Mansfield Summit run game smothers Richland as Jaguars stay unbeaten in district play

Mansfield Summit benefited from two 100-yard rushing performances and a smothering defense as the Jaguars remained undefeated in District 4-5A Division 1 with a 49-23 win over Richland on Friday night at the Birdville Fine Arts/Athletics Complex.

Summit (3-2 overall, 2-0 district) didn’t take long to get rolling while Richland (3-3, 0-3) couldn’t find any offense, especially in the first half. The Jaguars started their second drive of the game at the Richland 48 after the Royals lost the ball on downs.

Kainen McKinney began the game at wide receiver, but took over at quarterback for the second series. McKinney rushed three times for 6, 22, and 1 yard before hitting Hal Presley with a 19-yard touchdown pass to give Summit a 7-0 lead with 8:11 left in the first quarter.

Summit’s defense was relentless in the first half. The Jaguars allowed minus-4 total yards in the first two quarters and didn’t allow Richland to pick up a conventional first down. The Royals only first down came on a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Summit.

The only spark for Richland before intermission came when Christian Smith-Johnson intercepted a Summit pass at the Jaguars’ 22 and returned it to the 1-yard line.

Dominique Johnson darted in on the ensuing play and a failed 2-point conversion try left the score at 7-6 with 2:44 left in the first quarter.

Summit had a habit of answering quickly on the night and did so this time when Keon Hobbs took the next snap for the Jaguars 67 yards for a touchdown to put Summit up 14-6. Hobbs led the Jaguars with 173 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Summit’s defense forced three, three-and-outs the rest of the first half while the offense continued to grind.

Jaydon Lott put Summit up 21-6 when he took it up the middle for a 41-yard score. Lott added 128 rushing yards on 18 tries and capped the scoring for the Jaguars with a 4-yard TD run with 3:57 left in the game.

Richland moved the ball better in the second half, but 11 second-half penalties on Summit assisted in that. Plus each time the Royals scored, the Jaguars would have an answer.

Richland pulled to within 21-9 after a 24-yard field goal by Easton Barnes to open the second half. But two plays later quarterback David Hopkins hit Presley with a 70-yard scoring pass to up Summit’s lead to 28-9 at the 7:25 mark of the third quarter.

The duo hooked up again on Summit’s next series, this time from 60 yards. Presley had three catches on the night, all for touchdowns, for 149 yards.

Richland’s Mark Zamora took a slip screen from quarterback Cole Benson 28 yards for a TD, but Jalon Rock returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards and Summit led 42-16 with 3:29 left in the third.

The play of the night capped Richland’s final scoring drive. Benson tossed a pass to Jay Rhinehart at the goal line, but the ball bounced off defender Ahmaad Moses’ helmet and was intercepted by Summit defensive back Sean Smith.

Smith took the ball two yards deep in the end zone and headed out, but fumbled the ball at the 13 where it was picked up by Zamora for Richland. Zamora headed back to the end zone, but fumbled himself right before he crossed the goal line and Rhinehart recovered the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 12:37 AM.