Mansfield falls to Trinity in playoff opener

By Bob Kowalski

Mansfield Record

BEDFORD – Mansfield opened the Class 6A playoffs by running up against Trinity’s powerful offensive line and rushing game in a 42-7 defeat Friday at Pennington Field.

The Trojans (10-1) scored on four consecutive possessions before the Tigers (8-3) got on the board. Trinity’s offense performed with assembly-line precision, continuously pushing the ball up the middle and testing Mansfield’s defensive line.

Mansfield scored late in the second quarter on a 14-play drive during which the Tigers converted three times on fourth down. The first occurred when quarterback Braxton Van Cleave found Jayden Vasquez for 7 yards from Mansfield’s own 41-yard line.

Van Cleave then passed to Jonah Hand for 7 more yards to set up fourth-and-one at the 50-yard line, where running back Teddy Clark converted with a two-yard gain. Later, Van Cleave faked a handoff to receiver Zion Robinson and kept the ball for a nine-yard gain and first down at Trinity’s 33-yard line.

Receiver Jacobe Hayes sprinted to the end zone on consecutive plays, the first an incompletion but the second a diving catch for a touchdown to cut Trinity’s lead to 28-7 with just over a minute to play in the first half.

But the Trojans quickly moved the ball downfield, scoring on a 45-yard pass play from T.J. Tupou to Antwan McGee for a 35-7 halftime lead.

Mansfield took the field in the second half behind quarterback Mykah Lankford after Van Cleave was forced out of the game. Lankford drove the Tigers to Trinity’s 24-yard line midway through the fourth quarter but the drive ended when a pass was tipped and intercepted by Trinity’s Chayce Davis in the end zone.

From there, Trinity ran out the final 6 minutes of the game for the 42-7 final score.

The other Mansfield ISD schools in the playoffs, Legacy (3-8) and Timberview (6-5), also lost. Southlake Carroll beat Legacy, 69-7; and Lovejoy defeated Timberview, 45-19.

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