Lake Ridge edges Mansfield with dramatic late TD

By Bob Kowalski

Mansfield Record

The quarterbacks for Lake Ridge and Mansfield seemed like boxers attempting to outlast each other, trying to deliver a decisive blow while surviving the opponent’s best punches.

In the end, nearly literally, Lake Ridge’s Deshawn Edwards came up with the knockout, throwing a fourth-down, 38-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Wilson with 16 seconds left to give the Eagles (3-2, 1-1 District 11-6A) a 49-45 victory over Mansfield (2-3, 0-2 11-6A) on Friday night at Vernon Newsom Stadium.

In all, Edwards and his counterpart, Mansfield's Brandon Ellis, combined to account for all 13 touchdowns, either by passing or running. The winning pass to Wilson, who cradled the catch while falling backward at the front of the end zone while heavily defended, was Edwards' sixth TD pass of the night.

The teams were tied 21-21 at halftime, and traded touchdowns throughout the second half. Mansfield took its final lead at 45-42 on Aaron Price's 22-yard field goal with 1:28 left in the game. Ellis rushed five times on that drive for 28 yards.

At that point, Lake Ridge had no timeouts remaining, trailing by three, with the ball on their own 25-yard line. On third-and-10, Edwards fired a bullet to Mikah Blow on the sideline for 37 yards, stopping the clock and moving the Eagles into Mansfield territory at the 38-yard line. Three consecutive incompletions set the stage for Edwards' game-winner, which was Wilson's only catch of the night.

Mansfield got on the board first, on the game's fourth possession, traveling from its own 9-yard line. Ellis moved the Tigers to midfield with a 34-yard run, then two plays later ran for 42 yards, putting the ball at the Eagles' 20. Four plays later, Ellis trotted in from eight yards for a 7-0 Tigers lead.

Lake Ridge answered with a 13-play drive, highlighted by an 18-yard run by Lamine-Imaan Kone that put the Eagles at midfield. Ellis scored on a 5-yard run 10 plays later to knot the game at 7-7 with 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

To start the second quarter, Ellis' 28-yard run moved the Tigers into Eagles' territory, and he wrapped up the drive with a six-yard run for a 14-7 lead with 9 1/2 minutes left in the half. Lake Ridge went three-and-out, and it appeared Mansfield had the momentum when the Tigers drove to midfield. But a penalty led to a punt attempt. When the ball soared over the punter's head, the Eagles had a first-and-goal at the Mansfield 6. Edwards' pass to Rayden Newsome tied the score at 14-14.

Lake Ridge's Trenton Session intercepted a pass on the next drive, setting up Edwards' 42-yard TD pass to Blow for the Eagles' first lead of the game, 21-14, with just over 3 minutes to play in the half.

Ellis did the heavy lifting on the next drive, rushing for 15 yards and hitting Deuce Hutchinson for 10 yards followed by a 29-yard scoring pass to Alex Luke with 19 seconds left for a 21-21 halftime score.

Lake Ridge regained the lead on its first possession of the second half, with Edwards hitting Newsome from 40 yards for a 28-21 edge. Mansfield responded with a four-minute drive, capped by Ellis' 15-yard TD run.

Mansfield took the lead again after Landon Pullen intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards to set the stage for Ellis' 5-yard TD run and a 35-28 lead with a half-minute left in the third.

A 17-yard kickoff return by Blow, combined with Edwards' 27-yard scramble up the sideline, put the Eagles midway into Mansfield territory at the start of the fourth. Just 1 1/2 minutes in, Edwards' passed for 22 yards to Jayden Evans, who leaped above a defender for the catch in the end zone to tie the game again.

The Tigers' Colton Brown recovered an onside kick at the Mansfield 42, and the Tigers needed only three plays to score, this time on a 48-yard run by Ellis, who weaved around defenders up the middle of the field for a 42-35 lead with 9 1/2 minutes to play.

The Tigers' defense held, but Lake Ridge's Kylen Jones took the snap on a fake punt and gained just enough to give the Eagles a first down and keep the drive alive at the Lake Ridge 36-yard line. Thirteen plays later, Edwards tied the game again on a 14-yard TD pass to Newsome with 3:09 to play.

A 42-yard kick return by Jarred Pierson, with a 15-yard penalty tacked on, put the Tigers at Lake Ridge's 36-yard line, leading to Price's late-game field goal before Lake Ridge's clinching touchdown.

In the district's other matchup Friday, Timberview (5-0, 2-0 7-5A DII) topped Midlothian Heritage (1-4, 1-1 7-5A DII), 54-7.

On Thursday night, Summit (2-3, 1-1 8-5A DI) defeated Legacy (1-4, 1-1 8-5A DI), 24-19.