MANSFIELD — The Tygers took care of business Friday night at Arlin Field.
Michigan State recruit Angelo Grose caught two touchdown passes and returned a punt for a score as Mansfield Senior rumbled to a 41-0 win over undermanned Cleveland John Hay.
The entire second half was played with a running clock as Senior High (2-0) led 34-0 at the break.
“I liked all three phases of the game,” Mansfield Senior coach Chioke Bradley said. “We were able to execute in our special teams unit. Our offense came out and did what we wanted to do in terms of rushing the ball and passing the ball. And the (shutout) is beautiful.”
The Tygers got down to business before most of their fans had found their seats. Amajeon Robertson recovered a fumble on John Hay’s second play from scrimmage and the Tygers cashed in three plays later when Terrance Flickinger plowed into the end zone from 5 yards out for a quick 7-0 read.
The Hornets (0-2) went three-and-out on its next possession and the Tygers pushed its lead to 13-0 when quarterback Cam Todd hooked up with Grose on a 10 yard scoring strike. Grose would add a 71 punt return for a touchdown midway through the second quarter.
Robertson rumbled for a 13 yard TD with 4:05 to play in the opening half to give the Tygers a 27-0 lead before Flickinger scored on a 6 yard run with 1:11 remaining for a 34-0 halftime lead. Todd hooked up with Grose for a 22 yard TD pass midway through the third quarter.
“We did what we needed to do but I don’t think we were as focused as we needed to be,” said Todd, who completed 4 of 8 passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns. “We were real lackadaisical in warm-ups. I don’t care if we’re played a junior high team or the Cleveland Browns, we have to get focused collectively as a team.”
Todd and the offensive starters played just one series in the second half before taking a seat. Likewise, the defensive starters had one third-quarter series before being lifted for good.
The defense, which played without Bowling Green recruit Anthony Hawkins and defensive end Alijah Grose, limited the Hornets to 88 yards of total offense. Freshman Mekhi Bradley, the coach’s son, filled in admirably along the defensive line and was presented the Tyger lunchbox, which goes to the player of the game as decided by the coaching staff.
“It’s pretty exciting as a freshman playing varsity,” said the younger Bradley, who wore No. 25 as a tribute to his father who wore the number during his Senior High playing days in the mid-1990s. “It’s a family number.”
Senior High will travel to Westerville Central next week.
“The mission this week was to come out and execute and worry about us,” Chioke Bradley said. “I feel like we did a pretty good job of that tonight.”
