MANSFIELD — Mansfield Senior coach Chioke Bradley turned 47 Friday and the Tygers threw him a party he won’t soon forget.
Fifth-seeded Senior High forced five turnovers and thundered to a 38-0 win over No. 12 Ontario in the opening round of the Division III, Region 10 playoffs at Arlin Field.
The Tygers (9-2) will host Defiance (7-4) in a regional quarterfinal game on Nov. 4. The 13th-seeded Bulldogs upset No. 4 Cloverleaf 63-28 in Lodi on Friday.
“It was a wonderful birthday present for sure.” Bradley said.
Senior High’s celebration started on Ontario’s second play from scrimmage. Safety Keontez Bradley stepped in front of a Bodpegn Miller pass intended for tight end Dylan Floyd and returned the interception 39 yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead.
“I wanted to set the (tone) for my team,” Keontez Bradley said, “I’ve been watching a lot of film so I knew when there was a single receiver to the side with the tight end, he was going to either run a corner or an out.
“Film study (allows) you to make plays and I just wanted to make a play for my team.”
The Warriors fumbled on their next possession and the ball was recovered by Senior High’s Ricky Mills at the Ontario 39. Five plays later, quarterback Duke Reese scored on a 1-yard keeper for a 14-0 lead.
The Warriors (6-5) went three-and-out on their next possession but a 42-yard punt by Braxton Hall pinned the Tygers at their own 10. On third-and-five, Reese found LaLa Owens for a 24-yard gain to the Ontario 49. On the next play, Isaiah Carson blasted through a hole on the right side of the line, cut back against the grain and scampered 49 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 3:26 remaining in the first quarter.
“We knew we could come out and impose our will on both sides of the ball. We had a lot of confidence in our players and I’ve got a lot of confidence in our coaches,” Chioke Bradley said. “They put a good game plan together. We had a great week of practice and our guys were really, really hungry for this one.”
The Tygers extended their lead to 24-0 on Sean Putt’s 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Senior High put it away later in the period when Mills recorded his first career interception from his defensive end position at the Ontario 28. On the ensuing drive, Reese hooked up with Amarr Davis for a 27-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-nine play for a 31-0 Senior High lead.
“I don’t know that you can prepare for that speed,” Ontario coach Aaron Eckert said. “You can’t just make our guys that much faster.
“They’re fast and they do a great job of playing fast.”
Ontario’s best chance to score came late in the second quarter when Senior High muffed a punt and the Warriors recovered at the Mansfield Senior 27. On the first play of Ontario’s drive, Davis picked off a pass intended for Braxton Hall in the end zone. Davis would add a second interception with four seconds remaining in the second quarter, putting an exclamation point on perhaps Senior High’s best half of the season.
“We knew that we could put a lot of pressure on the quarterback and we did that tonight,” Chioke Bradley said. “We could force them to throw into some coverages. We’ve got some of the best (defensive backs) in the state of Ohio. They know how to attack the football and they know what to do with it when they get their hands on it.”
The game was played with a running clock throughout the second half. The only score came on a 1-yard run by Mills with 4:01 remaining in the game.
Mills rushed for 54 yards on eight carries. Darson led the way with 85 yards on four carries, while Zyion Brown had 32 yards on nine carries.
Reese completed 13-of-25 passes for 194 yards. Keontez Bradley had six catches for 84 yards, while Davis had four receptions for 44 yards.
Ontario managed just 72 yards of total offense. Miller completed 4-of-10 passes for 25 yards, while Chase Studer had 36 rushing yards on 10 attempts.
