Three turnovers doom Mansfield as Tigers fall to Waxahachie despite late surge
Waxahachie took advantage of three costly Mansfield turnovers and then held off the Tigers, 31-20, in a District 11-6A football game Friday night at R.L. Anderson Stadium.
The win for Waxahachie (6-2, overall, 3-2 district) helped their playoff cause immensely while Mansfield (6-2, 3-2), No. 6 in the Star-Telegram Class 6A area rankings, is still very much in the playoff hunt.
“You can’t make mistakes against a good team, that’s what it boils down to,” said Mansfield coach Greg George. “We turned the ball over twice that were touchdowns and another time on the six.
“They’re a good team that’s well coached and get after it. They’re going to go deep in the playoffs.”
The teams traded three pointers to start before Waxahachie took advantage of the first Mansfield gaffe. A 30-yard field goal by Waxahachie’s Jesse Garfias was answered with a 45-yarder by Mansfield’s Jacob Hand that tied the game with 2:28 left in the first quarter.
The teams traded punts, but Waxahachie muffed their return and Mansfield’s Ethan Williams pounced on it at the Indians’ 8. But on the ensuing play, Mansfield fumbled the ball back to Waxahachie and Calvin Simpson-Hunt scooped up the loose ball and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown to up the lead to 10-3 with four seconds left in the opening frame.
“It was too good to be true,” said Simpson-Hunt. “The back came out and rolled over and the ball went loose. All I saw was ball and a lot of grass so I scooped it and scored.”
Waxahachie scored again on its next series on a 14-yard run by quarterback Roderick Hartsfield, Jr., while the Indians defense stifled the Tigers offense. Mansfield had only 100 yards of total offense in the first half, including a 33-yard pass from Mansfield quarterback Sergio Kennedy to Reed Pinckney down to the Indians’ 4 yard line as time expired.
The opening four minutes of the second half were disastrous for the Tigers. Keith Abney II blew up Mansfield’s opening drive of the second half with a 43-yard pick six.
“We were in man and I saw the receiver go on a screen and saw the ball so I had to go make a play,” said Abney. “We never give up on plays and just have a next-play mentality.”
On Mansfield’s next possession, a bad center snap sailed over the head of Kennedy and was recovered by Waxahachie’s La’Markus Reed at the Mansfield 6. Hartsfield bulled in from the 1 three plays later to give the Indians a 31-3 lead with 7:57 left in the third quarter.
“We’re offensive minded on defense,” said Waxahachie coach Shane Tolleson. “They do it in practice every day and we reward with Blow Pops. They get a ball out in practice and we throw them a Blow Pop. They put it in their sock and suck it after practice. It’s an instant reward.”
But the Mansfield defense, which was stellar, kept playing and the offense finally found a pulse.
The Tigers defense, anchored by Arkansas commit Kaleb James, No. 20 in the Star-Telegram Top 100, on the defensive line and safety Brenden Jordan (No. 9), a Texas Tech pledge, allowed 193 yards of total offense to the Indians including 37 yards in the second half.
Waxahachie went three and out on three of its final four possessions and the fourth ended with an interception by Mansfield defensive back A.J. McCullough.
“They played outstanding and I’m really proud of their effort,” said George of his defense. “They did not give in and they were all in the whole time and were behind our offense.”
Kennedy guided the Tigers on two long scoring drives on their next two possessions. The first was capped by a 10-yard pass from Kennedy to Jacobe Hayes who dove into the end zone to cut the lead to 31-10.
The second ended on a 16-yard scoring run by James Johnson making it 31-17 with 10:08 left in the game. Johnson led all rushers with 152 yards on 19 carries.
The Tigers ran out of steam from that point, losing the ball on downs in their own end of the field on their next two possessions. Kennedy drove Mansfield down to the Indians 1 with 10 seconds left, but George decided to kick an 18-yard field goal in order to help with points in case of a tie deciding playoff berths.
“We want to get as many points as possible,” said George. “We’re trying to eliminate any unknowns. We’re at 15, but I didn’t want to chance it and be wrong so I decided to kick the field goal. It takes math and we’re coaches and not math teachers.”
Mansfield almost had as much yardage on the ground as Waxahachie did total (191-193). The Tigers finished with 412 yards of total offense, 219 more than the Indians.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 11:46 PM.