MANSFIELD — Angelo Grose did Angelo Grose things Friday night at Arlin Field.
The Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, Grose caught 10 passes for a 177 yards and two touchdowns and recorded 13 tackles — including seven solo stops, four tackles for loss and two sacks — in Mansfield Senior’s 21-14 win over Sandusky.
That the Michigan State-bound Grose established new career highs in receptions and receiving yards against the state’s eighth-ranked Division III team was nothing short of remarkable. What left the Mansfield Senior faithful buzzing, however, was the degree of difficulty of a handful of his receptions.
It all started with Grose’s first touchdown grab of the night, a 31-yarder on a slant that pulled the Tygers even at 7-7 with 2:10 remaining in the second quarter. Grose caught the Cam Todd pass near the 10 yard line inside Sandusky cornerback Noah Caston, who clipped Grose’s heal as he dove in an attempt to break up the pass. Grose stumbled and left his feet at the Sandusky 2 yard line before somersaulting across the goal line for the score.
Less than two minutes later, on third and 11 from midfield, Todd lofted a pass down the far sideline that Grose miraculously hauled in over a pair of Sandusky defenders at the Blue Streaks 3 yard line. Two plays later, Todd found Grose in the front corner of the end zone for a 3 yard touchdown and a 14-7 Senior High lead.
“He does a lot for us. He’s kind of like our Superman,” teammate Anthony Hawkins said. “He’s just a great player and an even better person. I’m glad to have him on our team.”
Grose returned the second half kickoff 50 yards to the Sandusky 42, twisting out of several tackles and nearly breaking free before finally being dragged to the turf. While the return didn’t result in any points, it set the tone for the second half.
“There’s a reason why he had offers from a lot of Big Ten schools,” Mansfield Senior coach Chioke Bradley said. “There’s a reason why he’s going to Michigan State.
“He has been doing phenomenal things since he was a seventh grader. What he did out here tonight, he’s been doing that for a long time.”
The Tyers took a 21-7 lead on Amajeon Robertson’s 2 yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. The score was set up by another jaw-dropping Grose reception, a 42-yarder on third and 11 from the Senior High 30 yard line. Again, Grose went up between a pair of Sandusky defenders and out-muscled them for the ball.
“I just tried to make every play I could and those just happened to be the plays I made,” Grose said. “I always feel confident going up in traffic like that.”
In addition to his work on the offensive side of the ball, Grose had another outstanding night from his safety spot on defense.
Sandusky running back Terion Stewart, a Bowling Green recruit, broke free for a 68 yard touchdown run on the third play of the game to give the Streaks a quick 7-0 lead. Grose had a shot at Stewart in the backfield on the play but couldn’t get the 5-foot-8, 205-pound Stewart to the turf.
Stewart managed just 56 yards on 14 carries the rest of the night.
“Once we get scored on once it’s like, ‘Let’s go,’ ” Grose said. “From there, we were on the go.”
For the season, Grose leads the Tygers with 29 catches for 419 yards and five touchdowns. He also has a team-high 45 tackles and 10 tackles for loss.
“We’ve been seeing it (in practice). It was just good for him to come out here tonight and show everybody else what type of player he is,” Bradley said. “The kid is half man and half amazing and he showed it tonight.”
