MANSFIELD — Chioke Bradley isn’t one to make excuses, but Mansfield Senior’s veteran coach could see the silver lining in Friday’s 21-14 loss to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.
His inexperienced Tygers grew up a little bit.
“We’ve got a young bunch … but that’s not an excuse. We had an opportunity to win this game,” Bradley said. “We had a bunch of teachable moments out here today.
“It’s up to these guys to take the coaching and believe in what we’re selling and buy in.”
Senior High’s inexperience was especially obvious on the offensive side of the ball.
The Tygers managed just 186 yards of total offense, 58 of which came on a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from first-year starting quarterback Braylon Patterson to Ny Petty.
Patterson completed 6-of-13 passes for 88 yards with a pair of interceptions, both by Donald Johnson Jr. The first came deep in SVSM territory midway through the second quarter and the second was returned 40 yards for a touchdown early in the third.
“It’s not all on the quarterback,” Bradley said. “We’ve got to protect him and we’ve got to make the right calls from the box. There are some things we’ve got to do to try to help him.
“He will continue to get better as he gets more experience.”
While the offense sputtered, Senior High’s defense was stout. The Tygers limited the Fighting Irish to 186 yards.
SVSM’s only sustained drive came on its first possession of the night and was prolonged by a questionable pass interference call. It culminated in a 19-yard TD run by quarterback Ryan Hurley.
SVSM’s only other scoring drive was set up by DeCarlo Prince’s 40-yard punt return to the Senior High 17 early in the fourth quarter. The abbreviated march was capped by Christian Culler’s 4-yard TD run to give the Irish a 21-7 lead.
“We’re going to always play Tyger defense,” Bradley said. “That’s a staple here at Mansfield Senior High.”
All-Ohio linebacker M.J. Bradley led the way with 10 tackles and a sack.
“I feel like we played pretty well defensively,” M.J. Bradley said. “We’ve still got some things to work on, but it’s the first game of the season. We will continue to get better.”
Mansfield Senior’s first score came in the third quarter and was set up by an 18-yard punt return by Na’zier Jones to the SVSM 10. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Isaiah Darson went 10 yards for the score to cut the Irish lead to 14-7.
A senior, Darson rushed for 36 yards on eight carries. Sophomore Braylon Fletcher had a team-high 51 yards on 13 carries. Petty had three catches for 70 yards.
The win was the first for rookie coach Doran Grant, a 2011 SVSM grad who was a captain of Ohio State’s 2014 national championship team.
“It was a little nerve-wracking at times … but the guys got it done,” Grant said. “That shows the potential of what we can have.
“We’re replacing 18 guys. We’re going to move on the next week and get better.”
The non-conference schedule doesn’t get any easier for Senior High. The Tygers head to Canfield next week.
“We’ve got to be better,” Chioke Bradley said. “I keep going back to teachable moments.
“We’re going to watch the film in the morning then come back out here Monday and get after it again and get ready for Canfield.”