MANSFIELD — A change in position suited Mansfield Senior’s Amarr Davis.
A junior safety-turned-cornerback, Davis picked off two passes and returned one for a touchdown as the Tygers cruised to a 31-11 Ohio Cardinal Conference win over Wooster at Arlin Field on Friday night.
The win was the 600th in program history for Senior High (6-2 overall, 4-1 in the OCC). Additionally, coach Chioke Bradley’s bunch locked up a Division III, Region 10 playoff berth with the victory.
Davis and Keontez Bradley swapped spots in the secondary. The move paid off immediately as Davis returned his first interception 39 yards for a touchdown with 8:45 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Tygers a 31-11 lead.
He added a second pick later in the fourth quarter and walked away with the defensive lunchpail, awarded each week by defensive coordinator Sean Adams to the player who embodies the blue-collar mentality.
“The defensive lunchpail (goes to that week’s) best defensive player,” said Davis, who claimed the award for the first time. “Or sometimes the whole defense gets it if we all show up together.
“It actually feels very good.”
Davis now has a team-high four interceptions.
“We made a move in the secondary. We moved Amarr out to corner and put Keontez at safety and that benefitted us a lot tonight,” Chioke Bradley said. “He’s a really special talent.”
Keontez Bradley returned the opening kickoff 42 yards to the Wooster 38. Six plays later, Sean Putt booted the first of his record-tying four field goals to give the Tygers a quick 3-0 lead.
Wooster (4-4, 3-3) responded with an eight-play drive that resulted in Jacob Russell’s 35-yard field goal to tie the score at 3-3 with 6:32 remaining in the first quarter.
“The strength of our team up to this point has been running the football and being able to establish that early,” Wooster coach Austin Holter said. “On that first drive we did that fairly well.
“(But) we had a difficult time doing that through rest of the game.”
Senior High took the lead for good on the ensuing possession when quarterback Duke Reese broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run. A 2-yard Ricky Mills TD plunge early in the second quarter gave the Tygers a 15-3 advantage.
Putt’s second field goal of the half, this one from 24 yards, gave Mansfield Senior an 18-3 halftime lead.
The Tygers rushed for 209 yards in the first half. It was the second straight week Senior High topped the 200-yard plateau before inermission.
“The coaches gave us a great game plan throughout the week and I think we executed it really well,” sophomore center Jaden Jones said. “We just flipped the switch. After (losses to) Massillon and West Holmes, we realized we had to do something different and running the ball, I guess that was it.”
Wooster struck for its only touchdown early in the third quarter.
Running back Michael Howman-Williams slipped out of the backfield and hauled in a 52-yard touchdown pass from Luke Snowbarger to make it 18-11 with 11 minutes remaining in the third period.
Field goals of 32 and 26 yards by Putt gave the Tygers a 24-11 advantage before Davis iced it in the fourth with his pick-six.
Senior High finished with 284 yards rushing on 48 carries. Reese led the way with 113 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts, while Zyion Brown added 78 yards on 17 carries.
Reese completed 12-of-22 passes for 127 yards. Davis caught six passes for 79 yards.
“Our offensive line is one of the best in the business,” Chioke Bradley said. “They do a really good job of winning the point of attack.”
Wooster rushed for just 29 yards on 22 carries. The Tygers limited the Generals to 124 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers.
“Our defense continues to come out and impress week-in and week-out,” the coach said. “Our D-line and linebackers were flying around. We created some fumbles and were hustling to the ball.”
