Mansfield Lake Ridge outclasses Boswell, ends Pioneers season
The Mansfield Lake Ridge Eagles won big in their regular-season finale at home, beating a desperate Fort Worth Boswell team that needed a win to earn a playoff spot at Newsom Stadium.
Lake Ridge (8-2, 5-1) won 69-34 in a game that saw both teams’ offenses go blow for blow in the first quarter and half before the Pioneers ran out of gas.
It was a high-scoring start to the game. The Eagles scored on their second play from scrimmage when Deshawn Edwards hit Jayden Evans, who took it 72 yards on a wide receiver screen. The two hooked up again on the second drive, with Edwards finding Evans for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
The Pioneers kept pace thanks to their running game. Small but hard-running tailback Jace Richardson finished off both of his team’s drives with 1- and 6-yard plunges into the end zone. The teams were tied at 14 heading into the second quarter.
Right before the changeover, Boswell’s defense had forced the first punt of the game, but the Pioneers muffed it and Keon’Dre Warner recovered for the Eagles.
The first play of the new quarter saw Edwards keep it on a 3-yard touchdown run. Boswell answered with Richardson scoring his third touchdown of the game, this one from 14 yards out. The extra point was blocked, and Lake Ridge still led 21-20.
The Pioneers had a chance to take control when their defense forced a turnover as linebacker Nate Rosales recovered a fumble. Unfortunately for Boswell, its offense was stopped for the first time in the game and punted the ball away.
The Eagles made up for the turnover when Edwards found Kamron Jackson on a 5-yard out route for a score. Lake Ridge went for the kill, attempting an onside kick that was recovered by Eury Newkirk. Edwards quickly found Mikah Blow open on a 29-yard hitch-and-go to make it 35-20.
The Pioneers tried to score before halftime but, forced to throw the ball with no timeouts, turned it over on downs with less than 30 seconds left. It was just enough time for the Eagles, who moved the ball far enough to attempt a 41-yard field goal as time expired. Kicker Kyson Scott drilled it, giving Lake Ridge a 38-20 lead at halftime.
Up by more than two scores, Lake Ridge made sure to keep Boswell at a distance in the second half. The Eagle defense got a turnover on the Pioneers’ first drive, with Markeis Smith recovering a fumble and returning it to set up a short touchdown by Noel Butler.
Both teams ended the third quarter with two touchdowns apiece. Lake Ridge scored again when running back Jaiden Cotton caught a swing pass and took it 53 yards untouched for another touchdown.
Boswell wasn’t crumbling quietly, scoring on both of its drives in the quarter. Djmarques Lords found Peyton Rhodes on a perfectly placed 33-yard jump pass for a touchdown. Later, he connected with running back Chance Lassiter, who lined up in the slot and beat his man on a 15-yard catch in the end zone on fourth down.
The Eagles led 52-35.
The fourth quarter saw Lake Ridge pull away with its offense humming. The Pioneers had to abandon their successful running game in an effort to score quickly and failed to find the end zone again.
The Eagles saw Scott make another field goal, this one from 35 yards. Later, Edwards scored on a short run, finishing off the 57-yard run he had the play before—his eighth total touchdown of the night. Finally, with backups in for both teams, Lake Ridge running back Dylan Flanagan scored on an 11-yard run.
Edwards passed for 352 yards and six touchdowns to five different receivers. He also led the team with 95 rushing yards and scored twice himself.
Coach Kirk Thor was proud of his team for finishing strong against a Boswell squad that went blow for blow with Lake Ridge for the first quarter and a half, which led to several aggressive calls in the second quarter that helped create separation by halftime.
“I felt like it was a game where we would have to steal possessions,” Thor said. “We decided to go for the onside kick to steal a possession. Sometimes you get in games like that where it feels like everyone is scoring.”
The win gave the Lake Ridge Eagles a second place finish in District 3-6A. Their sole loss came to North Crowley, the 2024 Class 6A Division I state champions.
Lake Ridge will face Euless Trinity in the Class 6A Division I bi-district round at a time and place that is to be determined.
For Boswell, Richardson led the team with 101 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Lords finished with 122 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Lassiter caught four passes for 31 yards and a touchdown to go along with 69 rushing yards.
It was the final game of the season for the Pioneers, who finished 4-6 (2-4). Despite the disappointing ending, the team expects to return next season with an experienced group of senior skill players who put up strong numbers this year.