Jarrod Carson, the Consulting Director of Athletic Fundraising in association with the Mansfield Tigers Foundation, is famous for saying two things when it comes to all things Tigers. He’s been quoted on a regular basis as saying, “Great day to be a Tiger!” and “Once a Tiger, always a Tiger.”
These days it certainly is great to be a Tiger!
On October 11, Mansfield’s junior volleyball team won the 3A-1 district championship. On October 31, the senior high football team mathematically won the 3A-1 conference title. (MHS certified the conference title on November 7 with their tenth win.) On November 1, the senior high volleyball team won the class 3A state championship.
Then on November 6, it was the Mansfield Junior High football team’s turn to hoist the hardware. With a dazzling display of precision and power, Mansfield roasted the West Fork Tigers 64-0 to end their season with a perfect 10-0 record and claim the undisputed 3A-1 Conference Championship.
“So proud of you guys,” stated Mansfield head coach Whit Overton just after the game as players, fans and family gathered around in celebration. “First time since ‘99 to go undefeated. Great thing - great thing! I’m proud of you guys. Keep working hard - conference champs, all the way!”
To no surprise, Overton knew quite well the exact timeline of Mansfield’s last undefeated junior high conference championship. He and Carson, who volunteers as a statistician for the Tiger offense on Thursday and Friday nights, were teammates on that 1999 team that went a perfect 9-0.
“Me and Jarrod were talking about that earlier,” offered Overton with a brief history lesson of Tiger football. “All the guys on that team,” he paused briefly, “and you know to be the next team to do something like that, it’s pretty cool. To be a part of both of those undefeated teams, so far apart, is awesome. To be part of that kind of history - I mean, I’m just proud of the kids and their work ethic.
“These dudes have wanted it from the summer on,” said Overton about the commitment of his players to accomplish a feat that hasn’t been duplicated in 26 years. “These guys show up everyday and work hard. That’s kind of a recipe that we’ve put our hat on, and they’ve done it.”
Last Thursday’s home victory was the candle on the cake for a team that dominated the 2025 schedule. In their remarkable 10-0 run, the junior Tigers were rarely challenged. The group averaged 45.2 points per game on offense while allowing only 9.8 points per game on defense. Incredibly, Mansfield only ever fell behind in two games all season long. They had to come back against Lamar in week 3 to win 36-20, and stunned Booneville in week 8 with a fourth quarter comeback 22-18.
Against West Fork in week 10, the hometown Tigers were at the pinnacle of performance on both sides of the ball. Mansfield posted eight total touchdowns. Five scores came by way of the offense with four TDs on ground and one through the air. Three endzone entries came from the defense with two pick sixes and one courtesy of a strip and score.
Freshman fullback Colton Moore had a touchdown from each side of the ball. The 3-year starter had a 27-yard burst midway through the second quarter on offense. One minute and seven seconds later, now playing linebacker, he plucked a West Fork wobbler out of the air for a 30-yard interception return for his second TD.
“I just dropped back into my coverage,” Moore explained his interception return with 3:52 to go in the second stanza. “I just saw the ball and was like I just got to get that.”
When asked if he liked offense or defense better, the bruising fullback and linebacker said, “I like offense and defense both, but I like defense a little better - you get to make more hits.”
Moore was one of 13 ninth graders on the junior high team. He and his classmates moved up as members of the varsity squad to face West Fork’s senior team on the road the very next night. Before that happened, he was asked about winning the 3A-1 junior title and going undefeated.
“Amazing! First time to go undefeated in 26 years,” the ninth grader shared his own knowledge of Tiger football history. “This is one of the best feelings that I’ve felt probably all season.”
Moore’s backfield battery included Elijah Burton at quarterback and Layton Pyles and Isaac Carson as slotbacks in the Tiger’s flexbone offense. The trio also got in on Thursday’s scoring frenzy
Burton, an eighth grader, took the read option for himself for the game’s first touchdown at 5:06 in the first quarter. Carson added the 2-point conversion.
Burton later hooked up with Pyles through the air for a 56-yard catch and run to set up Mansfield’s next TD. Carson, a freshman speedster at the slot, took a counter sweep 11 yards for paydirt. Moore added that PAT rush.
Carson wasn’t finished as he caught a Burton pass for a 36-yard score with 4:59 remaining until halftime. Pyles turned a toss sweep off tackle for that successful 2-point try.
When it was noted Carson wasn’t finished, he really wasn’t finished. With 1:06 to go before the break, Mansfield’s two-way skill player picked off a West Fork pass. He would return it 77 yards for another Tiger score. Seth Burton caught his brother’s pass for the conversion lifting the home team to a 48-0 lead at intermission.
Easton Foley, a freshman left guard and defensive tackle, enjoyed the large lead knowing a championship was two quarters away.
“This game, I was pretty pumped up,” exclaimed Foley, one of Mansfield's toughest guys in the trenches. “I felt like we were going to win.”
When it was over, the lineman already knew he was moving up to the varsity team in less than 24 hours. He said, “I felt great - just ready to get on to high school and keep working.”
Mansfield found the endzone twice in the second half with the AAA mercy rule firmly in place to shorten the contest. Keaton Welch got a 1-yard scoring rush while Ryder Pennington converted the 2-point toss. Then defensive tackle Landen Bascue literally stripped a West Fork runner of the football and took it virtually unnoticed 30 yards for the Tigers final touchdown. Landon Townsend took the now familiar toss sweep in for the last two points as Mansfield began the celebration in earnest with 64-0 showing on the scoreboard.
“This just shows their dedication,” explained Overton. “When it means something to somebody like it does to those guys, they're going to put in the extra time and the extra work to do these types of things. I think it’s been proven through their performance that they’ve put in the time - they earn it!”
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