Mansfield surges past Summit to win 25th meeting

By Bob Kowalski

Mansfield Record

In the 25th meeting of an intradistrict rivalry, Mansfield took the edge over Summit with a 49-28 victory Friday night at Vernon Newsom Stadium.

Each team entered the game with 12 wins in the series, and through the first quarter, they seemed to be evenly matched, tied 14-14 after 12 minutes. But the Tigers (1-1) scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, allowing Summit (0-2) to get as close as seven points only once the rest of the night.

Mansfield took an early 7-0 lead when a bad snap on a punt gave the Tigers the ball on Summit's 12-yard line. Junior quarterback Brandon Ellis passed to Tiger receiver Preston Jackson up the sideline for the score with 9 minutes to play in the opening quarter.

Summit struck quicker than that, though, as T.K. Henderson took a handoff on the Jaguars' first play of the following drive, cut directly through the line and outraced the defense to the end zone for a 7-7 game with just under 9 minutes left in the first quarter.

Ellis again found Jackson for a 15-yard TD pass on a rollout on the next drive to put Mansfield back in front, 14-7.

Summit matched that with another big play when quarterback Clarence Nevels tossed to Henderson for a 37-yard score with 11 seconds left in the first to knot the score at 14-14.

Ellis again connected with Jackson on a 20-yard pass in the slot for a 21-14 lead less than a minute into the second period. Mansfield, kicking into the wind after the third TD, opted for a short kick, which was recovered alertly by Mansfield's Camren Purvis at Summit's 32-yard line.

Ellis' first-down pass to Alex Luke put the Tigers at the 13, and on the next play Ellis hit Deuce Hutchinson on an inside slant for 13 yards and a 28-14 lead.

After Summit's Cameron Hall ended a Mansfield drive at the Jaguars' 6-yard line with an interception, Summit drove 94 yards, capped by Nevels' 16-yard TD pass to Gabriel Evans to pull the Jaguars within a touchdown, 28-21, wth less than 2 minutes left in the first half.

A 30-yard kickoff return by Luke, followed by a facemask penalty two plays later, started the Tigers on a scoring drive, finished when Ellis completed a 36-yard toss to Hutchinson for a 35-21 halftime lead.

Mansfield's opening drive of the second half boosted the score further when Ellis trotted 35 yards to open up a 42-21 lead with just over 7 minutes left in the third quarter.

Summit pulled back into range after Kameron Franklin intercepted a Mansfield pass at the Tigers' 41-yard line. The Jaguars got a 2-yard TD run from Jashawn Edwards in the first minute of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 42-28.

The Tigers wrapped up the scoring about 2 1/2 minutes later when Ellis hit a wide-open Colton Brown for a 43-yard strike and 49-28 score.

Summit's boys state champion basketball squad was recognized at the game, receiving their championship rings in a ceremony between the first and second quarters. The team has won back-to-back Class 5A Division II state titles.

In other games Friday, Lake Ridge (1-1) defeated San Angelo Central, 47-28, at R.L. Anderson Stadium; and Legacy (0-2) lost to Little Elm, 42-21, at Lobo Stadium. On Thursday, Timberview (2-0) defeated Denton Ryan, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A Division I, 35-30.

Next week, Mansfield meets Plano at 7 p.m. Thursday at Newsom; Legacy plays host to Colleyville Heritage at 7 p.m. Friday at Newsom for its homecoming game; Summit faces Midlothian Heritage at 7 p.m. Friday at Midlothian ISD Stadium; Lake Ridge plays Lake Highlands at 7 p.m. Friday at Wildcat-Ram STadium; and Timberview takes on Richardson at 7 p.m. Friday at Eagle-Mustang Stadium.

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