Mansfield celebrates homecoming, defeats Mansfield Summit in back and forth thriller
MANSFIELD – Zion Robinson caught a 47-yard pass for his third touchdown of the game with 1:02 left and Mansfield held on to win 39-37.
Mansfield celebrated its’ homecoming in a wild one over cross-town rival Mansfield Summit Friday night at Vernon Newsom Stadium.
The Tigers (2-0), ranked seventh in the Star-Telegram’s rankings of area teams, overcame a 16-point halftime deficit and the second half turned into a seesaw match that saw the lead change hands five times.
“I think we were a little shell-shocked in the first half,” said Mansfield Coach Greg George, whose team won 55-7 last year. “Summit is an outstanding team with a great defense, and you can’t really prepare in practice for as good as they are. They came out and hit us in the mouth. But credit to our kids. They kept fighting. There’s no quit in them at any point in time. And the great thing is they really do play for one another.”
A back and forth second half
Mansfield came out smoking in the second half, scoring three straight touchdowns. The first two came in a time span of only 14 seconds. First, the Tigers took the second half kickoff and scored in only three plays, the last being a 75-yard pass to Robinson from quarterback Braxton Van Cleave.
Robinson caught it on a post at about the Summit 45-yard line and ran the rest of the distance. It made the score 23-14 in favor of Summit.
Van Cleave, a junior, had 342 yards and four touchdowns in the game. Robinson had three catches, all of which were for scores, and he totaled 99 yards.
He was aided by teammate Jacobe Hayes who caught the other touchdown pass and threw one to Robinson for another TD on a trick play. Hayes finished with six catches for 150 yards.
“It wasn’t anything eye-opening other than telling them the reality of the situation,” said George of his halftime talk and adjustments.
“And the reality is, if we don’t play like we’re capable of playing then the first half is going to re-create itself. And our kids understood we certainly weren’t playing to our potential,” said George, adding that his offensive line struggled to block Summit’s defense throughout the evening.
After, Mansfield got the ball right back when the ensuing kickoff was mishandled and recovered by Jaxon James at the Summit 28. On the first play from scrimmage, Hayes took the handoff and went right.
Then, on a halfback pass, Robinson made a catch near the sideline. Robinson turned left and crossed the field to elude tacklers for the score to come within three points, 23-20.
Mansfield took the lead for first time with 6:28 left in the third quarter. Tim Abraham took a short pass in stride over the middle about 7 yards downfield, splitting two defenders in the process and running the rest of the way for a 47-yard touchdown. The score was 26-23, Mansfield.
Momentum, however, swung back to Summit on a freak play. Da’Vonte Johnson took a backfield forward pass in the right flanks which he took six yards to his 30-yard line.
As he was being tackled, he fumbled the ball forward. Teammate DaVaughn Sille scooped up the loose pigskin at about the 35 and emerged out of the fray, running the remaining 65 yards for the touchdown and giving the lead back to Summit midway in the third quarter.
The lead went back to Mansfield when David Scott, filling in for a temporarily injured Van Cleave, took it in on a 21-yard draw to the left pylon. Scott came in after Van Cleave was hurt on a roughing-the-passer penalty following an incomplete pass on fourth-and-seven that gave the Tigers a first down at the Summit 20.
Mansfield could have put the game away two possessions later when Dylan Thrash hauled in an interception to give the Tigers the ball at the Summit 29. Five plays later, the Tigers were at doorstep with first-and-goal at the 3-yard line.
Van Cleave, having returned, rolled right and threw to a receiver near the goal line. An alert Jordan Hubbard stepped in front at about the four and returned an interception to his 31 before being tackled by a pursuing Van Cleave near the sideline.
Three plays later, quarterback Demarus Bird threw to a streaking Isaiah Allen for a 69-yard touchdown. It gave Summit the lead back, 37-33, with 2:48 left.
This set up the heroics for Robinson, who caught the post pass at the 27 and broke a shoestring tackle for a winning 47-yard touchdown. It climaxed a six-play, 57-yard drive.
Summit drove to the Mansfield 39 but Bird’s heave to near the goal line fell incomplete on the final play.
Notable performances form the Jaguars
Joseph Williams caught two passes from Bird for the Jaguars’ first two touchdowns and had three receptions for the game with 109 yards.
The first came less than two minutes on the third play of the game. Williams caught at the Mansfield 35 as he first went wideout then crossed to the middle of the field on single coverage. He ran the rest of the way fir the 67-yard score.
His second score came on fourth-and-11 early in the second quarter when the Jaguars disdained a field goal attempt at the Mansfield 23-yard line. Williams caught it in right side of the end zone despite tight coverage after going straight out. Bird lobbed a perfect throw over the shoulders of the defender.
Bird alternated with McLin calling signals. The two quarterbacks were a combined 17-31-1 for 300 yards. All three touchdown passes were by Bird.
The game was non-district matchup between Summit, a Class 5A-D2 school, and Mansfield, a Class 6A school.
