LEXINGTON — When opportunity knocked, Marvin Parker kicked down the door.
A 6-foot, 181-pound sophomore, Parker had his coming out party Friday night as Mansfield Senior clinched at least a share of its second straight Ohio Cardinal Conference crown with a 44-7 win over Lexington.
The Tygers (9-0, 6-0) can claim an outright OCC title and secure a home playoff game with a win over crosstown rival Madison next week. The Rams (3-6, 2-4) lost to Ashland 42-0 Friday.
An early-season knee injury to senior defensive tackle Trevante’ Macklin allowed Parker to get on the field this fall. Defensive coordinator Sean Adams has used Parker at linebacker — his natural position — and along the defensive line.
“They work me in all over on defense,” said Parker, who had two sacks from his defensive tackle spot as Senior High’s stingy defense limited Lexington (1-8, 0-6) to 151 total yards. “I was at D-tackle tonight, but I’ll play wherever they need me to help the team.”
Parker was especially disruptive in the second half. In addition to his two sacks, he recovered a pooch kick late in the third quarter that led to a Mansfield Senior touchdown.
“You’ve got to remember, he’s a sophomore. He is just a pup,” Senior High coach Chioke Bradley said. “He’s going to be a good one.”
On a night when the offense sputtered throughout the first half, Parker and the star-studded defense took center stage. The Minutemen managed just nine first downs, averaged less than three yards per carry and turned the ball over twice.
“Those guys are out there making plays,” Adams said. “They were disappointed that they didn’t get the shutout, but they deserve a lot of credit.”
Making matters worse for Lexington, quarterback Trent Richwine and standout two-way lineman Zach Temple were both lost to injury
“Trent has been having ankle problems the last couple of weeks and he got it rolled up on pretty good,” Lex coach Dan Studer said. “We’re not sure what his status is, and the same goes for Zach, too. We really missed those guys in the second half.”
Mansfield Senior took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on quarterback Jalen Reese’s 7-yard run and pushed it to 14-0 in the second on Tyquan Vickers’ 51-yard run. Reese then hooked up with tight end Mitch Nixon on a 58 yard catch and run and the Tygers led 21-0.
Lexington responded when junior running back Ryan Cooper scored on a 3 yard run late in the second quarter to make it 21-7.
“I ripped them to pieces in that locker room at halftime,” Bradley said. “This was a championship game and it looked like we were going through the motions in the first half. It was very disheartening to see our guys come out flat.”
The Tygers put the hammer down in the second half. Malon Samuel scored on a 5 yard run to make it 28-7 and, after Parker recovered the pooch kick, Reese hooked up with Mario Davison on a wide receiver screen for a 31 yard touchdown. Reese scored his second rushing touchdown, a 22-yarder, midway through the fourth quarter. The Tygers added a safety when Lex quarterback Joey Vore was tackled in the end zone late in the fourth.
“Coach lit a fire under us at halftime,” said Reese, who completed 13 of 26 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 27 yards and two scores. “We can’t afford to go into the playoffs playing like this. We’ve got to be better.
“We cannot leave points on the field like we did tonight. That kills an offense and kills the defense because they are always out there.”
Vore performed admirably in Richwine’s absence. He completed 1 of 2 passes and rushed for 17 yards. T.J. Gerhardt led the way with 40 rushing yards, while Cooper added 30.
“Joey is a heck of an athlete,” Studer said. “He’s going to be a great quarterback for us down the road.”
Vickers led the Tygers with 156 rushing yards on 15 carries. Samuel added 63 yards on six carries. Chek Washington had six receptions for 144 yards, while Asante’ Wilder had six catches for 30 yards.
The Tygers will look to avenge last year’s 34-0 loss to Madison.
“This is going to be a serious week,” Bradley said. “There absolutely cannot be a repeat performance of last season.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
