MANSFIELD — Mansfield Senior’s defense came into the postseason riding a white-hot streak.
The Tygers continued that momentum on Friday night, intercepting three passes and scoring a safety on a sack by Symirr Phillips, all in the second half, to deny Lexington for the second time this season.
That performance spearheaded Senior High’s 30-13 victory in the Division III, Region 10 playoff opener at Arlin Field.
(Photo gallery by Dan Melograna)
It was Mansfield Senior’s seventh straight win over the Minutemen and second playoff victory over Lex in as many tries.
The Tygers’ defense came into this encounter fresh off pitching back-to-back shutouts, and not allowing more than seven points since Week Six — a 37-10 decision over Lexington on Sept. 22.
The 13th-seeded Minutemen (5-6) drew first blood after Joe Caudill hooked up with Markale Martin on a 40-yard pass. Caudill then finished the march with a 6-yard touchdown jaunt for a 7-0 lead with 4:47 blinking in the first quarter.
Mansfield Senior (9-2) responded on a 10-yard TD romp by Jamir Petty to cap a 9-play, 65-yard drive that knotted things at 7-7 with 1:49 showing in the first period.
Lexington regained the edge at 10-7 thanks to Brayden Fogle’s 29-yard reception, which set up Will Perkins’ 22-yard field goal with 8:33 remaining in the half.
The fourth-seeded Tygers took the lead for good when Duke Reese flipped a wide receiver screen to Amarr Davis, who raced 35 yards for the touchdown with 2:20 left in the second period. Quinten DeBolt’s PAT made it 14-10. That catch tied Davis with Jornell Manns for the school record with 20 scoring receptions.
The Minutemen took the second-half kickoff and embarked on a mammoth, 20-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up nearly eight minutes of the third period and ended in Perkins’ 27-yard field goal to shave the margin to 14-13 at the 4:07 mark.
But Senior High responded on its ensuing possession. Reese ripped off a 30-yard run, then scored on a 2-yard keeper on the next snap for a 21-13 lead with 1:31 remaining in the quarter.
After the two squads swapped punts, Jaiden Grose intercepted his second pass of the night to set up the Tygers at the Lex 22. Reese got loose for an 18-yard dash, and Zyion Brown scored on a 5-yard blast up the middle for a 28-13 gap with 7:42 to play.
Phillips’ safety-sack of Caudill finished it.
Maurice Bradley II posted 15 tackles, including a pair of sacks, to spearhead Senior High’s defense. Ja’ontay O’Bryant picked off the other pass, his 11th career interception.
Lexington got the better of it in plays (62-49), time of possession (27:18 to 20:42), first downs (12-10) and passing yards (155-133).
But coach Chioke Bradley’s bunch enjoyed the advantage in rushing yards (120-54), total yards (253-209), and owned a +2 margin in turnover ratio. Lex was limited to 1.6 yards per rushing attempt.
Individually, Reese topped Senior High with 133 yards passing and 46 yards rushing. Petty added 64 yards on the ground.
Caudill threw for 155 yards and Carter Newman led all receivers with 56 yards on a couple of catches.
The Tygers will host No. 5-seed Rocky River (10-1) on Friday night at Arlin Field. The Pirates beat Clyde 14-7 in their playoff opener.
Both Senior High and Rocky River will bring eight-game winning streaks into that matchup.
The Pirates’ lone loss of the season was a 59-28 decision at Sandusky Perkins on Sept. 1.
Mansfield Senior hasn’t fallen since a 51-10 loss at Massillon on that same date.
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