LaLa Land: Sophomore Owens leads Mansfield Senior rally against Ashland

MANSFIELD — LaLa Owens doesn’t look like a typical high school sophomore and he certainly didn’t play like one on Homecoming night Friday at Arlin Field.

A 6-foot-5, 220-pound receiver and defensive end, Owens caught a 48-yard touchdown pass with 1:09 remaining in the fourth quarter and intercepted a pass moments later as Mansfield Senior rallied for a 28-24 win over Ohio Cardinal Conference rival Ashland.

The younger brother of former Senior High standout Marvin Parker, Owens more than atoned for an earlier miscue with his late-game heroics. He intercepted a pass earlier in the fourth quarter and appeared to score the go-ahead touchdown, but the officials ruled he fumbled the ball into the end zone before crossing the goal line for a touchback, giving the ball back to the Arrows.

“I fumbled in the end zone, but I kept my head up,” Owens said. “I told myself I had to come back and make a play.”

Trailing 24-21, Senior High (5-2, 2-1) forced a turnover on downs at its own 33-yard line with 4:52 remaining in the game. On the third play of the ensuing drive, quarterback Brock Hill hooked up with Aveon Grose for a 65-yard touchdown, but the play was nullified by a holding penalty.

On third-and-24, Hill completed a pass to Myles Bradley for 22 yards. He found Bradley again for 10 yards on fourth-and-two to keep the drive alive. A 2-yard run by Jamir Petty and an incomplete pass left the Tygers looking at a third-and-eight from the Ashland 48-yard line. Hill took the snap and, as he did all night, extended the play with his legs before finding Owens all alone along the Ashland sideline.

“I told Brock I was going to get open and he was like, ‘I got you,’ ” Owens said. “He scrambled out of trouble and got the ball to me and I was able to score.”

Hill tormented the Arrows (2-5, 2-1) all evening. He rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries while completing 20-of-28 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns.

“I had been having success all night scrambling and making plays,” Hill said. “Then I saw LaLa downfield and I was like, ‘This is when I’ve got to make a play.’ He went and scored and then got a pick to seal the deal. It just felt good.”

Ashland jumped to an early 6-0 lead when quarterback Landon McFrederick hooked up with Grayson Steury on a 37-yard touchdown pass with 5:49 remaining in the first quarter.

On Mansfield Senior’s ensuring drive, Ashland’s Braylen Hider stepped in front of a Hill pass near midfield and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown as the Arrows pushed their advantage to 12-0.

“We were down 12-0 and some of it was on me,” Hill said. “But it was only the first quarter. We still have three more quarters to play and we fought back. At the end of the day, we’re on top.”

Hill sparked Senior High’s comeback with a 33-yard scoring run late in the first quarter to make it 12-7. The Tygers then took a 14-12 lead when Ricky Mills scored on a 2-yard run with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter.

Ashland struck back immediately as McFrederick hooked up with Colton Johnson on a 78-yard touchdown pass to make it 18-14 with 8:47 to play in the first half. McFrederick got loose on a 52-yard touchdown run to make it 24-14 with 2:54 remaining in the half.

Mansfield Senior appeared to cut into the deficit just before halftime when Bradley hauled in a pass from Hill near the Ashland goal line. But the officials ruled Bradley fumbled before crossing the goal line for a touchback.

“We fought through a ton of adversity and found a way to win tonight,” Senior High coach Chioke Bradley said. “We were resilient in our efforts. We had three touchdowns taken off the board and that’s on us.

“But our guys never gave up. They banded together and believed in each other and they never quit.”

The loss was a gut-punch for the Arrows, who led most of the evening. Ashland turned the ball over on downs twice in the second half and was outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter.

“That’s a heartbreaker. We told the kids, ‘That’s going to hurt,’ ” Ashland coach Sean Seder said. “They played their butts off tonight.

“I can’t fault the kids’ effort tonight. (Mansfield Senior) just made one more play than us tonight.”

McFrederick completed 10-of-23 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 79 yards and a score on five carries. Cayden Spotts ran for 42 yards.

For the Tygers, Mills back Hill with 28 yards rushing on 10 carries. Grose caught six passes for 74 yards, while Amarr Davis had six grabs for 71 yards and Bradley had five catches for 72 yards. Mekhi Bradley caught a 5-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Owens’ only reception of the night proved to be the game-winner.

“What about LaLa? He played light’s out tonight,” Chioke Bradley said. “He was not going to be denied. The kid was resilient in his effort. He willed us to a victory.”