CANTON — Mansfield Senior fell just short of glory on Friday afternoon in Canton.
The Tygers pushed Trotwood-Madison to the brink before falling 14-7 in overtime in the Division III state title game in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
The loss ends Mansfield Senior’s season with a 13-2 record, after having earned the first state title berth in Richland County history. The Tygers finished with three consecutive overtime playoff games, winning the first two.
Trotwood-Madison claimed its third state championship in the last eight years, finishing the year at 12-3 in front of 5,700 chilled fans.
After a scoreless first half, Mansfield Senior took a 7-0 lead with 10:29 left in the third quarter when senior Terrance Flickinger took a handoff, slammed over right tackle and raced 94 yards down the sideline for a TD. Aiden Crider added the PAT.
The 5-8, 170-pound Flickinger finished with 130 yards on 11 carries.
After the score, the Rams slowly gained control, though the Mansfield Senior defense gave ground grudgingly.
The Rams ultimately tied the game 7-7 on a 13-yard run by senior Ke’Shawn Huguely with 8:11 left in the fourth quarter, capping a 69-yard drive.
It looked like Trotwood-Madison was about to win in regulation, driving inside the Mansfield Senior 5-yard late in the game. But the Tygers’ defense rose up again, blocking a 19-yard field goal attempt as time expired, sending the game into overtime.
In the overtime, the Mansfield Senior defense again stood up, forcing the Rams into a 4th-and-8 from the 18-yard line. But senior quarterback Keon’Tae Huguely lofted a perfect pass to Sammy Anderson in the right corner of the end zone for a TD, putting the Rams up 14-7.
When the Tygers got the ball in OT, two missed snaps put Mansfield Senior back near midfield. After a third-down incompletion, senior quarterback Cameron Todd tossed a deep ball into the end zone.
Players for both teams went up for it, but the Rams came down with it to seal the state title.
Stattstically speaking, Mansfield Senior had 10 first downs, rushing for 178 yards on 36 carries. The Tygers completed three of eight passes for 12 yards and the one interception.
Trotwood-Madison had 14 first downs, rushing for 163 yards on 44 tries. The Rams completed seven of 15 passes for 105 yards.
Clay Caudill led Mansfield Senior with six tackles. Donovan Haney had five.
The ninth-ranked Tygers and seventh-ranked Rams played a scoreless duel in the first half, dominated by punting and field position in Canton at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Coach Chioke Bradley’s Mansfield Senior squad was trying to become the first state football champion from Richland County since the state playoffs began in 1972. Senior High did claim the 1949 International News Service state championship.
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