MADISON TOWNSHIP — Angelo Grose turned the tide in the crosstown showdown.
Mansfield Senior’s junior jack-of-all-trades scored three second-quarter touchdowns as the Tygers cruised to a 42-3 win over Madison on a cold and rainy Friday at STARTEK Stadium.
Senior High (5-5, 3-3 Ohio Cardinal Conference) won its fourth straight against the Rams (1-9, 0-6) and owns a 28-22-3 advantage in the long-running series.
Mansfield Senior led 7-0 after the first quarter before Grose took matters into his own hands. The speedy Division I prospect scored on a 9 yard run with midway through the second quarter and broke free for a 20 yard run with 1:23 remaining in the first half.
Senior High’s defense then forced a quick three-and-out and the Rams were forced to punt from deep in their own end. Lance Heinberger’s boot drove Grose back to his own 33 yard line, where he scooped the ball off the turf and weaved his way 67 yards for a touchdown and a 28-0 lead.
“We were concerned coming into the game with regard to if they got the ball in space they are very very talented,” Madison coach Dave Stupka said. “That was a situation where they did and we weren’t able to make the play on it.”
Mansfield Senior took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards on five plays. TaVion Harris capped the drive with a 1 yard plunge and the first of Aiden Crider’s six PATs made it 7-0.
The Rams took the ensuing kickoff and marched into Senior High territory but a holding penalty on fourth down wiped out a first down run by Miles Bond and Madison was forced to punt.
“Without question we were able to (move the ball). Our offensive line did a nice job and Miles Bond and Luke Hess and Jamaal Coleman ran the ball very well in the first half,” Stupka said. “We kind of stalled inside the red zone but we took a lot of time off the clock and we were right where we needed to be.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to sustain the drive and put points on the board.”
The Rams received the second-half kickoff and put together their most impressive drive of the night, highlighted by Coleman’s 43 yard run. Quarterback Kaden Mullins completed a 23 yard pass to Hess on fourth and 13 — the only completion for either team all evening — before Madison settled for a 29 yard James Wagner field goal.
Mansfield Senior had 424 yards of total offense and it all came on the ground. Quarterback Cam Todd attempted only one pass and it fell incomplete.
Grose and Arrington each rushed for 124 yards. Harris added 115 yards, giving the Tygers three 100-yard ground gainers.
“We wanted to impose our will up front with our line. We thought we could do that from watching film and we were able to come out here and do that tonight,” Senior High coach Chioke Bradley said. “That says a whole lot about our O-line pride.”
Bond rushed for 85 yards on 25 carries for the Rams. Coleman added 43 yards on eight carries.
“We’ve come a long way since the season began,” Stupka said. “We’re extremely proud of our young men but we’re not satisfied at all with the result. We have a lot of work to do and we’re excited for the future here at Madison.”
