Prep football previews: Opportunistic defense carrying Mansfield Senior

MANSFIELD — The offense may have sputtered at times, but Mansfield Senior’s defense purred like a kitten.

The Tygers limited Norwalk to 207 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers in last week’s 18-12 win over Norwalk. Senior High turned two of the Truckers’ three first-quarter touchdowns into touchdowns on drives that began at Norwalk’s 23- and 21-yard lines, respectively.

“The defense played lights out. Our defensive staff does a great job of preparing us and putting us in positions to be successful,” Bradley said. “Then our guys sprinkle a little Tyger Pride on it and they just go hard. That’s what we’ve been doing since I’ve been here.”

The Tygers led 18-0 early in the third quarter before Norwalk made things interesting in the second half. The Truckers cut Senior High’s lead to 18-12 early in the fourth but the Tygers forced a three-and-out on Norwalk’s only other possession of the fourth quarter to preserve the win.

“Coach Bradley always says you’ve got to know how to play against adversity,” said University of Charlotte recruit Aveon Grose, who had three tackles from his safety spot. “We came out and picked it up and got the job done.”

The Tygers host Marion Harding in the Richland Source/OHReport Game of the Week. The game will be live-streamed on Richland Source’s Facebook page.

Here is a capsule look at Week 2 in Richland County:

Marion Harding (1-0) at Mansfield Senior (1-0): The Presidents jumped out to a big lead last week at Mount Vernon and held on for a 28-27 win when the Yellow Jackets were unable to score on a two-point conversion play with 13 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Harding quarterback Brady Wink threw for 178 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 86 yards. Malaki Robinson returned an interception 45 yards for a TD for the Presidents.

Mansfield Senior’s opportunistic defense forced three first-quarter turnovers in an 18-12 win over Norwalk. Defensive lineman Mekhi Bradley led the way with 11 tackles, including seven solo stops. Linebackers Leo Hess and Ricky Mills each had eight tackles. Quarterback Brock Hill tossed a 22 yard touchdown to Myles Bradley and ran for a 1 yard TD. Hill accounted for 167 of Senior High’s 221 yards of total offense, completing 15 of 26 passes for 132 yards and rushing for a team-high 35 yards on 15 carries.

Lexington (1-0) at Shelby (1-0): The Minutemen piled up 320 yards of total offense in last week’s win over Ontario. Lex ran for 201 yards and senior quarterback Cole Pauley completed 4 of 7 passes for 109 yards, including touchdown passes of 43 yards to Carter Newmann and 40 yards to Caden Eichler. Karson Berry rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries and returned a kickoff 88 yards for another TD. Corbin Green added 77 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Like Lex, Shelby had an easy go of it on opening night as quarterback Marshall Shepherd accounted for six touchdowns in a win at Madison. The senior completed 16 of 20 passes for 329 yards and four touchdowns and rushed 26 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. Andre Hill caught seven passes for 116 yards and a touchdown while Blaine Bowman had four grabs for 88 yards and a score. Meanwhile, the defense held Madison to 158 yards. Connor Henkel and David Ray each had seven tackles.

Granville (1-0) at Clear Fork (1-0): The Blue Aces opened with a 51-20 win over Division II Whitehall-Yearling. Granville led 30-20 at the half but scored 21 unanswered second-half points. Senior running back Devon Haley ran for three touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass.

Clear Fork opened with a resounding 54-8 win over Fredericktown. Quarterback Victor Skoog completed 8 of 18 passes for 92 yards and rushed for a team-high 89 yards on nine carries. Sophomore running back Luke Schlosser scored a pair of TDs, one on a 30 yard run and the other on a 5 yard pass from Skoog. Junior running back Trystyn Robison scored on a 3 yard run and returned a kickoff 85 yards for another score. The defense limited Fredericktown to 162 yards and forced two turnovers. Junior defensive back Logan Anderson returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown.

Crestview (1-0) at Bucyrus (1-0): The Cougars looked sharp in their opener at Loudonville, a 45-25 win. Crestview piled up 406 yards of total offense, rushing for 272 yards and throwing for 134 yards. Running back Connor Morse rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, while quarterback Hayden Kuhn completed 6 of 9 passes for 134 yards and two TDs. Tight end Shawn Bailey hauled in a 62 yard scoring pass and Adison Reymer had a 27 yard TD reception. Crestview allowed 256 yards but got a defensive score when Tanner Moore returned an interception for a touchdown. Morse led the way with 13 tackles, while defensive end Owen Barker had three sacks among his eight tackles. Defensive lineman Mason Ringler had two sacks and eight tackles.

Bucyrus opened with an impressive 49-14 win at Mississinawa Valley, the program’s first season-opening victory since 2013. Quarterback Malachi Bayless completed 15 of 22 passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair to Mike Wise. Bucyrus rushed for 183 yards. Eddie Dagher ran for 73 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.

Lucas (1-0) at Hillsdale (0-1): The Cubs opened with a 34-20 win over Danville that was not as close as the final score indicated. Lucas led 34-0 after the opening drive of the second half before the Blue Devils scored three touchdowns in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. Andrew Fanello led Lucas’ high-powered rushing attack with 95 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and also caught a 56 yard scoring strike from Corbin Toms late in the first half. Grant Barrett added 84 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, while Logan Toms carried five times for 61 yards and a score.

Hillsdale came unhinged in the second quarter of the season-opening 40-14 loss at Ravenna Southeast. The Falcons tied the game 7-7 early in the second quarter on quarterback Cole Sinnett’s 30 yard touchdown pass to Ethan Goodwin, but gave up 27 unanswered points to close out the half. Southeast returned an interception 62 yards for a touchdown during the maelstrom. Jake Hoverstock led the Falcons with eight carries for 56 yards, including a touchdown. Sinnett completed 5 of 13 passes for 110 yards and a score, while Justin Zeigler caught three passes for 78 yards. Goodwin and Max Vesper each had nine tackles while Jax Rogers and Lyle Carnegie had eight stops apiece.