Mansfield Sr. erupts for 34 points in 2nd quarter to dismiss Marion Harding

MANSFIELD — John Davis has been working the statistics for Mansfield Senior football over the past 15 or so years. In all that time, he’s never seen a second quarter like the Tygers put together on Friday night.

Senior High erupted for 34 points in the second period to trigger a running clock in the second half and roll away from Marion Harding 37-6 in a non-conference clash at Arlin Field.

“I feel good about being a Tyger, baby!” coach Chioke Bradley told his team after the game.

Why not?

Senior High improved to 2-0 and improved on both sides of the ball in the process after taking down Norwalk 18-12 in last week’s season opener.

“I don’t understand how we could get that much better defensively,” Bradley said. “That was pretty damn impressive.”

Marion Harding’s only points of the night came on a 94-yard kickoff return by senior Kaeden Faggs.

“When you’re playing behind the sticks, that just allowed them to tee off on us,” Presidents’ coach Demetrius Ross said. “They’re a very good football team.

“They came to play and they got after us.”

Senior High’s defense earned a pair of short-yardage stops to turn the ball over on downs twice, and also forced two first-half turnovers — including an interception on Harding’s opening drive. That set up Sean Putt’s 35-yard field goal, giving the Tygers a 3-0 lead after the first quarter.

Junior Ricky Mills capped the next possession with an 11-yard TD bolt, and Faggs’ return sliced the margin to 10-6.

But Mansfield Senior scored on every possession in the first half in a dizzying display of offensive firepower.

Senior quarterback Brock Hill fired a 44-yard TD pass to Amarr Davis, and followed that with a 29-yard touchdown strike to Myles Bradley. Hill rolled in on a 12-yard scoring dash and Mills plunged in from the 2 with just 38 seconds showing in the half.

“Brock did a good job with his legs and our passing attack is lethal,” Coach Bradley said. “I really feel like our skill is comparable to the 2019 team.”

That storied group lost in overtime in the Division III state finals.

“We’ve got some phenomenal football players and they just want to win,” Bradley said.

Neither team scored in the second half as a running clock ticked off the final two quarters.

Hill ran for 49 yards and a score, and hit 14 of 17 passes for 234 yards and a pair of TDs. Six different receivers caught passes, led by Myles Bradley’s 3 catches for 80 yards.

 The Tygers outgained Marion Harding 349-105 in total yards, and had 19 first downs to 7 for the visitors. The Presidents dropped to 1-1 on the season after nipping Mount Vernon in their opener.

“They were very aggressive,” Ross said of Mansfield Senior. “This is a tough loss, especially when you know your team is capable of so much more.”

Senior High will not play Lima Senior next week at home as scheduled. The Tygers are trying to schedule an opponent and hope to have an announcement early next week.

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