coach Bradley further commented about match-up with Big Walnut and stated, “[Big Walnut] is very disciplined, so they’re not going to make any mistakes and they’re going to feed off our mistakes, so we can’t make any. We have to be just as disciplined. They’re the type of team that as soon as you make a mistake they capitalize on it.”
“Some of our strengths are our experience on the defensive side of the ball and our playmaking ability on the offensive side of the ball. I was able to go out and do some pretty good recruiting in the off-season. I got a few basketball players out, so you add those guys to the mix, I think we got a pretty good football team,” he said.
Last season, Bradley helped coach the athletes toward success in the Ohio Cardinal Conference (OCC), in which the Tygers shared the championship title with Madison and West Holmes.
The coach stated, “I want to go out and win, but most importantly I want to go out and compete at a high level and have fun doing it. Just being able to come back from a pretty successful season, I think they liked it that way, and just with them knowing that if they work a little harder, they can feel that way again.”
“Right now we’re playing for champions. We look good on paper, but we still have to go out and play football games,” stated head coach Chioke Bradley.
