Tygers rough up Holy Name, advance to regional final

WOOSTER — Mansfield Senior made Holy Name pay for every misstep Friday at chilly Follis Field.

The second-seeded Tygers parlayed a pair of first-quarter turnovers into touchdowns and rolled to a 45-30 win over the sixth-seeded Green Wave in the Division III, Region 10 semifinals.

Senior High (11-1) advanced to the regional championship game for the first time in program history and will play Sandusky for the Region 10 crown next Friday at a site to be determined. The Blue Streaks upset top-seeded Norwalk 31-15 at Bellevue on Friday.

“You can force as many turnovers as you want, but if you don’t capitalize it’s not going to matter,” said Senior High’s Clay Caudill, who recovered a Green Wave fumble on the second play of the game. “When you look back at the game we lost to Wooster, we forced turnovers but we didn’t take advantage of them.”

The University of Toledo-bound Caudill pounced on a loose ball at the Green Wave 27. Three plays later, Terrance Flickinger scored on a 7 yard run and the Tygers led 7-0 with 9:56 remaining in the first quarter.

The Tygers forced a quick three-and-out and regained possession at their own 38 yard line after a Holy Name punt. On the first play of the drive, quarterback Cam Todd threw a screen pass to Cyrus Ellerbe along the far sideline and the speedy senior raced 62 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

The Green Wave took the ensuing kickoff and marched deep into Senior High territory, but Flickinger picked off a pass near his own goal line and returned it 40 yards to the Mansfield Senior 41 yard line. Eight plays later, Flickinger capped the drive with a 4 yard run and the Tygers led 21-0 with 3:47 left in the first quarter.

“Honestly I didn’t think I was going to catch it. I really had to stretch for it,” Flickinger said of the interception. “Then we turned (the interception) into points. That just kills a team’s spirit.”

Holy Name finally got on the board with 4:31 remaining in the second quarter on a Garret Sparks 1 yard run and cut Senior High’s lead to 21-14 when quarterback Nick Mercuri hooked up with Armani Burton on a 23 yard scoring strike with 1:14 remaining in the first half.

The Tygers regained the momentum just 18 seconds before the half when Todd found Michigan State recruit Angelo Grose alone behind the Holy Name secondary for a 45 yard touchdown. Senior High took a 28-14 lead to the half.

“The score right before the half was big,” Grose said. “They got back into the game, but that slowed them down a little bit.”

The Tygers extended their lead to 31-14 on Aiden Crider’s 33 yard field goal with 2:23 remaining in the third quarter, the only score of the period.

Holy Name cut Senior High’s lead to 31-22 early in the fourth after Todd lost a fumble at his own 14 yard line. Three plays later, Mercuri found Chris Boden for a 15 yard touchdown.

“When I fumbled my team was there to pick me up,” Todd said. “We pulled together like we should after that.”

The Tygers put it away with a pair of fourth-quarter scores. Grose scored on a 43 yards run through the heart of the Green Wave defense to make it 38-22 with 7:01 remaining and Todd iced it with a 15 yard run with 2:54 left.

“It’s a beautiful feeling. I’m so overjoyed right now that I can’t hold myself together,” Senior High coach Chioke Bradley said. “We’ve got some unbelievable football players on this team and they keep showing up week-in and week-out. They play hard for each other.

“It’s great to see our team bind together.”

The Tygers piled up 497 yards of total offense, including 356 on the ground. Flickinger rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, while Todd rushed for 101 yards and a score on 12 carries. Todd completed 8 of 12 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Grose caught five passes for 66 yards and a touchdown, while Ellerbe had three receptions for 75 yards and a TD.