MANSFIELD, Ohio — When he splits out wide for the first time Friday night, Kamrin Knowlton-Goings will see a familiar face across the line of scrimmage.
Davis Chapman will be lurking.
Knowlton-Goings, Ashland’s rangy 6-foot-5 junior receiver, and Chapman, Mansfield Senior’s sticky-fingered senior cornerback, are first cousins. Knowlton-Goings’ father and Chapman’s mother are brother and sister.
The two keep in contact through social media, but those correspondences may be put on hold for a week.
“We talk on Instagram and I usually text him and he tells me about how his games went and how his week is going. Stuff like that,” Chapman said as the Tygers prepared to host the Arrows in a game ripe with Ohio Cardinal Conference championship implications. “I told him he better be ready for me because I’m going to guard him.”
For Knowlton-Goings’ father, Friday’s showdown is bittersweet. A 1991 Senior High graduate, Jason Goings worked for Mansfield City Schools for the better part of two decades. He resigned as the middle school principal in 2015 to become assistant high school principal and athletic director at Ashland.
The elder Goings played football at Mansfield Senior for Stan Gilbert and was a coach on LeRoy Smith’s staff in the mid-2000s.
“Kamrin has always been in Ashland City Schools so when they played in the past, I saw it as a win-win situation. If Mansfield Senior won, I was happy for my alma mater. If Ashland won, I was happy for my son,” Goings said. “Now that I’m the AD in Ashland, I’m supporting those Arrows.”
Chapman senses that his uncle is conflicted.
“I think it’s a little hard on him,” said Chapman, who is drawing interest from Youngstown State. “He’s the AD over there, but deep down I think he’s still a Mansfield Senior guy.”
So what does his younger cousin do well?
“He’s got good hands and he knows how to stem in his routes so I’ve got to be on my P’s and Q’s when I guard him,” Chapman sad. “He’s a big guy, so they will try to take advantage of his height.
“I’ve never played against him before, so it should be fun.”
Knowlton-Goings had plenty of fun in Ashland’s triple-overtime upset at Wooster last week. His 13 yard touchdown reception on fourth down as time expired pulled the Arrows within two points. Ashland scored on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt to force OT.
“That was probably the greatest feeling I’ve had in athletics,” Knowlton-Goings said. “Our guys stayed together and played tremendously.”
The feeling after Friday’s win at Wooster was in stark contrast to his emotions after a disheartening season-opening loss to Wadsworth. Ashland lost on a Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game.
“To lose the way we did, on a Hail Mary, was tough,” Knowlton-Goings said. “That didn’t sit well with us.
“From Week 1 to Week 5, there has been such a big change. We kind of grew up and found a whole different level of intensity.”
After dropping its first two games of the season, Ashland has won three straight. The Arrows are alone atop the OCC standings at 2-0. Mansfield Senior and Lexington are both 1-0 in the OCC, while the four remaining teams all have at least one conference loss.
“This is a big game,” Davis said. “We are going to have to be better defensively than we were last week.”
The Tygers held off short-handed Clear Fork for a 42-39 win. The Colts lost do-it-all quarterback Thomas Staab to injury in the first half, but still had a chance to force overtime before misfiring on a field goal with about a minute to play in the fourth quarter. Staab threw for 161 yards and and four touchdowns against Senior High’s secondary.
“Our DBs have to do a good job this week. Our linebackers and defensive line are going to do their job, so it’s up to us,” Chapman said. “They’ve got some big guys and some athletic guys who match up with us so we’ve got to be better than we have been.”
A member of Senior High’s state-qualifying 4×100 relay team last spring, Chapman is the leader of a young secondary that includes sophomore cornerback Tre Windham and freshman safety Angelo Grose. Chapman has one interception this fall as most opponents would rather take their chances with the Tygers’ less experienced defensive backs.
“He has great speed and he’s good in coverage,” Knowlton-Goings said. “Those are great assets.”
As for Chapman, he can’t wait for Friday’s game — and the game within the game.
“I haven’t texted him yet, but I’m going to,” Chapman said. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play against him.”
