MANSFIELD, Ohio — Mansfield Senior spent most of the evening falling on its own sword Friday at Arlin Field.
Canton McKinley scored touchdowns on its first three plays from scrimmage and the Tygers surrendered three more scores on turnovers in a 54-37 loss.
Senior High (1-1) gave up touchdown runs of 80, 56 and 45 yards before most of the fans had settled into their seats and trailed 20-3 after the first quarter.
“We’ve been playing the same defensive front for two weeks and we come out today and couldn’t get lined up,” Mansfield Senior coach Chioke Bradley said. “They scored 20 points on plays that, if we get lined up, those are stops.
“Was our scheme too complicated? It couldn’t have been because we just ran the same thing last week. Was it because we weren’t prepared? It couldn’t have been because we’ve been practicing that for two weeks.”
Costly Mistakes: The Tygers cut McKinley’s lead to 20-10 early in the second quarter when quarterback Sid Caudill’s scored on a 1 yard plunge on a broken play and had a chance to pull closer before the opportunistic Bulldogs’ defense came up big. A botched handoff between Caudill and Brian Benson was scooped up by McKinley linebacker Reggie Young, who returned it 68 yards for a touchdown and a 27-10 lead with 7:42 remaining in the first half. Less than four minutes later, Xavier Smith stepped in front of a Caudill pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown and a 34-10 advantage.
“There were a lot of mental mistakes,” Bradley said. “We turned the ball over three times and they scored on all three of them. It’s unreal to me.
“If we don’t give up three touchdowns on turnovers and three one-play scoring drives, we’re talking about them scoring 14 points.”
Air Raid: Just when it looked like the Bulldogs would would run away with it, Senior High struck in a hurry. Caudill hooked up with Davis Chapman on a 66 yard scoring strike then, after a Tre Windham interception, Caudill found Brandon Myers for a 6 yard TD with just 24 seconds to play in the first half to make it 34-23 at the half.
“We lost our focus a little bit and they battled back into it,” McKinley coach Dan Reardon said. “They are well-coached and put some pressure on us.”
Play of the Day: McKinley was penalized on its first three plays to start the second half but on third-and-18 from his own 21, quarterback Dominique Robinson scrambled 27 yards for a first down along the Senior High sideline. On the very next play, Robinson hooked up with Zey’Breyon Perry for a 52 yard touchdown.
“If they force a punt right there, they have some momentum and build some confidence,” Reardon said. “That was a big drive for us.”
Robinson, a Miami of Ohio recruit, found Perry for a 15 yard TD pass later in the third quarter. On Senior High’s next offensive play, University of Akron recruit Reggie Corner Jr. stepped in front of a Caudill pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown and a 54-23 lead.
The Tygers scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns on a 5 yard Tavion Harris run and a 12 yard Clay Caudill reception.
Welcome Back: Jornell Manns, who dislocated his shoulder in the preseason, returned for the Tygers and caught four passes for 34 yards. The Division I college prospect returned the game’s opening kickoff 68 yards, setting up Ethan Leudy’s 22 yard field goal.
“It felt good to get back out there. I was having fun,” Manns said. “I left a couple plays out there. It was something to learn from.”
Leaders: Sid Caudill completed 20 of 36 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. Chapman had five catches for 122 yards, while Brian Benson picked up 71 hard-earned yards on 21 carries.
Notes: Canton McKinley was penalized 22 times for 176 yards. The Tygers were flagged six times for 38 yards. … Mansfield Senior ran 70 plays to McKinley’s 46 and dominated the time of possession by nearly a two-to-one margin. … The 54 points allowed were the most by a Senior High team since a 55-0 loss at Massillon in Week 3 of the 2005 season.
