Lake Ridge surges past Mansfield in second half

By Bob Kowalski

Mansfield Record

Lake Ridge seized momentum by scoring a touchdown on the final play of the first half, and shut out Mansfield the rest of the way in a 44-21 Eagles victory Friday night at Vernon Newsom Stadium.

After Mansfield (2-4, 0-1 District 3-6A) had taken a 21-7 lead, a pass interference call against the Tigers as the clock ran out at halftime gave Lake Ridge (4-1, 1-0 3-6A) the ball at Mansfield’s 24-yard line for an untimed down. Eagles quarterback Deshawn Edwards passed to Kamron Jackson, who secured the catch in the end zone between two defenders to pull Lake Ridge within a touchdown.

Lake Ridge’s defense stepped up after that, and the offense, led reliably by Edwards, took control of the game. On the next drive, Mansfield reached Lake Ridge’s 33-yard line, but a sack by Jackson Milks and Chinedu Obioha on third-and-10 forced Mansfield to punt. A bad snap sailed over the punter’s head, and the Eagles got the ball on the Tigers’ 35-yard line. It took only two plays for Edwards to find the end zone, as he rushed 29 yards for a score to tie the game at 21-21 with nearly 6 ½ minutes to play in the third quarter.

Lake Ridge ended Mansfield’s next drive when Kylen Jones intercepted a pass, wrestling the ball away in close quarters. A pass to Noel Butler and consecutive carries by Jaiden Cotton put the ball on Mansfield’s 37-yard line. Edwards kept the ball for himself on the next snap, motoring to the outside and up the sideline for 35 yards, stepping out of bounds at the 2-yard line. Edwards’ one-yard TD plunge gave Lake Ridge its first lead of the game at 28-21 with 2:10 left in the third.

The defense forced Mansfield three-and-out, and another bad snap on a punt floated into the end zone, Mansfield punter Cole Williams beat Lake Ridge defenders to the ball and alertly knocked it out of the back of the end zone for safety instead of a possible Eagles touchdown.

Mansfield’s defense held to force a punt, but the Tigers were faced with poor field position, starting a drive on their own 17-yard line. Field position plagued the Tigers throughout the second half, either by Lake Ridge kicker Kyson Scott’s consistently long kickoffs or deep drives by the Eagles’ offense.

The Tigers turned the ball over on downs, giving the Eagles a short drive to the end zone. Cotton was met at the line and spun to escape the crowd of would-be tacklers, finding a clear path to the end zone for a 37-21 lead with nearly 8 ½ minutes to play.

Lake Ridge scored its final touchdown by driving from its own 34 to score when quarterback Nolan Conrad passed to Butler for a 25-yard TD that made the final score 44-21.

Mansfield had taken an early lead in the game by converting a pair of turnovers into 14 points. On the first play from scrimmage in the first quarter, Jayden Vincent recovered a fumble to give the Tigers the ball at Lake Ridge’s 4-yard line. Jayden Vasquez scored for a 7-0 lead less than a half-minute into the game.

Lake Ridge tied the game on Jalen Robinson’s 29-yard scoring run, but Mansfield regained the lead when Mykah Langford passed to Zion Robinson for a 12-yard score and 14-7 lead. Later a fumble recovery by Mansfield’s Dylan Tran near midfield set up another touchdown.

On the Tigers’ first play, Williams gained 16 yards on a double-pitch end around put Mansfield deep in Lake Ridge territory. Vasquez capped the drive with an 8-yard TD run to give the Tigers a 21-7 lead.

Lake Ridge’s drive to end the first half began on its own 20-yard line. Edwards carried twice to put the Eagles at Mansfield’s 49-yard line, then passed to Jayden Evans for 10 yard to set up the final-play touchdown.

In other Mansfield ISD action Friday, Legacy (3-3, 1-1 3-6A) edged Weatherford, 52-49; Timberview (4-2, 3-1 3-5A II) topped Seguin, 30-23; and Summit (4-1, 3-0 3-5A II) outpaced The Colony, 34-17.  

Next week, Lake Ridge meets North Crowley at 7 p.m. Thursday at Newsom Stadium; Summit and Timberview square off at 7 p.m. Friday at Newsom Stadium; Legacy meets Boswell at 7 p.m. Thursday at R.L. Anderson Stadium; and Mansfield travels to face Crowley at 7 p.m. Friday at Crowley Stadium.

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